Case Study
Amy Skylark Foster
Building a maker community, and warming the market for a new yarn brand, Valkyrie Fiber.
The opportunity
Amy Skylark Foster is a songwriter, author, fiber artist and lifelong maker whose creative practice spans sewing, knitting, weaving, ribbon work, writing and travel.
When I began working with Amy in June 2025, she had an Instagram audience of roughly 7,000 followers and was already sharing parts of her creative life online. What was missing was a clear positioning strategy, one that connected her interests, gave audiences a stronger reason to return, and supported the future launch of her yarn brand, Valkyrie Fiber.
The opportunity was to transform the account from a collection of creative projects into a recognizable platform for makers, while building trust, interest and momentum ahead of the brand's launch.
The strategy
I repositioned Amy's Instagram as a meeting place for makers. Rather than presenting her as a polished expert with all the answers, I positioned her as a curious, credible and generous creative voice. Her willingness to learn in public became one of the account's biggest strengths, making creativity feel accessible while building trust.
The strategy was designed to do two things at once: grow Amy's presence within the maker community, and steadily prepare that audience for the launch of Valkyrie Fiber. Content focused on five areas:
01Learning in public
Documenting Amy developing new skills and tools before she had fully mastered them, reframing experimentation and imperfection as part of the creative process.
02Creative experimentation
Sharing sewing, weaving, fiber, ribbon work and mixed-media projects, balancing finished work with works in progress and real creative trial and error.
03Maker discoveries
Using travel, materials and process to introduce audiences to new forms of craftsmanship, colour, texture and inspiration.
04Community connection
Spotlighting other makers and encouraging conversation across creative disciplines, positioning Amy as a connector within the community.
05Maker thought leadership
Exploring what it means to stay curious, protect time for creativity and value handmade work, giving Amy a distinct, recognizable point of view.
Preparing the market for Valkyrie Fiber
Over nearly a year, I used Amy's personal platform to build the foundation for Valkyrie Fiber. As the launch approached, the content evolved from broad maker storytelling into more intentional brand preparation: Amy's founder story, the inspiration behind the brand, Icelandic wool education, colourway storytelling, finished projects, and the creative philosophy behind the products.
This let Valkyrie Fiber enter the market as a natural extension of a world the audience already understood, rather than a brand appearing without context.
The results
From June 2025 to May 2026, I grew Amy's Instagram audience from approximately 7,000 to more than 18,000 followers, an increase of over 160%. During launch month alone, the account generated:
Launch month
The strategy also produced several organic breakout posts:
For a highly niche maker market and a modest promotional budget, the campaign did more than build awareness. It converted attention into follower growth, website traffic and an owned email audience ahead of the Valkyrie Fiber launch.
Launching warm, not cold.
By the time Valkyrie Fiber launched at the end of May 2026, Amy was not introducing a brand to a cold audience. She was launching into an engaged community already invested in her work, her perspective, and the creative world she had built.
Not just a bigger following. A foundation to build on.
Community-led positioning gave Valkyrie Fiber a warm launch instead of a cold start, landing in front of an audience already invested in Amy's work. Growing that presence is ongoing, but it turned a personal account into a real platform, and a community genuinely invested in what she builds next.
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