Meet the Team
Our Team
Claire Anketell
Chief Executive
Claire is married and a mum of one, originally from Belfast but now living in Comber, Co. Down. She resumed knitting again in 2015 and developed a passion for yarn dyeing and has only recently learnt crochet, her prized possession is a circular sock knitting machine and she loves to explore all kinds of crafts involving yarn when she gets a chance!
Claire has a degree in Law, and a Diploma in Stress Management and has worked in the Voluntary sector for nearly 18 years, 14 of these supporting people with a wide range of mental and physical disabilities in employment and training.
From 2016 to 2024 Claire ran a yarn dyeing business Giddy Aunt Yarns alongside her sister Janice. Claire has experienced Generalised Anxiety Disorder and spells of work related stress and always returns to creative activities during these times to alleviate symptoms.
As Chief Executive and a founding Director of Inspiring Yarns, Claire is responsible for developing our range of services across the organisation.
Janice Moore
Operations Director
Janice lives in Comber and as Director of Operations, and a founding Director of Inspiring Yarns, Janice is responsible for the day to day running of our retail, events and administrative functions. She also looks after our new dye studio creating Inspiring Yarns own brand of hand dyed yarns and fibres.
She grew up in Belfast and has 20 years experience working in the Financial Services sector in administration, training, supervisory and technical support roles.
Janice has always been drawn to artistic and creative activities and has found these help to balance a stressful work life. After several years of jewellery making Janice rediscovered knitting & crochet in 2015, which soon progressed to her passion for creating hand dyed yarns and running a hand dyed yarn business, Giddy Aunt Yarns, between 2016 and 2024 alongside her sister Claire.
Having generalised anxiety/panic disorder and experiencing work related stress in the past Janice finds much needed distraction & joy in her creative work and hobbies. This in turn has a positive effect on her mental health and well-being.
Aimée Palmer
Trainee Textiles Artist
Aimee graduated in 2015 with a BA Hons in Textile Art, Design and Fashion from Ulster University, specialising in hand embroidery. Aimee is drawn to intricate details especially within embroidery and costume, which inspired her to return to education in 2017 to complete a HNC in Costume Production/Performance at Belfast Met.
She was one of the many skilled embroiderers who worked on the ‘Game Of Thrones’ tapestry which has been on display at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, as well as being displayed in Bayeux France, home of the famous Bayeux tapestry.
Aimee joined the Inspiring Yarns team as a Trainee Textile Artist, which has been a great opportunity for her to learn knitting and crochet, as well as brushing up on her weaving skills. She is now a knitting convert and is already planning lots of knitting projects as her skills progress. She is delighted to have the opportunity to add to her craft-based skills in her new role.
Textiles has always been an outlet for her, a way to switch off from daily life and just get lost with a needle and thread. In her spare time she designs and sells her own embroidery on Etsy.
Åsa McDowell
Services Delivery Manager/ Employee Rep
I started out as an Architect and worked in the construction industry in Sweden, Nepal and Northern Ireland, but straight lines were never really for me....
I studied Fine and Applied Art (Textiles) as a mature student before setting up my first wool shop, The Textile Studio. A couple of years ago I opened Folklore Yarns in a partnership, but in 2020, due to worsening chronic pain, I had to make the hard decision to sell up. Now I’m freelancing as a knitter and workshop teacher among other things but I have also time to look after my health. I have knitted, sewn, woven, and painted since I was very young.
Community is important to me, to give and receive support is vital to my own mental health. This drive to have a space where community can happen was a large part of my vision when I opened the shops, as I think having those “third spaces” where people can get together through a common interest, helps cohesion in society and enables a sense of belonging that we all need.
I’m delighted to be involved with Inspiring Yarns and can’t wait to see where this journey leads.
Our Management Committee
Debbie Orr
Chairperson
Debbie Orr, originally from Edinburgh, was among the vanguard of the new generation of hand-dyed yarn businesses in the UK. She started Skein Queen in 2007 from her garage in Berkshire. Within 18 months, the business was successful enough to allow her to leave her job as an Editor to follow her passion full-time.
Gradually, she built up the business and after a couple of moves, ended up in a large studio space and Skein Queen became a team of four.
From featuring in magazines to selling yarn internationally from Dubai to Japan and New York to Paris, Skein Queen also took Debbie to international yarn shows in Germany and Finland. And of course, Yarnfolk in Whitehead, Northern Ireland. She was asked to share her expertise by giving talks to guilds and at art-related events.
Twelve years after the business started, as Debbie hit the menopause, she experienced an ever-encroaching anxiety for the first time and occasional panic attacks and she decided that it was time to sell the business and use her skills elsewhere. Having helped family members through mental health crises, a move away from exclusively entrepreneurial goals felt right for her at that time in her life.
Debbie has learnt some incredible yarn-related skills along the way including dyeing, spinning and pattern design to add to her knitting and crochet expertise.
Debbie has recently moved from England to Northern Ireland and is looking forward to getting involved in such a welcoming community.
Seán Fitzsimons
Director
As a disabled professional and activist , Seán is intimately aware of many of the barriers, challenges and social injustices that disabled people face.
He is an accomplished public speaker and advisor on disability policy, strategy, and rights issues at national and international level.
At the outbreak of the covid pandemic Seán was called to join the Cross Departmental NI Covid-19 Emergency Leadership Reference group to advise and shape the civil contingencies response to support disabled people in Northern Ireland.
Seán led a team of disabled colleagues to produce the only piece of NI specific research into the impact of Covid-19 on the disabled community. This research was widely regarded as giving voice to the concerns of many who felt frightened and left behind. It was subsequently shared to Ministerial level and informed planning for future waves.
At the end of 2020 Sean was Publicly Appointed by Minister Ní Chuilín to a four person Expert Panel to make recommendations for a new Disability Strategy for Northern Ireland. The panel’s published report is the cornerstone of ongoing executive level and Cross Departmental work to advance equality and rights realisation for all disabled people in NI.
Seán is a member of the British Council’s Disability Advisory Panel, providing guidance and expertise in relation to matters affecting operations in over 110 countries.
Seán was called by Senator Harkin to become a member of his Core Advisory Committee of people with Disabilities at the Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement, Drake University in the United States.
Seán is passionate about supporting and empowering emerging disabled leaders and their organisations globally.