Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Where do our fibers come from?

We get asked this question at every event we attend.  This subject is very near and dear to our heart because it is the basis for our business model.



We believe in small family farms.  We believe in American grown.  We believe in supporting other families and their endeavors.  Because this is so dear to us, we have chosen to use as many American grown, small family produced fibers as we can.  When we run out of our own fleeces, we start buying fleeces from other family flocks. 

I am very choosy about the fleeces I buy.  Because we are hand processing our fibers, I try to get fleece that is fairly clean to start.  The more picking I have to do, the more time it takes and the fewer products I can put out there for my customers.  I also work hard to make sure that the fleece is of excellent quality.  It is important to our farm that we are using the best of what America grows. 



I also purchase fleeces that I like to work with.  It doesn't make any sense to me to work with wool that doesn't excite me.  I have to spend a lot of time with the fiber.  Why should it be anything less than enjoyable?  So, because I tend to be a long wool lover, you will see that I use lots of Romney,
Shetland, Lincoln, Border Leicester, Jacob and Teeswater.  I also enjoy a little Rambouillet every now and then and some Merino from time to time.  Of course, adding some mohair into the mix always makes our products more interesting, so you will see those fibers crop up when I get my hands on them. 



Purchasing fiber products from us not only supports our farm.  We work extra hard to make sure that it is helping to support other families' farms.  We rarely use animal fibers from overseas or from 'big box' type producers.  Its not that we think badly of them, its just that our hearts are drawn to the smaller flocks and we like to purchase directly from those shepherds. 

In the end, our choices are putting us to more manual labor and our products take more time to produce.  We wouldn't have it any other way.  The satisfaction we get, knowing where the materials came from, is so rewarding. 

Sheepishly Yours,

Jennifer