Meet the Maine Fibershed Crew
Melissa Anne Majkut
Born in Maine, Melissa has been immersed in fiber arts since she took up crochet at 10 years old. Her Dad taught her to sew when she was 12 and her first “commercial success” was a hand-sewn sheep that she sold door-to-door in her South Portland neighborhood. Melissa earned her degree in Sculpture and Environmental Science and has been a spinner for the last 30 years. Living on a sheep farm through 2020 convinced Melissa that advocating for farmers, natural fibers, local processors, and community makers was her next logical step. These decisions have been pure magic for the Maine Fibershed.
Pat Harpell
Pat is not good at retiring. Prior to returning to Maine in 2019, she founded the South Carolina Herbal Society in 2009. Running programs to educate the general public, collaborating with the Medical University of SC, and working with Low Country Local First (a farming collaborative), she eventually introduced the first Herbal Apprenticeship program to Charleston, SC graduating herbalists who continue to work within their communities. Prior to that, Pat ran two Yoga Teacher Training Schools with a dedication to underserved populations. And before all of that, she founded and ran a technology marketing company for over 25 years, culminating in her first retirement. When she is not gardening, hiking, knitting or sewing, she is a guest teacher and speaker on topics ranging from herbalism and land stewardship to Yoga Therapy. Pat is currently a faculty teacher at the Earthwalk School of Traditional Medicine in Rockport, Maine, and a devotee of environmental stewardship.