what a wonderful idea, I’ve not heard of this before.

That first picture made me gasp, it’s so sweet!

I LOVE this post!! I too always enjoy the stories of people turning to farming mid-career. I especially enjoy hearing about people with goats in particular, who start making goat cheese. So, So, I love this story, and I am going to go pick-up a copy of the magazine now. Thanks for sharing!!

Another fabulous fiber farm that has a CSF is Fox Fire Fiber in Shelburne, MA. Barbara Perry produces a wonderful product. http://www.foxfirefiber.com/

I’m sitting here confusedly blinking my eyes w/my a.m. coffee: both d*s and Juniper Moon’s blogs are part of my daily morning reading. Susan and her crew (human & animal) are inspiring/funny/very real, and all around awesome.

I love this post! Thank you for opening my eyes to this story! Very inspiring for a Friday.

That’s a really great idea, I hope to live near one someday!

Wow – this is great for the fibre-obsessed! I’m hoping some CSFs spring up on the West Coast soon, and in BC in particular.

In the mean time, might I direct folks in Washington State, BC and Yukon to a little PDF I put together if local fibre sources for the Pacific Northwest? It’s BC-centric, but in any case it’s fun to see all of the different fibre types that are available to those are willing to contact smaller farmers and producers.

Find the PDF here in the left-hand column:
http://www.florenceann.com/Florence_Ann/Home.html

Who doesn’t enjoy stories with lovely pictures and tales of “reinvention”?

But you do realize, I hope, that the reason these people were able to leave their old lives was precisely because they had conventional jobs that paid well, or came from money?

I don’t see too many stories about civil servants reinventing themselves and starting chocolate factories.

For those interested in sustainable and community-based fibres, take a look at http://fibershed.wordpress.com/
A visit to Windrush Farm made me want to start spinning right that minute!

should have said, in the San Francisco Bay Area

thanks, ashley! this was really fresh and interesting! one of the best small measures posts so far!

reader-thank you for your comment, but i must say that i couldn’t disagree more. not only am i myself living proof that a cache of cash need not be a pre-requisite for reinvention (my family was, and remains, far from rich; i recall several times growing up when we collected food from church pantries during rough financial periods and i still, to be quite blunt, struggle daily financially). such obstacles didn’t stop me from making an abrupt career change and reinventing myself as a full-time writer and author.

additionally, my friend jenna, mentioned in the article, is an entirely self made woman. she comes from humble roots in pennsylvania and makes her purchases and takes steps towards her reinvention as a full-time farmer without anyone’s backing, getting by on her wages as a graphic designer. she’s hardly rich, by any stretch.

i can think of countless examples of others in my direct life who have reinvented themselves without massive financial cushioning, from the stay-at-home-mom/waitress-turned-full-time-cake-shop-owner that i worked for over the summer to my friends who took a leap of faith after living, very meagerly, in costa rica before taking out loans and smartly opening what is now a thriving chocolate lounge in asheville.

reinvention, and attaining a different livelihood, is possible, no matter what one’s financial position at the outset. a number of very creative private and government programs exist for helping people start small businesses and take the necessary steps towards redirecting the course of their lives. or sometimes, as in my case, you just catch a lucky break.

Speaking as the re-inventor in question, I can tell you that I was completely broke when I start the Yarn CSA.
In fact, I had cashed out my CBS News 401K and sold my engagement ring to feed my sheep while I waited for the business to become profitable.

I’m a Juniper Moon shareholder. I loved coming here today to read in one of my favorite blogs about one of my favorite experiences as a knitter, being a JMF shareholder.

I get up and go to the office every day from 8-5, live paycheck to paycheck, and had to sell my instruments to build a sheep shed. I’m living on a prayer right now.

Reinvention doesn’t come from money, it comes from a choice and action.

But for those of you interested in Fiber CSAs, you don’t have to live near one to partake. At my farm I have folks subscribing from New Mexico to the Yukon. I mail them their yarn and it works dandy.

I’ll just chime in and say that I love Susan Gibbs, and I love what she is doing. I love every lamb, goat, dog, and peep on her farm. I hope she has all the success in the world.

