Fibershed Learning Center
The Fibershed Learning Center is a multi-use space to demonstrate the 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 garden 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 soil-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 garden 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
Fibershed is offering scholarships to most workshops; one scholarship if it’s a small class. 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 Scholarship Application. Responses will be reviewed by Learning Center staff and kept strictly confidential.
Fibershed Learning Center In-Person Workshops & Events
The workshops listed below may not all be up to date. To see the most up to date list of upcoming classes, please see the Fibershed Eventbrite page.
At the Fibershed Learning Center in Point Reyes Station:
Rush and Tule Twined Basket Making with Charlie Kennard
1-day workshop: Saturday, August 17
Enroll here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rush-and-tule-twined-basket-making-with-charlie-kennard-tickets-929774800457?aff=oddtdtcreator
Botanical Printing with Mayumi Fujio
1-day workshop: Saturday, September 21
Enroll here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
Papermaking with Kozo with Steph Rue
1-day workshop: Saturday, September 28
Enroll here: https://www.eventbrite.
Woven Willow Fence Workshop with Charlie Kennard
1-day workshop: Saturday, November 16
Enroll here: https://www.eventbrite.
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.
Producing & 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)
