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Amanda Bloom & Jenny Machin
In Memory of Jenny Machin
In 2022, to celebrate our 10th Birthday, we introduced a Start Up Bursary to help new creative businesses showcase their products at the show. This was generously supported by Amanda Bloom of Cosy Life Boxes with the first recipient of the bursary being Lana Grindley of Woven Together.
We are delighted that the bursary will remain as a feature of Yarndale and it is named in memory of Amanda’s daughter Jenny Machin who sadly died in 2017.
2024 Bursary Applications
Applications for 2024 are now closed.
The Yarndale Start Up Bursary in memory of Jenny Machin is for applications from emerging fibre artists or makers.
We welcome submissions from all who are working in any discipline with a connection to wool or natural fibres.
Applicants need to have set up within the last three years and have their own Public Liability Insurance with cover of at least £5 million and valid for the three days of the show including the set up day.
They should be based in the North and must not have applied to Yarndale before.
We particularly welcome applications from currently under represented groups.
The successful candidate will be awarded a single stand at Yarndale.
Details of applications for 2025 will be posted in due course.
This is Amanda’s story:
In 2013 my beautiful, funny, kind daughter Jenny was diagnosed with a grade 4 brain tumour. It was absolutely devastating but we got on with it. She had surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and for a couple of years she seemed to be keeping it at bay. She was so brave and positive…I was in awe. She helped me to be brave too.
When she was diagnosed I had given up work to look after her. There was just me and her in our family so money was tight. In 2015 we had the idea of setting up a crochet subscription box. We thought we could do it together from home and I’d still be able to look after her. Little Box of Crochet was born.
Just before we launched we discovered that Jenny had a tumour in her heart which is extremely rare. She was determined that we should still go ahead and she was right as it was a wonderful distraction as she went through open heart surgery and more chemo. Amazingly it grew beyond our greatest hopes. She loved working with me, often from her bed or when we were at the hospital.
Sadly Jenny died on 13th May 2017. Life will never be the same but I carried on her legacy with Little Box of Crochet until I just couldn’t do it anymore. Justine took it over in 2022 and I retain a small share which is just, in my mind, in Jenny’s memory. I have since started a much smaller craft based box called Cosy Life Boxes which is lovely.
I never want Jenny to be forgotten so the Yarndale Start Up Bursary in Memory of Jenny Machin has been established to help new creative businesses showcase their products at Yarndale.
Jenny loved coming to Yarndale. Even when she was really poorly she persuaded me to bring her in 2016 and she loved meeting our customers and friends, so thank you so much to Yarndale for allowing me to do this.
2024 Recipient
The recipients of the 2024 Yarndale Start Up Bursary in Memory of Jenny Machin are Yorkshire based ropemakers Andrew and Heather Cumpstone of Kefi Textiles.
Kefi Textiles produces high quality craft cords and braids in many colours for makers and creatives, specialising in natural fibres such as cotton, flax and wool.
The business was set up by Andrew and Heather in 2022 to protect the heritage of ropemaking in North Yorkshire following the closure of a long standing rope manufacturing company in Wensleydale.
Alongside their ropes, they have also developed a range of craft cords, made from 100% cotton, for the craft market. Appealing to macramé artists, textile artists and many other creatives, all their cords are made in-house at their workshop in North Yorkshire.
