Welcome to the Vermont Fibershed

Happy Spring. For those in the Vermont Fibershed it’s a time for shearing, sorting and processing fiber. It’s a time for birthing and rearing replacement stock and breeding stock to sell. That, in addition to gardening and working outside, mean a hectic time for fiber producers. In addition, despite shaky details many of us look forward to summer and fall shows and festivals. The unknown lies ahead as we wait for details that will or will not allow events to go forward.

Natural Fibers in Vermont

The Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival is excited to announce their expanded work through the Vermont Fibershed initiative. The launch of this project has been in the planning for several years. The festival is a 501(c)3 that has held education in regards to natural fibers and fiber production as its foremost mission since its inception as an independent non-profit in 2015. The Vermont Fibershed is a natural extension of that work. It has been a slow process as we have been working through a year in quarantine. But it is also an opportunity to move forward in our mission when a live event was not possible this past year.

We are launching this initiative with an online directory of producers and resources. If you produce fiber in Vermont or create products with Vermont fiber, we encourage you take part in the directory. We will be putting the directory online in phases beginning with the members of the Vermont Sheep and Goat Association. We want to take this opportunity to thank the VSGA for their support of this project in awarding us the ASI Wool Grant in 2020. At this time we will be accepting applications from current VSGA members. Application forms can be found on our website Vermont Fibershed.

Following this phase we will open to all fiber producers and processors. Processing will include the spinneries, weavers, knitters, spinners, dyers, felters, seamstresses and other processing businesses. The directory will serve as a resource for producers looking for services to create finished products and for consumers interested in buying them.

We expect to offer a number of workshops and events throughout the year to extend the work we do at the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival. This last year has given us a glimpse of what is possible when live events are not. It has offered an opportunity to do some online work without leaving home. We hope to be able to continue that in the way of talks and workshops.

If you have events to publicize please send them to us. Visit our website and like us on Facebook.

Most importantly, stay tuned.