Alyson Chu ’13 is helping to create a network for diverse artists and makers.
In early 2019, there was a reckoning.
That term may sound dramatic for a community of knitters and crocheters, but when an offensive remark from a fiber blogger in early 2019 brought racism against BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) makers to light, it signaled a shift that would change careers.
One resulting initiative was the website BIPOC in Fiber, a platform developed by Alyson Chu ’13 to create a global network for diverse fiber artists.
Learn more about Chu, her work on BIPOC in Fiber, and her artistry.
Creating Fiber Diversity Online
Based in the United Kingdom, BIPOC in Fiber serves primarily as a directory of people of color working in the fiber industry. When the movement to support diversity in this space started gaining momentum in mid-2019, Chu came across an online list of creatives compiled by Jeanette Sloan, a knit designer living in Brighton and Hove, England. Sloan “started the list to address the distinct lack of BIPOC representation in fiber publications and in the wider industry, and a misconception that people of color don’t knit/craft,” Chu says.
“It was just a static page on her blog, and I immediately thought, ‘This could be so much more.’ I think it was my love of data that saw [the list wasn’t] being optimized.”
Armed with her web development expertise, Chu connected with Sloan, and together they jump-started a more user-friendly, updatable directory of makers of color.
Facilitating Connections
Using her self-taught coding experience, Chu designed BIPOC in Fiber, keeping in mind user experience as well as aesthetics.
Day-to-day, she adds new entries to the site, keeping the list of artists growing. As an interactive directory that includes hundreds of fiber artists, photographers, and stylists, BIPOC in Fiber is a virtual meeting place to forge connections and build support in the creative community.
The site’s audience comprises “consumers who are looking to support a more diverse range of people, as well as people within the industry, event organizers, and magazine editors who are looking to commission projects or invite vendors,” Chu says.
Since starting work on the site last year, Chu and the BIPOC in Fiber team have crowdfunded £30,000. With that funding, they’re able to cover the cost of the website and pay Chu, Sloan, and other team members. “It was fabulous, the response we got both from knitters and crocheters, and people in the community and industry as well. Yarn companies, magazines, and individuals were able to support with funding,” she says.
Funding Scottish Arts Through Data
When she’s not maintaining the back end of BIPOC in Fiber, Chu works part time as a statistics and reporting assistant in the knowledge and research department of Creative Scotland, the public body responsible for arts development in the country. Day-to-day, she looks internally at project funding and does external research to assess the impact of Creative Scotland’s funding. For example, a recent study looking into a touring theater and dance project led to a designated touring fund. “The research is important because it helps with our funding decisions,” she says.
Merging Two Talents
A member of the BIPOC fiber community herself, Chu crochets everything from headbands to blankets. A blue and mustard cowl she fashioned was recently shortlisted for a design competition at the yarn festival Unravel.
“My mom was always crafting with us,” Chu says. “She taught us how to sew and knit and crochet. We did soap making. We played with clay — literally everything.”
She picked the hobby back up while completing her master’s at the University of the Arts in London and now designs patterns and pieces. “It’s a creative process, but also a really mathematical process. [I’ve] got my Excel spreadsheets to figure out how many stitches [are needed] to scale things up to different sizes.”
Crocheting on Air
“Hi, I’m Alyson the crocheter.” “And I’m Vivian the knitter,” starts each episode of Keep Calm and Carry Yarn, the podcast hosted by Chu and her mother. The duo chats about their crochet and knitting projects, TV shows, and other hobbies. Released a couple of times a month, the transatlantic show (recorded by Chu in Scotland and her mom in Virginia) was created in part to keep them connected even though they live thousands of miles apart.