Every season, in our “Behind the scenes,” we like to introduce one of our beloved employees, who are the heart of malabrigo. In this edition, we’d like you to meet Jessica. She works in our mill in Peru and she has been with us for over eight years. She has been in charge of creating new colors, new techniques and quality control. So, we owe her many of the beautiful colors we all love!

How long have you been working at malabrigo?

I started to work here at malabrigo eight years ago.

What are your duties and responsibilities?

When I began to work here at malabrigo in Peru, I used to dye skeins and classify them, so that all skeins in a bag would match. Then, after a few years, I started to focus more on quality control and the color development area in the Lab. What I do is check that the dyed skeins are perfect, and as similar to our color cards as possible (without color concentration blocks, etc) and well packed. In the lab, I create new colors, as well as new dyeing methods.

What does a typical work day look like?

Well for the most part, each day when I arrive to the mill I take care of organizing the colors we need to dye that day. Which colors we need to dye according to the upcoming exports and according to the orders we have to fulfill for stores (I spoke beforehand with the person in charge of that). Then, I go to the classification area and explain to the ladies there what our activities for the day will be; such as how many kilos they need to classify by the end of the day and which colors. Also, I guide them to organize the skein in a certain way while packaging it, so that the final products look great! After organizing what is needed in the dyeing and classification area, I go to the lab and create the test colors, according to the “recipes” or ideas Antonio sends from Uruguay (particularly the speckled colors and new methods that are my specialty). Once those tests are dry, I always try to knit a swatch or the whole skein, depending on the case, so that we can see what effect it creates when knitted and send photos to Antonio, or I wait until he comes to Peru. Finally, when the day ends, I do the last quality control to make sure everything is right and ready to export.

Which part of your job do you enjoy the most?

Well, definitely what I enjoy the most is doing tests for new colors and the specific test Antonio often requests. I love doing that. Mixing colors, recipes and in the end obtaining a gorgeous skein as a result of all the hard work and creativity put into that. Creating new methods and new colors is, without a doubt, what I love doing here.

What is it like to be in the process of color-making?

In the first place, we always try to innovate in techniques and color palettes that we haven’t tried out yet and that we see are trendy among knitters. We always try to make new things to surprise our customers (and ourselves!). I always send Antonio photos of what I’m making, so he can tell me which things we have to change and what will work best with that new design. Making the right recipe for a new color takes a lot of time, due to the fact that in the lab we may come up with great results but then, when making a big batch we can encounter many problems. For example, making a color in the lab can be fast but then when dyeing big quantities such as 100 or 200 kg, we find out that the recipe fails, or that the method is not the best. What we definitely work most on is adapting the recipes from the lab for the mill. And it may take longer than expected to dye the skeins and get it just right.

Which part of your job is a challenge for you?

The most challenging part of my work is when we design a new color but we can’t achieve the same result when dyeing larger quantities of it. The solution to that is to fix the method, the combinations or the dyes used, until we make the mill color match the labs.

What’s your favorite color and favorite yarn?

I love mechita, it’s definitely my favorite yarn. As for my favorite color, which comes from the area where I develop most colors, is the speckled “Double Bass”. This is the one I truly love the most, as I’m fascinated with the combination of black and reds and just the way it goes so well with solid colors. I can imagine it knitted into a gorgeous dress. That is my truly favorite one but I love all the colors we have, so it’s a difficult choice. They are all awesome and there are so many that it’s hard to pick just one.

Do you knit or crochet?

When I started at malabrigo I didn’t know how to knit. My mother and my sisters used to but I was never patient enough for that. However, after making new colors myself, I was always intrigued to see how the skeins would look knitted (they can change so much!), and so I learned. Now, every time I send Antonio new test colors I always make a swatch to show him how the skein looks knitted. That way it is easier to know what things need to be changed in order to improve the color, or even to change the yarn base. For instance there is a big change in how it looks between Rasta and Sock, so it’s something to take into consideration.

Could you tell us an anecdote?

Eight years ago, when I began working here, we used to have different batches of hot water. What I had to do back then was put the dye into the batch so I could dye the skeins. At that moment I had five batches and five pots with different dyes. I didn’t understand the process very well (I had to put one dye in each batch) and instead I put all the dyes in the same batch! You can just imagine what a mess I had made! The color I achieved was nothing like what I needed to make. It was super dark, something between grey and brown… not pretty at all! I was so ashamed because I had just started and I was already making a mess… but in the end, we fixed everything. The process was explained to me once again and luckily I got it right!

I have other anecdotes too of course. Once I was surprised by a ghost! I was alone here at the mill and I heard a strange noise but thought it was the heating machine or the steam. Then, I began to hear a louder noise, as if someone was pulling an iron tool. I ran out of the mill and swore I would never dye alone at the mill again. However, a few weeks later, (I wasn’t alone that time) we felt the ghost again! So, we decided to name him “Pancho”. Sometimes I come into work earlier and I say to him: “Panchito, I’m going to work now, please be quiet”. But sometimes, he decides to throw some packages off the shelves. What a rebel that Panchito is!