Every once in a while, there are women who inspire us to keep trying to improve ourselves for the better and prove that no matter what life you've been given, you can make it your own. Iris Schreier is one of those women.  

Iris Schreier, Founder and Owner of Artyarns

Iris grew up in Manhattan, NYC on 79th street on the west side! In a previous life, she worked at various corporations in New York City for 20+ years in a variety of publishing positions ranging from editor to internet new business development (McGraw-Hill, Wiley, Scholastic).

These days, she runs the super successful yarn and design company, Artyarns. Her daily schedule seems pretty hectic! She usually works at home for a few hours before hitting the gym for a bit, then heads into the office/factory around 11.  Believe it or not, knitting and designing only takes up about 10-20% of her time, the rest is used to help run the business.

And what an amazing job she's done. If you've seen their Facebook page, you'll know that Iris is in LOVE with Facebook and it is her latest addiction. They continually have new patterns, products and project ideas streaming in!!

One of the most amazing things I admire about Iris has been her super healthy lifestyle shift. Through nutrition, supplements and weight training, she has changed her day to day quality of life dramatically (and she can do a shoulder stand)!! Iris told me that she still firmly believes that you can get healthier as you get older....

And what does Iris have up her sleeve for us next? Well, she is coming out with the first in a series of new books with Lark in March 2012 which will pick up some of the beautiful graphic elements created by Officelab for Artyarns in Project Re-Brand with American Express. Check out the links at the bottom of the post to find more information about their work with American Express.

But here is our new favorite little shiny thing! Artyarns has these amazingly stylish new "Shawl for All Seasons" Kits. They come in a sleek silver tin and are just stunning! Here are the different styles:



The good news is you can knit or crochet the shawl - whichever you prefer! 

And the SUPER good news is that Artyarns is giving away one of these spectacular kits to one of our lucky readers. Here are the details: 

To enter to win, please leave a comment on how you "Elevate your Art" (only one entry per person please!) between now and Tuesday, August 23rd at midnight PST. We will pick and announce by random number generator the winner on Wednesday, August 24th.



For more information about Iris or Artyarns, be sure to check them out here:
On Facebook
On Twitter
On Ravelry
Her Blog

Here are Iris' books:
Exquisite Little Knits (co-authored with Laurie Kimmelstiel)
Modular Knits
Lacy Little Knits
Reversible Knits



And here are the AM articles:
American Express Video:
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/booming/video/booming-is-threading-great-ideas-together

American Express Articles:
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/article/project-rebrand-cardmember-profile-artyarns-1
http://www.openforum.com/projectrebrand

Thank you Iris for talking with us and continuing to raise the bar on showing us what is possible when you follow your passion! 

Good luck everyone!
Bethany