I’m another JMFF shareholder for three years, now. While I’m on the West Coast and haven’t been able to take advantage of attending the shearing celebration, I love spending time on the forum conversing with a great group of caring peopld

Hope you’ll add my farm to your list!! We offer the rate Suri alpaca fiber, cashgora, mohair, and angora, every bit of which comes from animals on our farm. Our 2011 CSA shares are available now!! Check us out at www FancyFibers.com, and come on over for a visit!

I must agree with Ashley, Susan and Jenna. I worked for a retail company for 25 years but literally lived paycheck to paycheck. When I “retired” four years ago to start my small fiber farm it was on a “wing and a prayer”. It was a giant leap of faith and it is still one every day. Going from making $25 and hour to $3 and hour is quite a culture shock, but liberating in the extreme. I wouldn’t trade my present life for all the money in the world!

Everyone’s said it so well, Susan and her staff are rocking it. Huge fan of hers and of what she’s doing. She tells the whole story of being a shepherd, not just the dreamy bits. But the honesty of it just makes it all the more compelling, especially in these largely dishonest times.

Yarn. It’s a real thing.

What a great article about Susan’s farm. Career change is about choice and not about money, it takes a lot of courage to wake up every morning knowing you have to do something today to produce enough money to keep your business. going, this is seven days a week. It is not for everyone, but those who have the will to keep getting up now matter how hard it may be at times, the rewards are endless.
Thank you for a great article.
Susan’s Mom

Susan Gibbs is indeed a woman with vision as well as a woman on a mission. Not only are her animals happy, healthy and beautiful, but so is she! If I was a sheep or an angora goat I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but Juniper Moon Farm! Way to go, Susan! Your ingenuity and love for your animals is truly something to celebrate.

It would be so easy for someone like Susan, who has invented an amazing wheel, to be proprietary and protective of the model she has developed. But in fact, I am the beneficiary of her generous, supportive spirit. She sat down and spilled all her business secrets for me, helping me to get up and running in my own fiber CSA half way across the country. Not only is she creative and courageous, but she shares and encourages other women to realize their dreams as she goes.

this is amazing; perfect; i’ve been looking for a way to be more thoughtful in my fiber purchases and you come through, ashley! i can’t wait to look at all of these links and do a little research of my own.

(some day… i hope to have one of these mid life about-faces. some day…)

this is overwhelmingly inspiring. i’ll be looking for these in canada and in the uk, where i split my time. i would love to participate in this. gorgeous, amazing possibilities. best of luck to all of you doing this! thanks ashley!

Great post! I love to see people do things that make them HAPPY! It’s hard work to cultivate your own dream job- sure some have the resources, but most are scraping their pennies together and doing it ’cause they love it! Inspring! Not to mention, the end product of small farms is superior to mass produced stuff. Susan’s yarn is a joy to knit with and the colors are fabulous.

Thanks for the photo credit (I’m Silver Moon Studios)… I thought that image looked familiar (LOL) when I first saw it! I adore the Juniper Ridge logo.

A HUGE THANK YOU DESIGN*SPONGE!!! I am a beginner knitter and belong Knit Club that used to meet regularly, but we all still knit. I live in Northern VA, so I can’t wait to take advantage of Juniper Moon Farm…great name!!! And I know my son will love it too!!!

Yarn CSA!! How delightful! What a great way to get some awesome yarn and buying the shares is cheaper than buying it retail in the farm store. Makes so much sense and another income stream for the farm. AND gets all that fiber into hand that will use it for delightful fiber projects! Cheers all! Love Susan’s farm and CSA!

Please note: my significant other and I both thought these CSA shares would make great gifts for our mothers (both knitters). We eagerly ordered from Willow Ridge Farm, linked above, and both had negative experiences. Shipments never arrived, the owners did not respond to email and phone communication, and we both eventually, after some difficulty, received refunds for the amount of the share.

I understand that community supported agriculture is an investment in small farms, and that small farms are hugely difficult to operate as a business, which is why they need supporting. But at the same time, this is a customer interaction, and I expect prompt delivery of the goods I purchased, or timely and thorough communication in the event of a problem. With Willow Ridge Farm, we received neither.

I still hope to support local and small businesses, but I wanted to remind others to still perform due diligence on the businesses you support. Fellow DS readers — do your homework, even for links you find through this blog!