Our
Story.
Purls grew from a lifelong love of fibre arts, a hand-dyed yarn business, and one persistent idea: to create a place in Orléans where people could come together to make, learn and connect.
I’m Melanie, the owner and founder of Purls, and my own fibre story started when my mother taught me to knit as a child. Knitting became something I returned to throughout my life, including when I had children of my own and began knitting for them. Eventually, a few friends introduced me to the world of hand-dyed yarn, and after attending my first fibre festival in Almonte, Ontario, I was hooked.
From Ravelution to Purls.
In 2021, a friend sent me an article about a woman who had started dyeing her own yarn and told me, “I could totally see you doing this.” At first, I couldn't. It felt like a huge undertaking, especially with two young children at home. But the idea wouldn't leave me alone.
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Before long, I had bought a couple of dye pans, burners, dyes and bare yarn, watched a few tutorials, and started experimenting. Ravelution Yarn was born. I started selling on Etsy, quickly moved to my own website, and eventually joined the fibre festival and market circuit myself.
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I loved meeting other makers and being part of that community, but travelling from market to market with a young family was a lot. Somewhere along the way, another idea started taking shape...
What if, instead of always bringing the yarn to people, I created a place where people could come to me?
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That idea became Purls.
Carrying it Forward.
In 2004, Gisèle Goulet opened Wool N’ Things in this very space, where it became part of Orléans’ fibre arts community for more than two decades.
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In 2026, that story continues with the opening of Purls Fibre Boutique & Studio. While Purls is something new, there is something especially meaningful about building its future in a space with such a long connection to yarn and the fibre arts.
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My hope is to breathe new fibre life into this little corner of Orléans while honouring what came before, and creating a place where a new generation can gather, make, learn and share.
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And now, a new chapter begins...