About Us
About Us
Who We Are
We are Andy and Nicole Foster, a husband-and-wife team of forty-something nerds. We source our catchphrases and general vibes from anime, terrible ’90s comedies, all things sci-fi/fantasy/comic book, irreverent cartoons, and tattoo culture. As a result, we don’t take life too seriously, are sarcastic to a fault, and love bright colors. We love living in the country, being outdoors during ALL seasons, and meeting the creatures who roam our woods. When we aren’t in the mill, you’ll find us at our “real” jobs, hanging out with our teenagers and dogs, or flying airplanes—or enjoying all those fiber-y hobbies that got us here in the first place!
About Us
Our Story
We took a spinning class together at our LYS in 2021. We both really enjoyed the class, and after posting our first handspun yarn on Instagram, clicked the hashtag “Corriedale.” Down the rabbit hole we went and landed on a post about a mill someone opened in their shed, and deeper we dug. Wool mills have always fascinated us, and we had always talked about how cool it would be to revive those monstrous machines. However, as we already own a company with over 100 employees, we knew we wanted our future to be simpler.
About Us
Mill Research
We started researching mini mills, with the idea bordering on obsession. Over the next three months, we attended the Ann Arbor Fiber Expo, New York Sheep and Wool Festival, and the Southeast Michigan Shop Hop. We threw the idea past every vendor, owner, and knitter we met, and were universally met with unbridled enthusiasm. Everyone was in love with the idea of American wool, processed and spun locally. We toured another Michigan mini mill, and the owners were incredibly helpful, gracious, and willing to share their knowledge, experiences, and techniques with us—unfiltered and real, the good and the bad. In December 2021, we visited Belfast Mini Mills in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and we were sold. We placed an order for a full mill setup the day we got home.
About Us
The Build
We had already begun construction on an addition to our existing garage, and immediately began adapting the plans to house our mill. We worked closely with the folks at Belfast to make sure we had all the infrastructure optimized for their equipment. Fast forward fifteen months, and they arrived with our equipment. We are still amazed by the quality and efficiency of these machines that were square stock, sheet metal, and gears just months before. We spent the next week installing and training, and then were let loose to explore, create, learn, and screw up all the wool we could find!
About Us
Reach Out
A year later, we are still definitely noobs learning the trade. But we have developed and are proud to offer a diverse yet compatible line of products. Wool is our passion, and we can’t wait to share it with you!
Please feel free to contact us any time. We love feedback and yes, even criticism. We can only grow if we know what we can improve. Also—all random discussions, questions, and comments about sheep, wool, milling, anime, yarn, tattoos, fiber craft, science fiction, chemistry, and airplanes will be met with an overabundance of enthusiasm. So please, shoot us a line, but know what you’re getting yourself into!
Our Business
Let’s be blunt: we have trouble focusing. We love all things wool, and we want to do EVERYTHING. Since it’s really hard to do that with two people working part-time, we had to narrow it down. Here’s what we are bringing to the table.
Our first goal is to create a line of naturally colored yarns for dyers. The indie dyeing market is flooded with new artists creating beautiful yarn. However, most are using the same bases for their work: largely superwash, nearly all imported. We want to give them different options. We only use American-grown fiber to create yarn. We don’t add petroleum-based fibers (nylon, acrylic, polyester) or chemically altered plant fibers (bamboo, SeaCell, rayon, etc.), and we do not use harsh chemicals in our processing to maintain the fibers’ integrity. We continue to tweak our processes to minimize waste and reduce our impact on the environment. And we strive to keep our prices affordable so dyers can sell their beautiful creations at a competitive price point while maintaining sustainable profit margins. We want to give them the opportunity to support local farms and businesses and avoid frustrating supply chain issues. And most of all, we want to offer a different platform on which to create—something that will help them stand out among the crowd!
Our second goal is to create a line of repeatable dyed-in-the-wool house yarns. We dye single colors in large(ish!) lots, then blend the solid colors together to create beautiful, multifaceted colors. The depth of color in these heathered yarns can’t be replicated by dyeing finished yarn, only by blending unspun wool in the carder.
Our final goal is to partner with American farms to purchase their wool at a fair price. We do occasionally offer our processing services to local wool producers as well, as an opportunity for them to create an additional income stream. However, lead times are long and hard to predict, and creating the shepherd’s “perfect” yarn with the least amount of loss is stressful. We prefer to buy the raw wool, process it when the need or opportunity arises, and allow the characteristics of the fiber to dictate its ultimate form. Accordingly, we offer farm products in very limited batches: once we have processed the available fleeces, we cannot create that same yarn again.
We strive to produce high quality yarn that showcases the unique nature of the wool from which it was created. However, our yarns are not perfect. Like us, the animals who grew the wool, and the equipment that we use, there will be flaws. You may find slubs, splices, uneven spinning, small knots, other fibers, or vegetable matter in our yarns. We hope that you find these charming and easy to work around! Should our yarn not be up to your standards, please contact us directly—we welcome ALL feedback.