Written and Photographed by Karen Rifkin Before entering the fenced-in area of hedgerow plantings, a flock of friendly rams trot up, eagerly, to see if it’s feeding time. Realizing their exertion is for naught, they just as quickly disperse back into the field at the Hopland Research and Extension Center, a 5,358-acre working ranch and […]
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Approaching Life (and Wool) One Step at a Time at 5 Creek Farm
Written by Sasha Wirth and photographed by Noelle Gaberman As a little girl, Coleen Maloney was sure she’d found the perfect birthday present for her mother: a small brood of chicks. “My mother was born after the first day of Spring, and I was sure it was going to be the best gift ever,” she […]
Read MoreHandcrafted at Ace ‘N The Hole Ranch
Written by Marie Hoff and photographed by Paige Green Ace Vandenack is a crafter. Together with his wife, Pam, the couple has crafted a farm, a fiber business, and a life for themselves in the verdant green hills of far Northern California, in conifer-treed Humboldt County. They have built everything from the ground up, including […]
Read MoreWith Sincere Sheep, Change Begins One Skein at a Time
Written by Sasha Wirth and photographed by Noelle Gaberman While it is common for a sheep to be called mild, helpless, gentle, or wooly-minded, Lincoln wasn’t like the rest of the flock. Lincoln was “a sincere sheep,” wrote his owner. And it was this humble and candid description that stayed with Brooke Sinnes for a […]
Read MoreCarbon Farming and Co-Benefits at PT Ranch
Written by Koa Kalish and photographed by Paige Green At PT Ranch, 525 acres sit at the base of the Sierra mountains, where melted snowcap hydrates the land. Historically, with the abundance of moisture in the soil, grass has grown plentifully. But with the increasing droughts, the Taylor family, including Molly, her sister Madeline, her […]
Read MoreTo Be Farming and Fortunate
Written by Marie Hoff & Photographed by Paige Green To arrive at Fortunate Farm, you have to drive along the California coast, either north or south, passing some of the most epic viewsheds to be seen on Coast Highway 1. The farm is hours away from any major city, and just south of Fort Bragg, […]
Read MoreCrafting a Family Business with Milk & Honey 1860
Written & photographed by Sarah Lillegard Off the highway and along a dirt road in Butte Valley, California there is a large white house with a wraparound porch sitting at the front of forty acres. This house was built in 1860 and is now home to the Larson family and their farm business named for […]
Read MoreStitching Texture and Connection with Carol Lee Shanks
Written and photographed by Koa Kalish Carol Lee Shanks has been creating unique sculptural clothing and wearable art since 1983. She curates thoughtful and intimate spaces for people to enter her world within her studio and showroom by appointment, or whenever she debuts a new collection. In a two-story building on a quiet road in […]
Read MoreA Spinner’s Flock at Ewe & Me 2 Ranch
Written by Marie Hoff and photographed by Paige Green “Did you do crafts before you got into fiber arts?” I ask Bev Fleming, while looking at stacks of magazines covering subjects from quilting to bread baking to Christmas ornaments in her fiber studio. “Everything,” she responds immediately, without missing a beat. There is not a […]
Read MoreFine Fleece at Stone Steps Farm
Written by Amanda Fisk and photographed by Noelle Gaberman In the scenic Nicasio Valley of Marin County, Stone Steps Farm is a small, family farm breeding Pygora goats, mini Nubian goats, and Gotland sheep. Animals of all three breeds are friendly, gentle, and small enough to be handled and transported easily. Leigh, her husband John, […]
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