ABOUT US

Bruce Feller, founder of Alana Marketing, co-founder of Yarns on Stage

Bruce wants to be your hero. We’re not talking about the classic, tights-wearing, masked do-gooder, but the kind who can rev up your sales with a brilliant idea and a stunning product your customers will love. Add the kind of follow-through and ethics only a veteran hero can provide and you get the full package. If you want to get him really excited, you’ll grant him not only your trust, but a work of art spun with passion. Bruce knows a little about fervent hobbies. When he’s not building innovative ventures that connect people with their passions, like Lantern Moon and Yarns on Stage, he’s riding his bicycle, playing blues and classic rock on his acoustic guitar, racing cars or working out. Bruce is no man of mystery when it comes to his family. He is the proud father of a 26-year-old daughter, for whom the company is named, and happily married to Barbara, his partner of 29 years.  

Barbara Feller

In a way, Barbara’s job with Yarns on Stage and Alana Marketing defies description. She brings to Alana, Yarns on Stage, and, let’s face it, to Bruce’s life, an impressive arsenal of multi-tasking and organizational skills. Willing to take on mundane, but essential tasks (Quick Books anyone?), she says she’s not a “desk person.” Instead, her strength lies in her creativity. Barbara is responsible for finding the irresistible Sidney, who models the gorgeous, hand-dyed yarn of Yarns on Stage at trade shows and online. Besides being Bruce’s partner in adventure, Barbara is a licensed massage therapist with her own Pilates studio. She is also a former preschool teacher, professional car parker and certified film freak.

Veronica Van, co-founder of Yarns on Stage.

It takes inspiration to start a business and pragmatism to keep it running. Veronica, mother of three and a former Waldorf teacher, brims with both. When she fell in love with knitting, she opened a knitting salon, called Fringe. When she wanted machine washable wool yarn made in the U.S. but couldn’t find it, she started Chicago-based Dream in Color, maker of hand-painted yarns. See what we mean? Veronica may live in Chicago, but we think she must have West Coast pioneer blood in her. (That’s a compliment.) A dreamer, but stalwart, too. Bruce credits Veronica’s support and creativity for sparking his idea for Yarns on Stage. She even came up with the name. Without her, Yarns on Stage might just be called Really Beautiful Yarn. Which would still be accurate. But not nearly as inspired.