our roots

San Juan Woolworks is a dream that’s been marinating since my family moved home to San Juan Island, took up Oak Knoll Farm, and assumed husbandry of the North Country Cheviot sheep flock established here by Joan Roberts more than forty years ago. Becoming stewards of a flock with a history and a web of relationships with other shepherds around the county and even nationally was a proposition freighted with community implications. Would we carry on the work to breed quality rams for our neighbors and preserve the genetics Joan had honed over so many years? How could we try to make it worthwhile for other San Juan Island shepherds to attend to their wool quality, now that it costs more to pay the shearer than you can earn for your clip on the commercial market?

Following the example of Island Fibers’ Maxine Bronstein and Debbie Hayward, who have long nurtured the fiber community on nearby Lopez Island, we bought a few fleeces from neighbors. We mixed them with wool from our own flock and took our first clip to Abundant Earth Fiber Mill on Whidbey Island. We dyed some of the resulting yarn under the guidance of Emily Tzeng, our friend at Local Color Farm and Fiber, using only botanical pigments. I carved our logo on a linoleum block, our kids affixed our labels, and our first skeins were ready for sale.

As our company grows, our aim will always be to invest in neighbors who practice sustainable agriculture and tend the health of our little patch of the planet. When you hold a skein of our yarn or a handful of locks from our fleece, we hope you get a sense not only of the animals that grew the wool but of the many human hands that make our business possible. That’s why every label names the folks who care for the sheep, gently and skillfully shear them, and spin the raw fleece into yarn. We do what we do for love of our sheep and respect for the people who tend animals and nurture the land responsibly.