How + Why Quince & Co. was launched in 2010 by handknitting designer Pam Allen in partnership with a historic mill in Maine. Pam set out to delight and inspire knitters with materials of integrity and beauty. Before starting Quince & Co., as Creative Director at a large handknitting yarn company, Pam found that the traditional way that yarn companies produce new yarns—going to trade shows and choosing from yarns designed by spinning mills—was unsatisfying and ultimately did not yield the yarns she desired. She wanted to work with mills to design yarns from the ground up. Pam was also frustrated by how difficult it was to have yarns made in the US, where there was once a venerable textile tradition. Pam recruited fellow designer and yarnophile Carrie Bostick Hoge and, together with inventive and resourceful folks at spinning mills around the northeast, they created a line of classic, beautiful yarns from wool sourced and spun in the US. With those yarns they designed a line of modern knitting patterns for sweaters and accessories lovely in their simplicity, which echoed the “thoughtful essentials” nature of the yarn. Since then, Quince has grown its offerings well beyond its core wool yarns and a few patterns, while maintaining the dedication to quality, history, and the modern, clean aesthetic that started it all.