Behind the scenes: Flavia
There are a lot of people behind the scenes, working hard to make the products you love and enjoy. Today we would like to introduce you to Flavia. She’s 24 years old, and has been working with Malabrigo at the mill since January 2012. This year she is commencing her studies to become a midwife. She loves animals and has four dogs and one cat at home, whom she completely adores and is devoted to. She loves to shop for clothes, but especially sneakers! (She has quite the collection, too!) Different styles of music always accompany her, wherever she goes, giving all her activities a great energy boost. Her tasks at the mill varies, but the one she dedicates more time to is dyeing. Please join us in this interview, where Flavia tells a little about her work at Malabrigo.
How long have you been working for Malabrigo?
It’s been 4 years now. I started working at the mill in the year 2012, when I was 20 years old. I was both studying and working at the same time.
What was your first assignment?
My first task at the mill was to package the skeins. It was a very hard first day, because making the perfect skein is no easy task, and you have to make five perfect skeins for a bag of Rasta, which is what I was packaging that day. I did maybe 5 bags during the whole day. Tough!
What are your duties at this time?
My list of tasks varies a lot, depending on what is needed. I go from preparing the dyes, to labeling, to bagging, but what takes most of my time and what I enjoy the most is dyeing. I dye mostly for small orders, some garments from customers but mostly I dye Nube. Nube is dyed in big batches of several kilos, using the Acuarela method, so they all have more than one color (Aquarella is a dyeing method invented by Antonio that is used for a lot of the multicolored yarns).
Tell us what your typical work day looks like.
I arrive at the mill at 8:00 and put on my uniform. We have a mandatory uniform to work at the mill, for security and protection. Then I ask Tabaré, the manager at the mill, what my tasks for the day are, and I usually get a list of things to dye. At noon, I take a lunch break of about half an hour and then I go on with my tasks until 16:00. My main task is dyeing. I start preparing the hot water and separating the amount of wool I need to dye, and preparing the skeins to start the whole process. Once I’m done dyeing the skeins, they go through a cold bath, and get rid of the excess water and into the drying room. When I’m done with the list of things to dye for the day, I help out with labeling or packaging.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
What I like the most is to dye Nube, precisely because it’s dyed in big batches, so it’s more practical and faster, and I love to see the result, see the colors we achieve. I also enjoy very much when we have visits to the mill and I teach them how to dye. I teach them to dye with a technique we call Box, which is safer than Aquarella, since it doesn’t require high temperatures for the first steps of the dyeing process. I love the reaction of the people when they see their results and I’m amazed at the ideas they come up with when mixing colors and experiment with the dyes. They go crazy and really enjoy themselves and leave as very happy people.
What colorway do you enjoy dyeing the most?
More than a specific colorway, I enjoy the Aquarella method of dyeing, because while I’m dyeing I see the different colors show up and how they combine. I like how each skein, even though it goes through the same process as others, has a different result. I really like dyeing Nube in Boreal, for example, because only at the end of the whole process do you see the final color, the final result. I really enjoy dyeing the color Poción when dyeing cloths, because it gets really dark but with intense orange hues. In a nutshell I love to see the colors form and see how the hues change during the dyeing process.
What is your favorite Malabrigo yarn, and in what color?
My favorite is Mecha, because I really like how it knits up, and I like that it’s average weight. Not too thick, not too thin. The colorway I like the most is Archangel, I really like it’s warm hues and the intense orange it contains.
Do you knit?
Yes, I do. I learned some months ago, when Malabrigo organized an an event celebrating the International Knit in Public Day. Some of my coworkers taught me how to knit that day and I made a hat in Rasta, the color was Arco Iris (you can read more about that event on the Malabrigo blog.) I really enjoy knitting, and the time I spend doing it. I like the sensation when I finish a project. I want to learn to knit more things!