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What is the Bast Fiber Processing Facility Feasibility Study?
The Northern New England Fibershed Bast Fiber committee has received a Fibershed Micro-grant to research the feasibility of creating a bast fiber processing facility in our region. Flax was grown in significant quantities in Northern New England from the mid-17th century through the mid-19th century and was a thriving regional industry. Current conditions in Northern New England still offer the potential to support a viable bast fiber industry, but we presently lack the fiber processing capacity.
Through this grant, we will begin the work of creating land-based, community- and regionally-scaled infrastructure for the processing of two historic bast fibers currently being grown in Northern New England: Flax and Hemp. Our vision is that from this work the Northern New England Fibershed will lead the way for other regions to develop their own local infrastructures for these ancient textile fibers whose time has come again. Creating a new regional textile economy is a complex challenge requiring systems-level change and a bold re-imagining of our use of cloth, the work of our rural communities, and the health of the land as we confront the existential challenges of climate change.
Hemp Licensing Resources
Who We Are
Andrea Myklebust is a shepherd, fiber artist, educator, and bast fiber researcher. Her work in natural fiber focuses on the revitalization of local and regional textile production systems as a means to confront climate change and revitalize rural economies. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Northern New England Fibershed, and was the recipient of a 2017/18 USDA SARE grant exploring the growing and processing of flax for community-scale linen production.
Her research at the Smokey House Center in Danby, Vermont includes fiber hemp production in partnership with the University of Vermont, and work towards the development of regionally-scaled bast fiber processing infrastructure for New England. She is a graduate of Macalester College, St. Paul, MN. Andrea lives with her family in Danby, Vermont.
For more information visit https://www.smokeyhouse.org/ or find Andrea on Instagram at @mountainheartvt
Rebecca Ranta is a Fashion & Textile Historian and Fiber Artist with a deep passion for learning and preserving traditional textile crafts. She wholeheartedly believes that traditional practices from the past can help inform a more vibrant and sustainable future. She has been creating historic garment reproductions using period accurate tools and techniques for over four years and has been studying historic weaving techniques at the Marshfield School of Weaving since spring of 2022. She joined the Advisory Board of the Northern New England Fibershed and the Bast Fiber working group in 2023.
Marion Dillon is a weaver and clothing maker working mainly with linen, wool, and other locally-sourced materials. Using locally grown materials and historically-informed practices, she ties her work to the past, present and future. She has over six years of experience weaving fiber for garment making and three years of experience designing clothing. She is passionate about cultivating circular design practices when bringing something new into existence. Marion has been a member of the Northern New England Advisory Board since 2023. Marion can be found on Instagram at @marionceres
Laura Sullivan is an Artist and farmer who’s work hinges on the belief that clothing is agriculture. She has been a part of the UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Team since April of 2021. She is also a member of the Northern New England Fibershed Advisory Board, working to advocate for bast fiber farmers and processing facilities in the Northeast. Before moving to Vermont, Laura received her BA from Colorado College in fine art. Laura has over twenty years experience as a textile artist, eleven years experience farming, and over seven years experience working with industrial hemp. In 2020, Laura worked with a startup company utilizing locally grown Milkweed floss for clothing insulation. Her passion lives at the intersection between art and agriculture and her long term goals include reviving the local Fibershed of the Northeast to include working landscapes of hemp and flax fiber.
Phyllis Marinoff is an explorer of flax who started growing and processing fiber several years ago. She cultivates a small plot of land large enough to provide a personal supply of fiber that keeps her spinning, knitting, and weaving throughout the year with hopes of expanding production. The historical and seasonal nature of the flax fiber process is intriguing and motivates her year after year. Phyllis has been a member of the Northern New England Fibershed since early 2022. She is onboard with moving past the time intensive, hand processing of flax fiber and has joined the Bast Fiber Group in its effort to explore the building of a regional bast fiber processing mill. She believes this will make the goal of creating a regional sustainable fiber economy easier and will connect and expand the many bast fiber producers throughout the Northern New England Fibershed.
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