History

The Jo Sharp company began in 1993 in the south coastal town of Albany in Western Australia. Jo Sharp approached a local woollen mill and asked if she could have her own collection of yarn shades developed to use in her art-to-wear knitwear design business. The mill agreed to work with Jo on a collection of yarns and within a year, Jo had converted her business from finished garments to hand knitting yarn and patterns. She pre-sold her first collection with patterns to the prestigious Australian department store, David Jones. Her story was featured on television and in the press and it wasn’t long before yarn boutiques across the country joined in to carry her hand knitting collection. Currently, Jo Sharp yarns are carried by yarn stores in most major regional centres in Australia. Within 2 years, the collection had been introduced in Canada, and the US market soon followed. Jo was invited as a celebrity guest at knitting shows in Toronto, Chicago and Melbourne Australia during the years that followed. She ran a busy design studio from Albany until 2001 when she moved her operation to the port city Fremantle in Western Australia. A dozen new luxury yarns were added to the collection and the book collections were extended.

Today her collections are known for their richly harmonised colour palettes and luxury hand knitting yarns using mostly natural fibres. Colour is a primary motivation of Jo's work and she colaborates closely with her Italian yarn makers to create the yarns and shades that meet her criteria. These are incorporated into her collections.  A signature element in Jo's knitwear designs is an elegant, earthy simplicity. She is passionate about creating contemporary garments that are truly wearable, comfortable and easy to knit. Her designs are wiithin reach of most hand knitters with many designs for beginners. Her yarns are extensively featured in her own knitting publications and are regularly featured with her designs in international knitting magazines.

Currently Jo Sharp continues to supply quality luxury yarns and patterns to the market internationally via her website and in Australia through quality yarn stores.

These days her on-line, outsourced business allows her to travel with her husband and business partner, Kim Johnson and she draws inspiration from people and places wherever they go. The Jo Sharp business is now reaching out to the wider community, using the power of the internet to introduce her collections online.