Left to Right: Kat Eldred, Emily Wohlscheid
Emily Wohlscheid and Kat Eldred are business owners, fiber artists, and friends that have a passion for farm to needle, slow fashion concepts. This passion has led them to further explore local fibersheds and all aspect of the textile industry including farms, mills, independent dyers, designers, brick and mortar shops, publishers, festivals, and more. Part of being a responsible and informative platform for educating is also recognizing disparities in opportunity and recognition to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the textile industry. This multimedia podcast looks deeper into the process as well as the industry's history to find out what it really takes to get from "sheep to shawl."
This concept was born out of the constraints of the pandemic as both Kat & Emily's kids had been attending virtual school while they both also adapted to continue to create work for their respective businesses. Farm visits, festivals, and mill tours were replaced with virtual symposiums, zoom classes, and facebook live sales. In an effort to not only provide consumers with an accessible way to absorb information, but also hold the attention of kids and teens (or the inner child of our adult audience) whimsical elements of music, puppetry, and sketches will also be an important part of the show down the line.