Woolgatherer Carding Mill - a New Kind of Wool

Out of the ashes of closings and decline a new light is shining on the US wool industry. Patrick Holland, a shepherd of Montague, California, visited the closing Mt. Jefferson Woolen Mill in Oregon. As a shepherd and a close friend of Shepherd's Dream's founder, Patrick Holland was acutely aware of the problems facing the North American wool industry. This knowledge motivated Patrick to purchase the historic carding machinery. This purchase involved transporting and re-assembling 70,000 pounds of carding machinery and learning the art of wool carding from the few remaining skilled millwrights in the country.

A little history will help you to understand why we were so excited about the new carding mill. Since the late 80's, Eliana had been buying 'garneted' wool (similar to 'carded', but geared for synthetic and cotton fibers) from a Bay Area garneting mill, which was initially of decent quality. However, by the late 90's, the poor quality of the wool batting as well as declining customer service had become worrisome. When the quality dropped to an unacceptable quality, she was forced to seek out another supplier in Oregon. Unfortunately, this supplier was only able to use the shortest wool fiber in their machinery.

 
Team
 

By February of 2002, Patrick Holland’s mill was supplying us with beautiful, clean carded wool, purchased at a premium from Oregon and California woolgrowers.

In July of 2002, Shepherd’s Dream moved its store and production facility to Montague, California, in order to consolidate efforts with Woolgatherer Carding Mill. EcoDomestic wool, a collaborative project co-founded by Patrick Holland and Shepherd’s Dream, encourages several important things for the future of wool in North America:

1. Wool is purchased at premium prices directly from the regional woolgrowers.

2. Woolgrowers are encouraged to raise sheep within an evolving set of guidelines which ultimately make the wool more valuable, sustainable and desirable. 

3. The wool is produced with environmental standards that ensure conscious treatment of the earth and the sheep. 

4. This wool product fills a niche for consistent high-quality batting that can be used in several different natural product industries.

5. This high-quality cottage-industry product is offered at a competitive price.