Meet Camille McMurry | Fiber Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Camille McMurry and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Camille, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started my career as a product developer in London for a high end British brand. I was working in their knitwear development department and was constantly surrounded by beautiful garments, think wool, cashmere, alpaca etc. It was basically my dream job, so when my husband and I decided to move back to Denver, CO, I panicked a little bit. There were hardly any Denver based clothing brands at the time and I just felt that my options for work (that I would actually enjoy ) were very limited. On moving back, I just decided to take the plunge and try my own thing. I knew that I especially enjoyed working with mills and factories to hone and develop the color story of every collection, so I decided I wanted to experiment first with dyeing natural fibers. From there my business grew first into a hand dyed yarn company, and then weavings and artwork just followed naturally.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
All of my weavings and tapestries are made from merino wool that is hand dyed and felted in my Denver studio. My works are unique and special, not only because they are hand dyed, but also because of their size. I specialize in larger scale projects and delight in working with clients to achieve the perfect colors and textures to compliment their space. I’m frequently inspired by patterns in nature and I love to create work that reflects the natural surroundings of my client’s homes.
It’s taken me a long time to get to this place, but the journey has been so fun and rewarding. Hand dyeing is a bit of lost art. There aren’t many people out there who know how to do it, so most of the knowledge I have has been hard won through trial and error throughout the years. I think color is one of the things that makes this life so, so beautiful and rich and It’s an actual honor to spend my time exploring it.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
ooooo fun question! I would probably take them on a little cocktail tour of the city. I love cocktails, It’s kind of my other favorite love after fiber. I’m not a trained bartender by any stretch of the imagination haha, but I love making them. There’s something so creative in cocktail making. You have a whole world of flavor you can combine and play with, but at the end of the day, everything is contained in one small and delicious glass. I also love that while there is endless creativity…. there are also elements that, when combined, will always make for a good drink, liquor, acid and sugar. Some of my favorite spots around town off the top of my head are:
room for milly
death and co
adrift
lincolns roadhouse
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Definitely my husband. He has been incredibly supportive throughout the life of my business. He’s been incredibly emotionally and physically supportive, always at all of my art shows and there to help me lift/ install / pick up anything. He’s also been financially supportive. For those of you who don’t know, starting a small, handmade goods business is generally feast or famine. He’s always had a stable job and has encouraged me to take risks that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to take and for that I am incredibly grateful.
I also think in large part, I started on this path because of my Grandma, Billie Jean. Billie was a die hard fiber fanatic who loved nice things. She probably purchased 95% of my adolescent wardrobe. Shopping with her was never just shopping, it was always a lesson in quality. Buy nice once, not cheap twice, was her MO. She would walk through a clothing store and pick out sweaters always proclaiming, “this one’s wool, this one’s cashmere, nope…this one’s nylon…. here FEEL them… can you tell the difference?” My grandma passed away while I lived in London, but I know she would be giddy to see that I get to work with fiber all day long now.
Website: www.broadwickfibers.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/broadwick_fibers/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJdQkFSTTtSCsHrNe0pkNlw