Fibershed Learning Center
The Fibershed Learning Center is a multi-use space to demonstrate and provide hands-on connections to natural fiber and dye systems, and part of the Black Mountain Ranch community of agrarians and artists located in Point Reyes Station, California. We are working and learning within traditional Coast Miwok Territory and collaborating with tribal community members to support, enhance, and care for essential plant populations that are key for the health of the ecosystem and multi-millennia honed agricultural practices.
Our small farm includes an array of crops from multiple ancestral lines and long classical breeding histories, all of which we grow seasonally for pigment, dye, and fiber. The crops we tend and harvest are used to support an array of farm-to-fashion activities, ethnobotanical practice, and skill building workshops that we offer to the community. We provide scholarships and fellowships to support the deepening of our cross cultural learning and appreciation for people and land.
Learning Center Purpose & Vision
Fibershed has felt the need for some time to create a grounding force that serves in our effort to enliven our community’s connection to regional and regenerative fiber and dyes. We are grateful to have an opportunity to hold space for activities and community resources. The Learning Center:
- Serves key hands-on textile education opportunities for the public. (Scroll down for a list of workshops and links to register.)
- Supports a demonstration farm for growing materials and showcasing how earth pigments can be grown and processed, along with food and medicine
- Hosts public presentations and intentionally designed gatherings that focus on bringing people together to learn and discuss the greatest and most concerning issues of our time
- Offers direct opportunities to engage in climate and cultural solutions that we can work together to activate at the local level
- Houses a living library of our bioregional textile culture that exists as a feature for students, designers, and makers, and will house a natural dye and fiber seed library
- Provides a multi-use space for core organizational functions, including our staff and board meetings and strategic planning
Hands-on Workshops
In-person workshops are ongoing. See the list below for links to register as they become available. Proceeds from each event support the class instructor and contribute to Fibershed for educational programming.
Tuition Scholarships & Transportation/Childcare Stipends
Fibershed is offering two scholarships to most workshops; one scholarship if it’s a small class. In addition to scholarships for tuition, we are offering a limited number of stipends for transportation and/or childcare. If you would not otherwise be able to attend, and would like to be considered as a scholarship and/or stipend recipient, please answer a few brief questions on this Google Form. Responses will be reviewed by Learning Center staff and kept strictly confidential.
Mailing List
If you would like to join the Learning Center mailing list to be notified of upcoming events—or any of the other Fibershed mailing lists—scroll down to the form at the bottom of the page.
Volunteering
Volunteers are welcome into our beautiful natural dye and pigment garden to help with various gardening tasks like mulching, weeding, maintaining our hedgerows, watering, harvesting dye flowers to dry, and more! Email hello@fibershed.org for more information.
Fibershed Learning Center In-Person Workshops & Events
ENROLLMENT OPEN:
Ongoing: Mending Bar Happy Hours with Heidi Iverson (Honeyfolk Clothing) and Allison Reilly
Fourth Thursday of every month, 4-7 p (rolling arrival times)
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/265319125647
Weaving on a Mayan Backstrap Loom with Sari Monroy Solís
1-day workshop: Sunday, June 25
Join waitlist here: eventbrite.com/e/515848666247
Natural Dyes with Heidi Iverson and Allison Reilly (waitlist)
1-day workshop: Sunday, June 25
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/629751452547
Creating Sculptural Handmade Paper with Michelle Wilson
2-day workshop: Saturday and Sunday, July 15-16
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/588663046017
Mending Techniques with Heidi Iverson & Allison Reilly
1-day workshop: Sunday, July 16th
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/633686412117
Fine Twined Basket with Charlie Kennard (waitlist)
1-day workshop: Sunday, July 16
Join the waitlist here: eventbrite.com/e/501362577967
Beginning Embroidery with Arwyn Moonrise
1-day workshop: Sunday, July 23
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/631238390017
Sewing T-shirts 101 with Gynna Clemes
1-day workshop: Sunday, August 6
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/563682699127
Weaving on a Mayan Backstrap Loom with Sari Monroy Solís (waitlist)
1-day workshop: Sunday, August 6
Join the waitlist here: eventbrite.com/e/548210240587
Embroidery Project with Arwyn Moonrise
1-day workshop: Sunday, August 6
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/559213672147
Spinning with Alisha Bright of Fiber Circle Studio
half-day workshop: August 27
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/613151642067
Making a Tule Boat with Charlie Kennard
2-day workshop: Saturday & Sunday, September 9-10
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/503126363497
Weaving on a Mayan Backstrap Loom with Sari Monroy Solís (waitlist)
1-day workshop: Saturday, September 23
Enroll here: eventbrite.com/e/617424602607
ENROLLMENT COMING SOON:
Indigo Extraction Process with Judi Pettite
1-day workshop: Saturday, September 9
Paint Making from Lakes and Mineral Pigments with Judi Pettite
1-day workshop: Sunday, September 10
Botanical Printing with Mayumi Fujio
1-day workshop: October 1
Sewing a Kimono Jacket (Happi Coat) with Rimiko Berreman
2-day workshop: date TBD
Tule Water Bottle Cover with Redbird
half-day workshop: date TBD
More workshops to be scheduled. The list will be updated with links to register as they become available.
Past Workshops & Demonstrations – Videos on Demand
During 2020, when it was not feasible to offer in-person events, we began offering a series of online demonstrations and classes via Zoom, taught by Northern California Fibershed Producer Network members. Videos of these events are available on Fibershed’s Vimeo On Demand channel, and links to each video can be found below.
Farming & Processing Pigment & Fiber:
- Growing & Processing Flax with Sandy Fisher of Chico Flax
(California Indian Basketweavers’ Association selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Japanese Indigo, Seed to Seed, with Craig Wilkinson of Craig’s Indigo
(Daily Acts selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - The Beauty & Strength of Native Plant Fibers with Redbird
(Buckeye Gathering Native Youth Scholarship Fund selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds)
Knitting & Weaving:
- Knitting with Farm Yarns with Gayle Ravenscroft
(Sisters United selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Learn How to Weave on a Rigid Heddle Loom with Robin Lynde
(Stebbins Cold Canyon Preserve at UC Davis selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds)
Sewing:
- Tips for Sewing Jeans with Dan DiSanto
(Urban Tilth selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Tips for Sewing Shirts with Dan DiSanto
(Urban Tilth selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds)
Pigments & Dyes:
- Dyeing with Summer Flowers with Deepa Natarajan
(Urban Tilth selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Japanese Indigo Extraction with Judi Pettite of BioHue
(Museum of the American Indian selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Paints, Inks and Stains Using Indigo with Judi Pettite of BioHue
(Museum of the American Indian selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Making a Lake Pigment: the alchemy of solid pigments from natural dyes with Judi Pettite
(Sogorea Te’ Land Trust selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Natural Paints and Pigments with Judi Pettite
(Urban Tilth selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Wild Inks from Natural Pigments with Judi Pettite
(Acres of Ancestry Initiative/Black Agrarian Fund selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Direct Application Design: hand painting with natural pigments on fabric with Judi Pettite
(Acres of Ancestry Initiative/Black Agrarian Fund selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds) - Natural Palettes: inspiration from plant-based color with Sasha Duerr
(Urban Tilth selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds)
Shoe Making:
- SHOES: components, repair, and making your own from scratch with Rachel Corry
(Social Justice Sewing Academy selected as the recipient of a donation from class proceeds)
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