This past fall, I had the opportunity to visit Fibersheds in the Northeastern region of the United States. From touring knitting and wool mills, to visiting pastoral landscapes and wool washing facilities, I road tripped from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Rhinebeck, New York, where I met up with ten fibersheds from our Affiliate Network at the New York Sheep & Wool Festival. Below is the story of this trip and the story of fibersheds; of the people working within their community rebuilding soil-to-soil textile systems and why that matters.
Read MoreAuthor: Lexi Fujii
Borrowed from the Soil: A Farm-to-Closet Design Exhibition
Fibershed’s ‘Borrowed from the Soil’ Design Exhibition explored a future vision where the way we produce and use one of our most basic human necessities — clothing — can support the longevity and health of our local ecosystems and communities.
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Acadian Brown Cotton Is Back
In the six years since its inception, the Acadiana Fibershed has brought Acadian Brown cotton seedstock, cultivation, and culture back from the brink of near-permanent loss.
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Two Women and Two Generations of Stewardship at Blackberry Farm
Written by Stephany Wilkes. Photographed by Paige Green. At Blackberry Farm in Bolinas, two generations of women have stewarded the land for 50 years and counting. In 1972, 29-year-old Aggie […]
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JG SWITZER Shares the Magic and Magnificence of Wool
For Jessica, the journey started when she moved to Sebastopol and acquired six sheep (three Wensleydales and three Romneys). Jessica adored the animals’ beauty and tranquility, yet each spring, she found herself utterly perplexed with an abundance of wool she did not know what to do with. She would disperse it on her land for compost and mulch, but since knitting or weaving was outside her wheelhouse, Jessica desired to find a better way to process her small-batch wool. She wanted to find a solution not only for herself, but for many small farms in her community. Jessica’s inspiration led her to finding Fibershed, which eventually brought her to discover Luna.
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Taking the Long View at Mustang Acres
At Mustang Acres, the needs of people, animals and landscape come together in a beautiful dance of mutual care and support.
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Grange Home Returns the Hand to the Made
Beth Miles is the brains and hands behind her Grange Home line, which is a culmination of and departure from her prior life in apparel design.
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Herderin Begins with the Body and Soul
“What if garment consideration began with asking: Where would you like to be held? Where would you like to have some more support? Feel some weight around your shoulders, or something snug around your low back or abdomen? Could a garment play a role in healing you? Could it feel like wearing a parent’s clothes? What can clothing do for us, emotionally?”
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A Love of Design: Kosa Arts
Written by Marie Hoff and photographed by Hubbard Jones “Some say the creative life is in ideas, some say it is in doing… It is the love of something, having […]
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Perennial Green Goals at Meridian Farm
“My vision is a green postage stamp all year long, without irrigation,” Amy Lofting says. She is standing on Petaluma’s dry, golden hills beside Highway 101, the sun not yet penetrating chilly morning fog. “The goal is green, by keeping water on the property. It’s not only how much water you get, but how much you keep.”
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