Focus on...INSPIRING YARNS

Claire Anketell tells Penny Batchelor how the social enterprise business Inspiring Yarns uses yarn skills to promote mental health and well-being

-  Penny Batchelor

HAVING SPENT more than 17 years working in the voluntary sector supporting people with disabilities in training and employment, Claire Anketell knew she had the knowledge to set up something she'd long been thinking about: a social enterprise which used knitting skills to promote mental health and well-being in her Northern Irish community.

"Along with my sister and business partner Janice and fellow NI business owner Tracey, we started to explore the idea seriously in November 2020," Claire says. "This was sparked by conversations about the impact of Covid on the mental health of our customers, and how often it was mentioned that knitting or yarn skills were keeping them going through the lockdowns. It was February 2021 when we brought up the subject again, and within a day or so had come up with our name 'Inspiring Yarns' and registered it with Companies House!" 

Social support