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DETOURS
How wooly heads wisely prevail
By Kimberly Sherman, Globe Correspondent
July 6, 2008
PUTNEY, Vt. -- There are not too many places worth visiting that greet
guests with the smell of livestock. But those who venture into the tiny,
farm-scented retail shop at the Green Mountain Spinnery are rewarded
with the chance to browse racks of colorful patterns, displays of
knitted projects, and buckets of yarns in a gritty working mill with a
story to tell.
The Spinnery is a kind of business not completely uncommon in Vermont: a
worker-owned cooperative that sup****ts regional farms and seeks
environmentally responsible ways to do business -- in this case,
processing natural fibers.
Entering its 27th year of operation, the Spinnery lays claim to being
the first custom mill to concentrate on producing yarns that have had no
exposure to petroleum products or other chemicals. It produces custom
yarns for clients and its own line of organic products.
Staying committed to such a mission requires that each worker-owner be
willing to wear many hats. Maintaining the Spinnery's processing
equipment, much of which is 60 to 100 years old, while staying true to
its green practices presents daily challenges.
"The Spinnery has many of the same goals most small businesses have: to
remain sustainable, both financially and environmentally, increase
sales, and be profitable," said Margaret Atkinson of the Spinnery staff.
"We are working on long-term goals like increasing our energy
efficiency, reducing environmental impact, and revamping our physical
plant."
The Spinnery is equally committed to fostering relation****ps with
regional sheep growers. Staff members serve as a resource for farmers
with issues such as flock management for fiber production.
"Our main customers are looking for natural-fiber yarns of the highest
quality," said Atkinson. "And because nearly all of our fibers are
American-grown, minimally processed, and made right here in Vermont, our
customers keep on coming back."
The working space of the mill could double as the town's haunted house,
as walls, machinery, and even people come to be draped in fuzzy fibers.
Guides offer lessons on the Spinnery's process, which begins with
wa****ng and scouring wool that is then carded or separated and
straightened and sent to the spinning frame to be turned into yarn. The
freshly-spun yarn is steamed and undergoes further processing and
cleaning before it's ready to be sold.
"While all that is going on, new orders are taken, products are packed,
invoices are written. We also have direct sales in the shop and run
tours," Atkinson said. "It has taken time and commitment to achieve this
harmony."
The Spinnery runs year-round but quiets during the late winter and early
spring. The lull does not last long, however, as the mill revs up for
the spring sheep and wool festivals around New England.
The energy levels at the Spinnery make you feel as if you could be put
to work at any moment, and that you might want to be.
--
Dan Clore
My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://tinyurl.com/2gcoqt
Lord We˙rdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
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News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
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"From the point of view of the defense of our society,
there only exists one danger -- that workers succeed in
speaking to each other about their condition and their
aspirations _without intermediaries_."
--Censor (Gianfranco Sanguinetti), _The Real Re****t on
the Last Chance to Save Capitalism in Italy_
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