Farm to Fashion

The Story Behind the Products 

The Artist

After many moves around the US, my husband and I relocated our family to a small farm in western Loudoun County, Virginia. We were drawn to the beautiful views and the rural character of the area. I was finally in my element and able to fulfill my dream of living on a farm while satisfying my urge to return to my roots. Eventually I discovered the Gotland breed of sheep and became a shepherd. From the beginning my intent has always been to explore the many creative ways in which I can use the fiber they produce to make items of lasting beauty. 

The Fashion

As a fiber artist, I continue to explore the many possibilities of working with my wool. While I do sell my Gotland wool as locks, fleece or yarn, my creative focus is on producing handmade felted scarves, neck wraps, and woven shawls. One of the techniques I have developed is a needle felting process that fuses the natural colors of my wool fibers with various types of fabric. The natural gray palette artistically blends with the fabric. I don’t use dyes - I simply use the beauty of my wool to enhance what already exists in the fabrics I find and reuse.

The Sheep

As a shepherd, I like the Gotland breed for their relatively small size, gentle disposition and ease of handling. As a fiber artist, I appreciate the breed and my sheep for of the qualities of their wool, which is prized for it’s lustrous steel-blue grey curly locks. It spins well into yarn and felts nicely as well. It’s comfortable to wear as fashion accessories yet durable enough for home décor and crafts.

She.Farm

Loudoun Economic Development and Public Schools announce the starting lineup of local farmers featured in this year’s deck of Farmer Trading Cards, distributed to elementary school students across the county.

This award-winning collaboration is back for its fifth year, coinciding with the start of the Major League Baseball season to illustrate the importance of farming in Loudoun’s community, having access to local food, and career paths that can be pursued in agriculture.

This year’s deck was created in time for the 2020 season but was delayed when COVID-19 disrupted the global economy and forced LCPS to do remote learning.

“Farmer Trading Cards are a celebration of agriculture in Loudoun County, especially after a year in which our farmers embraced new business models and illustrated the importance of local food and products. We salute business innovation and hope to impart that on the next generation,” Loudoun Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer explained. “The future of our farms depends on students interacting with farmers, understanding possibilities within the profession, and becoming the #LoudounPossible All-Star farmers of tomorrow!”

With LCPS again using in-person education, the Farmer Trading Cards will be distributed, one card at a time, through the schools’ lunchrooms.

Instead of arranging in-person visits for the farmers to the schools, as has been done in years past, Loudoun Economic Development produced video vignettes for each of the farms, which will be shown within the schools and across social media.

“We are delighted to spotlight the community contributions of Loudoun’s farmers and continue this award-winning partnership. Students look forward to collecting the cards each year and we’re delighted with the addition of videos to this year’s curriculum,” School Nutrition Specialist Elizabeth Frimpong, MS, said. “Local farmers bring so much value to our community, and we’re proud to serve a selection of local produce to our students. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our mutually beneficial relationships with the farming community.”

According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, Loudoun has more than 1,200 commercial farms, which contain thousands of Loudoun’s businesses and are a major driver in the county’s nearly $2 billion tourism industry.

Loudoun farms are home to the most grapes, hops and honey of any jurisdiction in the Commonwealth. Loudoun also leads Virginia in the number of llamas and alpacas.

The Ag Census also showed that Loudoun leads the Commonwealth in farms owned by women, Latinx, Hispanic, Asian, and military veterans.

Minnesota-born Rebecca Brouwer spent decades moving around the United States for her husband’s military and corporate career, but missed her farming roots.

So when the couple had the chance to settle down on a farm in semi-rural Virginia, they took it.

Click to see the video of the entire story on Voice of America’s web-site.

She.Farm’s Rebecca Brouwer is felting wool scarves to keep you warm this winter.

For She.Farm’s Rebecca Brouwer and her husband, Dennis, the journey to NoVA all began with an epiphany. “We wanted to get back to our roots, but the only ones I had were turning gray,” says the fiber artist and shepherd, who handcrafts lambswool scarves and other products. Those roots? The rural countryside of their youth. The Lake Benton, Minnesota-born Rebecca grew up tending animals on her family’s land. “I was like Fern from Charlotte’s Web,” she says. Her dream was to live on a farm and raise sheep.

Click to read the entire story in Northern Virginia Magazine's Life & Style Section.