Interview with Stephani Camp of Tomorrow Farm

It's interview time!  Gather 'round the knitting couch with your coffee, tea, or iced mochas and let's get started.  Stephani Camp was one of the first crafters I met on CreatingTheHive, the wildly popular, and new crafting community.  I really appreciated that she was part of a family run Alpaca farm, crafter, and someone who enjoys spinning and dyeing Alpaca fiber.  I was doubly excited when I visited her Etsy shop, TomorrowFarm and saw a wonderful array of items.  Click your needles together and wave your hooks to welcome Stephani Camp of Tomorrow Farm.

 

Q. Stephani, when I first visited your website I was immediately taken by the fact that you are a small family owned business and Alpaca farm. You also have quite an array of classes. How do you balance the business and family life since they are so intertwined?


A. We all play a part in the business. It just seems a natural extension of our family. The kids love helping with barn chores before they start their school work and often while they work on school work, my husband and I are right next to them working on spinning, knitting or other fiber projects for the farm. Somehow it just all seems to work together.


We have found that we work better without a set schedule. That’s not to say we don’t schedule in orthodontist appointments or farm visits. We just don’t let the schedule run our lives. The key to our balance is being flexible. Things happen, especially on a farm, that take precedence and our family understands that.

Q. I was thrilled to see that your Etsy shop, Tomorrow Farm, is filled with items a knitter or spinner delights in. How did you decide on the inventory, and did you go through trial and error, or did it all just come together easily?


A. I think I had the inventory set in my head before I ever opened the shop. I knew what I wanted to offer and had a great time putting it all together. The majority of our products are made right here on the farm. We raise our alpacas for their fiber and then turn that fiber into rovings, yarns and other finished products that people can wear and enjoy.

As a compliment to the things we make here, we added certified organic fiber dyes from Greener Shades and SpinOlution spinning wheels which are made right here in the USA. I love supporting other small family companies and try to work with them as much as possible.

 Q. The name, Tomorrow Farm, made me instantly feel that your lifestyle is very eco-friendly. A visitor to your web site can see the love and care in everything that you do with the business. Do you have eco-friendly knitting tips you’d like to share with us?


A. My biggest eco-friendly knitting tip is go natural and local. Reduce your yarn’s carbon foot-print. Natural fibers such as wool and alpaca are renewable resources and don’t require large amounts of energy to turn into something wonderful.


Get to know the farms and animals your yarn comes from. Knowing that the yarn you are using comes from happy animals and a chemical free environment, makes the project you are working on much more special.

Q. Excellent advice! Stephani, what is your favorite part of the business? Do you have favorite items in the shop?

A. My favorite part of this business is just the fact that it allows both my husband and I to be home and raise our family on the farm. This is our full-time job, but how many people can share what they do with their kids every day? It’s so much fun watching our kids interact with the animals and just recently one of them decided that they wanted to start their own little shop of knitted items. I love their creativity!

Now asking me if I have a favorite item in the shop is like asking me which one of my kids is my favorite. I do have a couple favorites though. I am in love with the SpinOlution Mach II spinning wheel. This is the wheel that I use most often and will always be the one I recommend to others.

My other favorite would probably be the alpaca yarns. They are so soft next to the skin and I love that I can name which animal on the farm they came from.
Q. We all crave our quiet time and have a certain place we go to charge our creativity. Where is yours?



A. My husband was nice enough to build me a fiber studio this past winter. I have a habit of hiding in there with the door shut and the music blaring when I need “me time”. The family knows that if the door is open they are welcome, but if the door is shut they better go find daddy.


Stephani, please share with us any upcoming events, sales, or new items you’d like us to know about.



New items to look for will be alpaca spinning batts. I have been dyeing fiber like crazy and making fun alpaca batts for spinning. These are fun, colorful and of course come straight from the animals here on the farm.

Also our very first knitting patterns will be released to the public sometime in the middle of September. They will be available as just the pattern or in a kit with the pattern and enough yarn to complete them.


Sounds exciting, Stephani, and I can’t wait to see the knitting patterns and kits.


Thank you so much for allowing us a glimpse into your creative and family life, and for taking time away to do this interview. You have definitely inspired us to be more green in our approach to knitting, flexible and creative. We look forward to watching you grow and create wonderful items for your shop.



You can also vist Stephani at TomorrowFarm on Facebook, Stephani Camp at CreatingTheHive, and the TomorrowFarm web site.