Raising Fibre Animals

I have always been an artist and crafter at heart, and for the longest time I thought my God-given creativity had to expressed in a traditional pen and paper, or brush and canvas sort of way to qualify as being 'real' art. Though I believe I am talented on the drawing and painting side, I fell in love with fibres, especially the colours and the textures of them.

My fibre business idea began when my husband wanted to start a simple hobby farm, reminiscent of his childhood days growing up with pigs and cattle. And though a complete newbie at farming myself, I integrated aspects to the plan that would appeal to me, such as raising fibre animals. 

I adore and respect these wonderful woolly creatures and their place in the world. I'm fond of learning about the qualities that nature has endowed to them, and preserving their purpose as well.

In those early days of fibre farming, I read and experimented quite a bit. The learning curve was steep with my first experiences of handling a newly shorn fleece. I had to learn to sort and prepare a raw fleece, as well as tackle all the preparation steps that lead to the spinning of the wool. I also needed to open my memory bank of skills I had developed in childhood for knitting, weaving, felting and crochet. 

My husband is the real farmer. I only show up to blow kisses at my flock family and for shearing time. Shearing day is when I actually take over the handling of the angora goats, sheep and alpacas, and from that time until the fleece is transformed into a product creation.

Natural natural natural. I love natural. The focus of Stein Haven is preserving heritage, and our use of those 'real' wool fibers. I would say we use the most real fibers that you could pack into a product. It's our top priority.

Though a lot of effort is required to overcome challenges in developing these functional wool products from the ground up, in a world of mass production I am most inspired by the quality of the items that comes out of the process. I can choose to not over-process, overstress, or overbleach, leaving some buoyancy and elasticity in the yarns.

You develop a type of fibre snobbishness, and a keen sense for what 'real' and healthy is all about. You get a whiff of yesteryear and it passes on to giving these beautiful creatures the recognition they deserve.

The best part of business is when you complete an item and inside you're smiling. It's like winning a trophy. With pride, I get to wrap each item like it's special. And that is the best part of making such a unique gift item for someone.

My inventing process is reinventing 'what's old is new again'. From a traditional stand, I stay true to my focus of bringing quality heritage fibers to the world. 

I am so fortunate to have the home farm as my workplace. The house is completely taken over with fleeces and equipment, and is riddled with fluff and dust because of it. But I love being surrounded by these reminders in the making of our authentic fibre products in every stage of creation. Yes, we're making cozy memories. Pop over and see us!

(Disclaimer: I will get a small commission if you use any of the links above to shop on Amazon.)

Enjoy!