Darn Good Yarn was started by Nicole Snow, a US Air Force Veteran. After leaving the Air Force, she decided that she wanted to "unwind" with yarn. In early 2008, Nicole Snow decided to take two of her passions in life—art and helping others—and combine them. The result was “Darn Good Yarn”. The mission was simple: provide phenomenal quality fibers to enthusiasts, while helping the women of Nepal and India become autonomous and self-reliant. The problem was, as Nicole describes, that many of these women were caught in a cycle where, because of their gender, they had no opportunities available to them. They had to resort to begging on the side of the street in order to scrounge together money for their family. At the same time, they would keep their children home from school to work... not because they wanted to... but because there was no other option if they wanted to have enough to eat that day. The women who work for us are hand-selected for their skill and given a wage that not only allows them to survive, but thrive. This affects the rest of their family as well. Their children can stay in school and get an education. That is only half of Darn Good Yarn: The other half is phenomenal products. All of our yarns are handmade in small batches and undergo extensive quality control. This also means that all of our yarns are, essentially, mirrors of the amazing women who create them. When you invest in Darn Good Yarn for your projects, you are not only using yarn that is helping a family eat, have proper medical care, and send their children to school, you are also making a final piece that is crafted with one-of-a-kind yarn you can feel great about.