About Lauren, owner and founder of Fiber Fizica

My mom taught me to crochet when I was eight, and I've been fascinated by the process of making fabric and garments ever since. I tried to learn to knit in graduate school — back before YouTube made everything easier — and got so frustrated I gave up. A few years later I tried again, and this time it finally clicked. By the time my son was born, I was knitting sweaters while he slept on my chest.

Professionally, I've worked as a theoretical physicist for the past 20 years. My Ph.D. focused on how simple rules give rise to complex patterns and behaviors in nature, and I love that this same idea sits at the heart of both physics and the fiber arts.

I started Fiber Fizica in February 2026 to bring restored knitting machines back into the hands of makers. I taught myself to repair vintage Brother and Silver Reed machines, even though I hadn't so much as touched a knitting machine until 2024, when I bought my first Ultimate Sweater Machine on eBay. I quickly learned just how many people were looking for machines like these. Around that same time, I got my first spinning wheel — an Ashford Kiwi 3 — and started spinning and dyeing my own merino wool.

Not long after starting Fiber Fizica, I became a dealer for brand-new Silver Reed machines, so I could offer a wider range of options. Then in June 2026, I finally let myself start weaving — I'd been putting it off because I knew I'd fall in love with it and it would consume my time and energy. I began on an Ashford Brooklyn 4-shaft table loom (my first project: a 2/2 twill scarf), then found a 12-shaft Louet Delta floor loom on Facebook Marketplace. I understood the obsession immediately. In addition to Silver Reed and Dreaming Robots, Schacht and Louet will soon join the shop's product offerings for weaving looms and spinning wheels!

Right now, I'm preparing a physical retail and workshop space in Huntsville, Alabama — stay tuned for updates this fall!