Fermenting Fleece

I have heard about fermenting fleece and with winter coming on and the prospect of washing one fleece at a time in my tiny shower loomed before me I thought I would do a little more research.

@julie_patchuliespins posted a picture on Instagram of a Jacob fleece fresh out of the suint vat. I was intrigued. Washing fleece is back breaking work, not to mention all the water and soap it takes. Could a suint vat be the solution to days spent washing fleece and a little more environmentally friendly too?

Well I am about to find out. I went a googling and came up with Wool Ewe, the instructions here seemed pretty good, so I am about to try it out. If you would like her instructions too, just tap the above link.

Stage one begins...

I am filling my bucket with tap water, not the recommended rain water. I am hoping to catch some rain water soon, but for the time being I will settle for soft mountain water. I let it sit out for an hour so the chlorine could evaporate. I am fortunate to live in an area with very few water additives, no fluoride for my fleece today! I filled the bucket almost to the top, fleece absorbs so much of the water that it did not overflow.

Next up the fleece...

I am using a Rambouillet fleece to start my vat. I am hopping it is greasy enough, as I don't have any smaller greasy fleeces and I did not want to split my fleece up to try this. I am starting two buckets, one Rambouillet fleece in each. I have chosen to use old mayonaise containers from a restaurant, one I have accesses to them, two the lids fit nice and tightly, a must with little fingers present. The seal should also contain the smell and they tuck into a corner of our back storage area better then a bigger tubberware bin. They also stack without fear of toppling.

All that has to fit in there???...

So I did not shove the fleece down into the bucket like this, I separated it a little and pushed individual pieces into the soon to be vat. I made sure the whole fleece was submerged. 

A little extra water...

I topped off my container with a little extra water so that the entire fleece was fully submerged. My containers do not allow for as much space as a rubber maid, but I am hoping that it will work. With a few containers on the go I should be able to split larger fleeces and give more space to the fleece if the tight quarters do not work.

Even if I have to do one hot water wash for the fleece following this process I am happy to have less back breaking work to do and be using less water in the process... fingers crossed.

Farmers' Market Season is in full swing! Now what? You have your table for the season, you are committed, you are meeting people, getting your name out there. A familiar rhythm may be developing. Maybe you are just at one Farmers' Market or many, either way there are a few more things to consider. Your product, your brand and your display.

Essay #2: Product Continuity

Product Theme and a Sneak Peak at the Importance of Branding and Display

I have been to a number of Farmers' Markets over the years and what I have noticed is that not all booths display a cohesive theme. Some may be cluttered, or overwhelmed by multiple products that seem to have no relation to one another. Tags are beautifully handcrafted, but inconsistent. The table looks thrown together, messy even. What message do you send your customer when your product theme is inconsistent, when your tags are miss matched and your table looks like a haphazard display? 

A farmers' market stall with multiple product types that are not well organized or labeled can: 

• Discourage customers from approaching your booth
• Devalue your products
• Impede customer relations and repeat sales

There are few simple things you can do to mitigate these potential problems.

• Choose one type of product to carry, keep any additional products within the same genre. 
• If displaying multiply products separate them distinctly into groups on your table, let your overarching theme be: Hand Made, Locally Crafted, etc.
• Use consistent labelling throughout
• Put thought and effort into your display

By eliminating extra product you will make it easier for your customers to remember you and the products that you offer. You will also have a clear focus for when you are creating and restocking your table.

Multiple products need to be clearly categorized so that customers to your booth can clearly identify your many products, consider having signs stating what each product is, even include a suggested use. Place like products or ones that can be used together next to one another. For example place your hand made soap next to your hand knitted wash cloths, maybe even create a package deal such as buy any three soaps and get a wash cloth free. Customers need you to create the links for ease of shopping. If a customer has to create their own product link they may have left the market before it occurs to them that your knitted wash cloths and soap would make the perfect gift. 

Consistent labelling helps customers to identify your product, think of it as branding. Yes I said it, BRAND (Essay #3) yourself. Recent experience has shown me that branding seems to have a bad rap with the buy local, support artisan crowd. Personal branding is not about becoming something you are not or changing your base values. Branding is about expressing your product values and beliefs to the world in an easy to recognize way that helps customers who share the same values find you. 

Create a display that reflects your brand and your product, in other words, you. Do you prefer modern and streamlined? Does that compliment and show your product in its best light? Or does a victorian era style work better? Is your product eclectic and need a simple display? Does wood show off your product the best? More on display in Essay #4.

My Real World Examples of Product Theme

Market Day in Nelson - July 1st - http://riverstone-yarns.tumblr.com/

Susan from Riverstone Yarns focuses solely on selling her locally dyed and even some hand-spun yarns. She may also have hand-dyed roving available, this however fits neatly with her fibre arts supply theme. She often displays examples of how her yarn can be used in one of a kind knits. Her display is easy to set up and simple, meaning that her yarns are given the spotlight. Her booth is full, but not crowded. She uses that same style label for all products and keeps a similar colour scheme from sign to shade sheet to table cloth. Her booth layout is dynamic and makes it easy for more then one customer to accesses her products. 

You can find Susan and Clyde in their Riverstone Yarn Market Stall almost every Wednesday at the Nelson Farmers' Market in the West Kootenay Region of beautiful British Columbia.  If you are not in the area to meet them in person make sure to check out their website. If they don't have what you want in stock, just send them a quick message or even create your own custom order!!! Their burly yarn is my personal favourite!

Hand Made Soap - http://trbyhand.com/category/sales/soap/

Tricia of TR by Hand displays her hand made soaps and homemade berry vinegars alongside her hand-spun yarns, handwoven blankets, and nuno felted scarves. Tricia groups her unique products by category. For example she displays all her vinegars together on a table and uses a logo and similar style label for all her products.

Although she has multiple products she keeps her table uncluttered by hanging her scarves from the tent and putting her hand spun yarn in a basket. Tricia creates some luxurious soaps from natural ingredients. Her hand spun blankets and nuno felted scarves are also fabulously one of a kind. 

You can find Tricia at the Rossland Mountain Market, in Rossland, BC. Make sure to check with Tricia first as her presence at the market fluctuates based on her availability.

A Note on Market Tents

Tents are a necessity on hot sunny days, not just for you as a vendor, but for your customer. Investing in a tent that is easy to set up and has optional sides makes for a versatile piece of equipment that will make your sunny and rainy day Farmer's Markets and Festivals more pleasant.