Written by Sasha Wirth and Photographed by Koa Kalish It’s a bright summer day. Children are chasing chickens and sheep are being shorn. Lambs and baby goats wobble and prance about. The sounds of laughter and delighted squeals mix with the throaty crowing of a rooster. Around 300 visitors have come to UC Elkus Ranch […]
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Choreography and Skill: How Sheep are Sheared

Written by Marie Hoff with photography by Paige Green except as noted Shearing is that unique seasonal dance between human and fiber animal. It’s the act that offers us wool and fine fibers to wear, knit, and sleep upon. But for people outside the agricultural sphere, shearing can appear as a cause for confusion or […]
Read MoreInside the Shearing Shed with Kinkade Shearing

Written by Marie Hoff and photographed by Paige Green Shearing is that unique seasonal dance between human and fiber animal. It’s the act that offers us wool and fine fibers to wear, knit, and sleep upon. But for many outside the agricultural sphere, shearing appears as a cause for confusion or even concern. To learn […]
Read MoreShearing and Welfare: Why are Sheep Sheared?

Written by Marie Hoff Shearing is that unique seasonal dance between human and fiber animal. It’s the act that offers us wool and fine fibers to wear, knit, and sleep upon. But for people outside the agricultural sphere, shearing can appear as a cause for confusion or even concern. To learn more about this critical […]
Read MoreSoft Steps & Solid Heart at Rhoby’s Ranch

Written by Marie Hoff & Photographed by Paige Green “I keep getting interested. There keeps being more to learn, so I get more interested, and learn more, and the more I learn, the more I keep getting interested,” muses Rhoby Cook of Rhoby’s Ranch. Surrounded by oak and conifer trees, tucked in a valley of […]
Read MoreShifting the Impact of our Clothing: Tips from the Fibershed Community

Written by Jess Daniels with photography by Paige Green and infographics created by Fibershed The latest large-scale assessment of the systems and supply chains that get us dressed reveals that the fashion industry’s sustainability efforts have “slowed by a third in the past year” and overall are “not moving fast enough to counterbalance the harmful […]
Read MoreWeaving as a Way of Life at Oakland Fiber

Written & Photographed by Koa Kalish By the time Sheng Lor was old enough to go to school, she already knew how to embroider. Born into the Hmong culture of Laos, the Oakland Fiber founder grew up within a culture that sees sewing, indigo batik and dying, and the intricacy of embroidery as highly regarded […]
Read MoreBringing the Supply Chain to Life with California Cloth Foundry

Written & Photographed by Koa Kalish From the land where the cotton is grown to the spinning mills where it becomes yarn, to the manufacturing facilities that form fabric and fashion; from the hands of the farmers to the mill workers, from dyers to designers, and makers to wearers, Lydia Wendt works from this eagle-eyed […]
Read More4 Simple Guidelines from the Fibershed Clothing Guide

Written by Jess Daniels based on the Fibershed Clothing Guide, available now as a free download Visuals created with Paige Green Photography except for the microplastic image courtesy of the Rozalia Project It’s an everyday act: rise in the morning and slip on something to wear. Regardless of personal style, age, or activities in our […]
Read MoreA History of Sheep Ranching at Madrone Coast Farm

Written by May Reid-Marr & Photographed by Paige Green In my first communication with Alison Charter-Smith of Madrone Coast Farm, she emphasized the importance of the farm’s location in Sheep Ranch, California. As you might guess from the name, this town of 35 has a long history of raising sheep, and an environmental and cultural […]
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