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Montana Made: The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers

Posted at 9:16 AM, May 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-23 17:34:25-04

GREAT FALLS – A rancher near Cut Bank would sing “The Farmer’s Daughter” by Merle Haggard to his daughter Candice.

That sentiment would one day grow into a fiber-dyeing business that captures the Treasure State’s colorful culture. We headed to The Farmers Daughter Fibers in Great Falls for this Montana Made report.

English says her Montana roots are saturated in a blend of cultures that are at the heart of The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers after spending her early years on a ranch near the Blackfeet Reservation

“Having a Native American mother and then a rancher for a dad it was just, I realized how unique that kind of was," English said.

She says the combination of those two worlds inspire her business — which came to life after she decided to quit her corporate job. “I was just not happy and instead of kind of settling for a 9-5 job and being stressed out and all of these things that I was gonna change that.”

English set out in 2015 to find what was needed most in the fiber arts industry, "dyeing yarn seemed like it was, um y’know a good idea."

Starting in her basement, English began to hone her skills, watching tutorials, reading books and traveling to craft festivals and shows until hand-dyeing yarn became second nature.

Since then, The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers has moved behind the Columbus Center in the old hospital laundry facility — another piece of history threaded through the business that adds uniqueness to their products.

“What we produce in the colorways we create are very much, kind of a, have a nostalgic feel to them and so being in the building just fit in with all of that," English said.

She credits her businesses’ growth to the sentimentality of simpler times- which many find here in the Last Best Place.

“When you’re in the city, or y’know more urban areas, it’s harder to do that so I wanted to kind of be able to bring that to people and so that I think is why we attract so many people outside of the state," English said.

While many think of The Treasure State as a place of the past, English says Montana is full of culture — something she is proud to share wherever her yarn is shipped.

“Think it’s amazing to see our stuff from Montana, inspired by Montana out there in the world because it is a piece of us, y’know, and our culture mostly here," English concluded.

The business has products in 20 states and five countries and English says her goal is to keep growing her website along with increasing wholesale orders outside of the state.