Janet raises colored angora goats, Jacob sheep, and naturally colored Cormo/Romney sheep at Catawampus Farm in Minot, Maine. She and her husband, Kevin Coulter, run a small fiber mill, offering carded rovings, batts and corespun yarn production for other small farms and fiber artists.
Raised in a family with a history of remarkable fiber artists, the “wool gene” re-awakened in Janet in 2005, when she wandered through the fiber booths at the Common Ground Fair and fell in love with the yarns and products available. She went home and learned to knit. The following year, she took up handspinning, bought her first raw fleece, and the rest is history.
Janet sits on our Board of Directors and brings to Maine Fibershed the perspective of a small fiber mill owner, a fiber farmer, and a fiber artist. She wants to help invigorate the Maine Fiber Farm and Small Mill industries, expanding resources, connections, and opportunities for Maine fiber production and sales.
Steph picked up her first set of knitting needles around the age of 10, and the rest is history. Steph is a fiber farmer and fiber artist living in Midcoast Maine with a focus on an endangered heritage breed of sheep, the American Jacob, Angora Goats, and a mix of other animals. Steph sits on our Board of Directors. When not tending her flock at Hawthorn and Thistle Farmstead, Steph is a volunteer fire fighter, runs the Sheep and Goat Barn at Common Ground Fair and is president of the Evening Star Grange in Washington, ME (9) Facebook
Steph’s passion for fiber and the dream of fiber farmers being able to make a living on their farms brought her to the Maine Fibershed. Steph will fuel both of her passions with Maine Fibershed by being a voice for farmer’s needs and those of the fiber art community.
Pat is the current director and a co-founder of the Maine Fibershed. She brings a desire for educational programs, community collaboration, and environmental stewardship to Maine Fibershed.
Prior to returning to Maine in 2019, Pat founded the South Carolina Herbal Society in 2009, running programs to educate the general public on sustainable, Earth-focused health topics. She collaborated with the Medical University of SC to introduce the history of modern medicine’s roots and to partake in an on-campus herbal garden. She eventually introduced the first Herbal Apprenticeship program to Charleston, SC graduating herbalists who continue to work within their communities. Prior to that, Pat founded two Yoga Teacher Training Schools with a dedication to underserved populations, which she ran for 10 years. And before all of that, she founded and ran a technology marketing company for over 25 years to help startup and mainstream companies.
Pat looks forward to her upcoming fourth-time’s-a-charm retirement at the end of this year!
Laci and her family own the Prairie Wolf Farm in Limington, ME. They currently have a flock of 13 RBST registered Soay. Laci is a sustainability consultant, herbalist, conservation proponent, and yogi. She joined Maine Fibershed’s Board of Directors to help promote large scale transformation in the textile market by facilitating access to local fibers and creating a value proposition for local fiber textile production and other commercial products.
Jude Hsiang, master dyer, fiber artist, owner of Versicolor LLC, community educator, dye-plant and community garden steward, writer, and well-loved speaker, brings her knowledge of teaching and love of research to Maine Fibershed.
Jude was one of the first people to volunteer to help raise awareness of the Maine Fibershed, partnering with Steph Grant to host a fundraiser at the Evening Star Grange in early 2024. Jude has continued to create awareness, build communication bridges, and open doors.
Jude began exploring natural dyes in the 1970s when she processed wool from her own flock of sheep in New York’s Hudson Valley. Jude has been recording her results and now teaches others the science and craft of growing, processing, and using natural dyes.
Her support of Maine Fibershed comes from a deep concern for Maine’s farmland, farmers, and the people who use and love Maine products. Jude’s respect for the land is palpable and her breadth of knowledge and wisdom that she shares is inestimable.
Forever guiding Maine Fibershed, Melissa brought her open heart, immense creative talent, joy for laughter, and wisdom beyond her years to co-found the Maine Fibershed. She taught us all that hugs were the most important currency, Maine textiles should rule the world (again), and farmers are truly the salt of the Earth.
Living on a sheep farm through 2020 convinced Melissa that advocating for farmers, natural fibers, local mills, and community makers would inform her steps forward. These decisions were pure magic for the Maine Fibershed and continue to be our guiding principles. Thank you, Melissa, for teaching us so much in such a short period of time and for looking over us with a love that will never die.
