Color, Fiber Intertwine at Still River Mill
As a species, human beings love color.
Greg Driscoll and Deirdre Bushnell, owners of Still River Fiber Processing Mill in Eastford, Connecticut, know color and fiber. Devotees of “Rhinebeck”, also known as the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, put Still River Mill on their “9 a.m. hit list” – in other words, get there early for the best selection of goods.
The couple did not chart a course to own and operate a fiber mill and dye business. They met while working as engineers in West Hartford.
Greg, a computer engineer, was helping with network work and Deirdre, a mechanical engineer, was in charge of the network, designing software for an HVAC company. Working together, they discovered that they clicked on a personal level. Eventually, they dated, then married, later, had a baby.
Though an engineer by profession Deirdre, has pursued her passions as a fiber arts designer, spinner and knitter for more than 20 years.
“I got into sheep when I could not find what I wanted. Basically, I had to get the grow the wool to spin and create it.” So sheep were part of their growing family life, too. When a second child was on the way, their small home in Ellington wouldn’t suit. Life-changing decisions had to be made.
“We ended up out here sort of by accident. Our old house was very small and needed work,” said Greg.
“Actually, a bathtub,” deadpans Deirdre, whose mother (luckily) was in real estate and had just heard about a farmhouse with some land and a barn that just come on the market. “We had sheep, the farm had land, a barn. At the time we had no plans of start our own business, much less a mill.”
“I couldn’t envision continuing my work situation, so I basically had a life crisis,” Deirdre explained. “Greg said to me as I was freaking out, ‘so what do we want to do?’”
Thoughts of how to earn a living while making yarn came up.
“Maybe we should do a mill,” said Greg. “It seemed like at the time we couldn’t come up with a reason not to do the mill.”
The plan was to get equipment, and with two young children, Deirdre would chip away at work during the week; Greg on the weekends, until the children were old enough for school.
While renovating the former horse barn, a crossroads of life faced them yet again. Greg was put on temporary work leave. Deirdre discovered she was expecting their third child. The mill was launched as a viable business operation.
In September 2004, they would be the only fiber processing mill in Connecticut.
“There was none in Massachusetts, one in Vermont and another in Maine and New York. We were one of the first of a new wave. At the time, it seemed viable option, much to the dismay of our families,” she recalled. “By January, both Greg and I were working full time at the mill.”
They never looked back. “In retrospect, we were walking along a cliff never realizing how close we were to the edge,” said Deirdre. “It didn’t seem that bad at the time. We didn’t know what we had to learn about fiber processing, the entire gamut of production, customer relations, shipping, boxes, or even just putting yarn in boxes and getting them shipped.”
They dealt with a steep learning curve along the way, juggling infants growing into children and gradual improvements to the farm, and a business around the clock. They did not realize that for the new generation of fiber processing, they were paving the way.
“Traditionally, mills processed one type of product – wool. All their machinery was tooled for that and they either got washed fiber and carded it. Or someone else who would spin it. The process was in pieces. We took fiber from raw to finished. Handled all sorts of fiber types and learned how and when each behaves differently.”
They now have the expertise to handle alpaca, angora, bamboo, camel, cashmere, fine wools (Corriedale to Merino), nylon, silks. In addition, they can add milk (yes), Samoyed dog, qiviut (Arctic musk ox), American buffalo (bison), yak and other fibers. Custom yarns services offer designers and shop owners the opportunity to blend and label yarns to launch their own lines.
“We started off with the motto that we would do what the fiber required to make the best product possible. Then determine whether we wanted to do it. Say there is a fiber that must be carded three times, how do we fix it, how do we charge for what we have to do and not lose our shirts?”
Each experience adds to a growing knowledge base. Their engineering background feeds the business, helping evaluate and analyze methods, data and deal with trends and conclusions in difficult situations.
One day the telephone rang. On the line was the owner of Buffalo Gold, which is now a well-established brand based in Texas. He was starting up the company, found them on the Internet. “Did they know how to spin yarn from bison?”
“Many mills has said, ‘uh, no.’ There was no textbook to even approach processing bison fiber. It was like a dissertation amassing knowledge, working out the information,” explained Deirdre.
“We essentially got them off the ground,” said Greg, who noted the company grew, later exported the work to China. “It really challenged us, it was a pivotal time.”
“Early on we realized we needed employees. We worked very hard to spread the information out so people have the tools they need. For fiber processing, you cannot predict what happens all the time, you have to constantly respond. Everybody is contributing to the quality along the line and each person can do something about it. ”
The business employs three full-time and one three-quarter-time person, plus Greg and Deirdre. There is a service component, the fiber processing mill, and their own dyes line, branded Greener Shades. They also do commercial custom work.
Editor’s Note: This profile originally appeared in 2010 on our network – and since then Still River Mill has expanded its web site, added products, and is now part of the new Connecticut Knit and Wine Tour. Readers can also find them on Facebook. For a look at skeins of their luxury yarns – as seen at the Fiber Festival of New England – visit Moo Dog Knits Magazine, linked here.
