Mary Kretzschmar, who will be starting up the English Gardens Fiber Mill this month, is shown with some of her sheep on the Kretzachman's rural Caledonia farm. Photo by Charlie Warner
By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
“This is something I’ve been working on for about 10 years. I’m really excited about getting the equipment in place and beginning production,” said Mary Kretzschmar of Sheldon Township.
Kretzschmar is in the final stages of establishing English Gardens Fiber Mill in rural Caledonia. Her new venture will take in raw wool and process it into a variety of products.
Kretzschmar has been raising Blue Faced Leicester and English Leicester sheep for 17 years. While her new fiber mill will be processing sheep’s wool, Kretzschmar will also be taking in wool from Angora and mohair goats, llamas, alpacas, dog hair and even rabbit hair.
“Yes, there are people out there who are making items from rabbit and dog hair,” Kretzschmar with a laugh.
English Gardens Fiber Mill is located on the picturesque farm Florian and Mary Kretzschmar own near the bottom of “Badger Hill” just off State Highway 76 about six miles north of Caledonia.
Mary planned and designed the 2,944 square foot addition to their home that will include a comfortable classroom/studio and large, bright processing area.
“We were able to utilize Caledonia-area contractors for this project,” Kretzschmar said, as she looked around the expansive processing area. “I’m very pleased with the way it turned out.”
The large pieces that will be used in the production room of the fiber mill were all enroute when this interview took place last week. Kretzschmar planned to have all the pieces in place before the sheep and fiber farm tour will take place Oct. 8 and 9.
Those large pieces of equipment include:
• A picker, which opens up the fiber after it has been washed;
• A carder, which Kretzschmar said is the most important machine, lines all of the strands of fibers up in the same direction and produces the rovings;
• A pin drafter, which straightens the fibers;
• A spinner, which takes the rovings and turns them into yarn;
• A skein winder, which produces the yarn skeins.
None of the equipment Kretzschmar has purchased is new. It all is coming from larger fiber mills in the Carolinas and Missouri.
“It took a while to find the equipment. But there were some larger fiber mills that were going out of business,” Kretzschmar explained. “I was able to purchase pieces from these larger mills that will fit my needs.”
Kretzschmar said once the equipment is in place, she will operate the business by herself. But once she gets it up and running, she plans to employ one to three part-time persons.
Kretzschmar said she hopes to process fibers from all over the Tri-State area. Currently, the closest fiber mills are located in Hastings that specializes in alpaca wool and Minnesota City that primarily handles wool from llamas.
The closest fiber mills that handle all types of wools are located in Ohio and Michigan, so Kretzschmar feels her new venture should attract a lot of wool producers living in the region.
“There is a real need for a fiber mill in the region,” Kretzschmar noted. “Right now many wool producers can figure up to a year to have their product processed and back to them if they send it to the east coast.”
And more people are getting interested in all types of wools and fibers. Arts festivals, featuring fiber products, including clothing and art, have been springing up all over the United States. Knitting and felting are getting to be very popular in America.
While Kretzschmar has been raising sheep on a part-time basis for the past two decades, her new business will definitely be a full-time endeavor.
“Oh yes,” she said with a smile. “I plan to be putting in 60 to 80 hours a week, at least at first with this.”
Kretzschmar said once she has everything up and running, she plans to offer classes for beginning weavers and felters.
“For Mary to establish this fiber mill right here in Southeast Minnesota is something that will be wonderful for our area,” said fellow wool producer Jean Mueller, owner of Wiscoy Valley Farm, located north of Houston. “I know the producers in the area are very excited about this,” she added.
Sheep and Fiber Farm Tour
The major urgency for getting the pieces of equipment in place for Kretzschmar is that she and Mueller and two other area wool producers have planned the Southeast Minnesota Sheep and Fiber Farm Tour. The tour, which will take place Oct. 8 and 9, will include Kretzschmar’s farm, Mueller’s farm in Wiscoy Valley, Tarantual Arms, located on Ferndale Road in Yucatan Township and the Kindred Spirit Farm, located near Spring Valley in Fillmore County.
The self-guided tour will feature demonstrations on felting, spinning and weaving. Farm products from fiber will include felting supplies, batting, roving, hand painted yarns, raw fleeces, lamb pelts, breeding stock and finished products.
The tours will be held both days from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
You can contact Charlie Warner at charlie.warner@ecm-inc.com
