Bath-based Highlight PR has been appointed as the public relations agency for fast-growing luxury yarn brand Toft.
Based on a farm in Warwickshire, Toft sells superior quality alpaca and wool yarns and kits. It was founded in 2006 by Kerry Lord, who grew up on the farm, and now employs 12 staff. This year it is expected to sell 50,000 balls of yarn – a far cry from its first-year sales of 50 balls. 
Its products are now stocked in yarn shops across the world and, alongside its onsite studio and coffee shop, it has a herd of 200 alpacas.
Kerry, pictured with some of Toft’s alpacas, was also behind last year’s best-selling crochet craft book – Edward’s Menagerie – which features 40 soft toy animal crochet patterns. The second title in the series – Edward’s Menagerie: Birds – was published this month.
Highlight PR was appointed after a three-way competitive pitch. Director Alison Vellacott said: “With the craft industry worth an estimated £3.4bn to the UK, this is an exciting time for promoting craft products to time-poor, hobby-hungry consumers.
“Toft is such a dynamic business, with so many different areas to support with PR. We’re looking forward to helping it secure widespread coverage across national press, plus women’s, parenting, interiors, style and craft titles.”
Highlight handles a mixture of family & lifestyle and creative & corporate clients ranging from Sylvanian Families and Norland Nannies to Bath-based landscape architects Grant Associates and the Glove Factory Studios creative co-working space in Holt.
