Oct 20, 2020
I'm joined in this episode by Tania Ashton Jones of TJ Frog to
talk all about Dorset Buttons.
Tania and I met a few years ago now when she was at the start of
her business journey in the yarn world, having previously been in
the Royal Navy for 22 years. She came back to knitting via a
retreat in France and was hooked. After a happy coincidence where
she was introduced to Dorset Buttons via a workshop with her
friend, Tania became obsessed with making them, and set about
learning about the history of the button.
Tania described some of that history, from the original tiny sheep
horn buttons, through metal and linen buttons and into the more
common types found today. They come in a variety of designs and can
be made from any sort of yarn. Originally from Dorset herself,
Tania never learned about the button making as a child at school,
although happily she reports that some schools do now teach
this.
Tania currently lives in a small community on the Isle of Skye, and
uses her surroundings there, as well as her heritage in Dorset to
inform and inspire the products she makes. Knitting still features
alongside the Dorset Buttons, and Tania has a very special range of
yarns that she created with some very high provenance wools from
Dorset and Skye. Indeed her latest Cheviot yarn is grown at the end
of her driveway!
Along with the yarn, Tania also has project bags and needle
holders, which are made of linen and are a nod to the linen fabric
originally used to make the Dorset Buttons. These are sewn by a
company in Edinburgh, and again reflect Tania's commitment to
products with a story and collaborating with other businesses.
If you've ever been curious about the Isle of Skye, you should give
Tania's podcast a try. Along with the weather (a constant and ever
changing source of conversation for us Brits, but particularly so
on the West Coast of Scotland!) she talks about what she is making,
creativity as well as interviewing textile related businesses on
Skye. It's the perfect way to armchair travel to Scotland, so give
it a listen!
Tania has very kindly offered 10% off all items in her shop until
10th November 2020 with the discount SHINYBEES10.
You can find Tania at http://tjfrog.co.uk
Full show notes and links at www.shinybees.com/160