Written by Terra Christian; Photographed by Kalie Ilana Kassel-Feiss A stark January day, one of those that California is famous for, when the sun comes out after a rainstorm and the sky and clouds and hills all glow. Everyone tends to breathe a little deeper and smile more readily at one another. A reminder of: […]
Read MoreBlog
Rooting the Fashion Revolution in the Soil
This year’s Fashion Revolution Week just wrapped up but the movement for transparency, accountability, and shifting the norms of a harmful and wasteful industry is gaining more traction and momentum than ever. Born out of tragedy, the Fashion Revolution campaign began with just one day and one question to honor the nearly 1200 lives lost […]
Read MoreNoni’s Sheep
Written by Sasha Wirth; Photographed by Paige Green It began with only two sheep. Soon the two turned into eight. Then eighteen. Forty. Before long, Stemple Creek Ranch found itself with hundreds of sheep roaming the hillsides. “The first two sheep started off as my grandmother’s pets,” laughs Loren Poncia, the fourth-generation caretaker of land […]
Read MoreWild Oat Hollow: Breeding Vitality
Written & Photographed by Kalie Ilana Cassel-Feiss Bright and luscious, glowing from within. Reflective and plump in the piercing winter light — this is how the grass shone verdant on the day I arrived at Wild Oat Hollow, a small homestead situated on a flat two-acre parcel in the tiny town of Penngrove, California. Wild […]
Read MoreIndigo in Hand at Red Twig Farm
Written and Photographed by Kalie llana Cassel-Feiss It all started with a gift: fifty tiny seedlings, exchanged from one woman’s hands to another. The seedlings were Polygonum tinctorium, whose body is made of glassy green almond-shaped leaves, tiny pink flower buds, and whose dye creates the infamous world-renowned deep blue our eyes love to drink […]
Read MoreAlways Good Natured: Skyelark Ranch
Written by May Reid-Marr and photographed by Alycia Lang Alexis and Gillies Robertson, the team behind Skyelark Ranch, both come from environmental conservation backgrounds. Their interest in, and commitment to, sustainable agriculture is born of this background, and it is present in every aspect of how they manage the 120 acres that make up the […]
Read MoreTimeless Shepherding
Written by Marie Hoff and Dustin Kahn; photographed by Paige Green For Bill Jensen and his son, Jim, ranching is in their blood. Jensen Ranch has been in the family since 1856, when Jim’s great-great-great grandfather, Joseph Irvin, emigrated to Tomales, California from Ireland. Irvin Lane is still the name of the street where the […]
Read MoreRevitalizing Wool: One Dish Mat at a Time
Written by Sasha Wirth and photographed by Kalie Ilana Cassel-Feiss, with landscape and sheep photos by Paige Green A flock of sheep grazes on a golden hillside, on land that has been in the Pozzi family for four generations. Raised primarily for their meat, the shaggy pelts of these British breeds are coarse and thick […]
Read MoreFibershed Knitalong Wrap-Up
This is the second blog featuring the Fibershed Knitalong, a collaborative endeavor to support us all growing closer to the land that shelters us. If you missed the first blog, read about the project and the ‘Roundtable’ of knitters who joined in to kick off this community effort. Here, we checked in with Fibershed members and supporters to reflect on […]
Read MoreA Merry Menagerie
Written by Terra Christian and photographed by Alycia Lang Tucked in the golden, rolling hills just north of Vacaville, California, Menagerie Hill Ranch is a small, family-run alpaca ranch . Deb Galway and Kirk Howard, the owners and operators, started keeping animals with just a few sheep to keep the grass down some twenty years […]
Read More