Hi, I'm Jonathan — the Yarn Dragon.

I found knitting in 2008, almost by accident. I'd started attending meetings to support my sobriety — I got sober in 2006 — and I needed something to keep my hands busy while I sat and listened. As part of that journey, I also began studying Buddhism and meditation.

A friend in the rooms knew I'd always been a nerdy kid who loved dragons. He came back from a trip to Asia with a tiny charm for me — a little plastic vase you look through to see an image of the Buddha meditating over a dragon. He gave it to me as a symbol of the strength, safety, and community I'd found in recovery.

That's where Yarn Dragon's name comes from. I hope to bring that same feeling here — a sense of community and safety for everyone who finds their way to us. I want you to feel, in some small way, like you're home.

In 2013, I turned my love of knitting into a business — a hand-dyed yarn brand I started in Lafayette, Colorado, selling wholesale to yarn shops around the country. Those early years taught me what makers actually love, and how much I loved being part of their process.

In 2018, I moved the business home to Seattle. Along the way, I started sharing what I was learning online — teaching, demystifying yarn, being honest about the whole messy, joyful process. That grew into a community bigger than I ever expected, and it's shaped everything about how we dye and create today.

These days, I've got an incredible team of women dyeing alongside me, including my sister Karen. Together we hand-dye every skein in small batches. You'll find us at Pike Place Market, at our factory store in Pioneer Square, and online, shipping all over the world.

Every skein reflects what I believe fiber arts are really about — not just finished objects, but community, curiosity, and the simple magic of making something with your hands. Thank you for being part of this story.