The 26 th sheep shearing of my flock ! Thanks to the great shearer @avonvillaoamaru and the support of Armando & team it went well! And with only 67 sheep nowadays, it went pretty fast! Just in time for the hot weather ahead. Now I get to rest.
Yesterday, with the help of the people who help Alvarez Farms with weeding, we hand planted the 1/2 acre Experimental SeaGreen Fusarium field trial. Thus location has the highest incidence of this new disease that they farm. With so many great helpers and a different system than I have at my farm, we got them all planted in half a day. Their planter opens up a deep narrow channel down into moist soil. Dosi, Jr had prepared these pvc tubes so the seeds could be dropped into the channel standing up. I never did got the hang of it. Oh well. Once we finished dropping the seeds another tractor was used to cover the seed bed . This ensures the moisture is protected. A week later the top gets knocked off so that the seedling can emerge. We can watch in real life how the different seed lines actually do growing on this farm, with this soil and a totally different climate. At another location (where the soil does for have the disease) the seeds of each of these top candidates ( as determined last year thanks to Dr Zhang’s greenhouse testing) are being multiplied so that we have enough seeds of the one or ones that do best to replace the current variety. I am so grateful that this is in and look forward to watching how they grow during the season. Pretty much all the production fields are in, most have visible sprouts. I get to get back to filling the mail orders and catching up on paperwork and most importantly rest after the sheep get sheared on Saturday.
I’m on my way to plant out the Experimental SeaGreen lines in New Mexico. The clouds are so beautiful and I love seeing the places that I have lived and farmed these cottons on over the decades. So many memories return.
We began planting more of these beauties this afternoon. All the while looking with excitement as what was planted, just before the cold rains came, emerges and begins to form the little green lines. Or in this case curves.
The first cotton seedlings have emerged, despite the unusually cold and wet weather that interrupted things. We should resume planting the smaller plots in a few days, depending on when the soil is dry enough.
I want to focus on something that is left out of the naturally colored cotton conversation the most often. And that is that to use color that the plant creates requires something absolutely opposite of the normal modern business model. It requires what we see in abundance in the natural world, and something that deep down many of us know is the basis of everything of substance. That is this: long term devotion to craft and respect for the others who are similarly motivated. Let me share one of the most poignant aspects of my deeply moving attendance to the exhibition honoring the life and work of Dr Kondo so beautifully executed by @taishoboseki . Pictured here are some of the people who visited my farm with Dr Kondo or began using my cottons spun by @taishoboseki even earlier. The first to use organic cotton and pioneer its importance. These are a few of the knitters, manufacturers and retailers such as @ten_i_muhou , who bought the yarns that @Taishoboseki courageously ordered prior to planting. Keeping me in business, keeping my research going. Supporting the organic family farm growing it at scale. And helping us establish certifications of steps after growing, such as ginning, that the entire organic cotton world utilizes still. Designing and producing a specialty yarn such as Foxfibre®️Colorganic®️is not something easily done at the scale that fast fashion and the big brands require to offer products at such approachable prices. Taking the extra steps required to handle color at this stage requires finesse. For designers to create with palettes created by the spinner, not a dye house, requires humility and deeper talent than those who can change this and that to catch the mood of a moment. Respect for every group of people in the textile processing ecosystem is foundational as well as patience and cooperation. Things cannot be forced. If any one within this system goes under, all suffer. We have multiple years between idea and fruition. With everyone along the line’s knowledge and expertise crucial. Each person in this textile ecosystem a living treasure. Certainly to me they are; my sincerest thanks to all.
I wanted to focus a bit on the Sea Island cotton (that had been bred for New Mexico in the ‘80’s) that Alvarez Farms in New Mexico has been growing on their organic farm since then. That Dr Kondo began developing foundational yarns with shortly after we had that meeting on Earth Day 2000. You see, when Dr Kondo decided to begin ordering (prior to planting) bales of my cotton I reached out to Dosi Alvarez to see if he would be willing to grow them for @taishoboseki and me. As he was already known for producing this special Sea Island cotton, also known as “Ultimate Pima”. He agreed to give my SeaGreen a try. Because the remarkable Dr Kondo connected with those he purchased fiber from he would visit during the harvest season. Every year since 2002. And usually bring some of his customers and some of the wonderful people who work at the mill, with him. And in this way they got to know Alvarez Farms and soon began buying and designing yarns using this extraordinary organic Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton in addition to my cottons of natural color. It has been a crucial component in the yarns made out of my cottons as the extraordinary fiber strength and long length of the Sea Island, when combined with my cottons, increases the yarn strength- resulting in a longer useful life. But on its own this cotton has proven to be the foundation for perhaps the finest organic cotton products produced to date. In these photos are some of them. From the fashionable trench coats by @beautifulpeople_officialsite to the blend of it in the corduroy used to make my jacket, to the brown trousers worn by @bahzadt@wonderlooper to the gossamer scarves produced for a famous luxury brand, all share this Sea Island fiber in their yarn construction. Even if it is invisible to the eye. As the smallest amount of it elevates the entire product. In these photos there are many images of the plants, and of customers over the decades visiting Alvarez Farms to see the very special Sea Island cotton ready for harvest. First photo is of Daisuke-San from @taishoboseki standing in front of card sliver that includes a blend of these cottons with other luxury fibers.
More photos from the incredible exhibition in Tokyo that @taishoboseki generously invited me to attend honoring the life and work of Dr Kondo. The former President of their mill who passed away a few years ago. Who, in my opinion, is responsible for bringing these cottons that I have worked with for my adult life into the hands and hearts of almost everyone who uses it today. I also got to see some cherry blossoms with @ayako_ohmizu and Nakamura-san and went to the most amazing craft store with @seed.hand . Although it has already been a month since this deeply emotional event took place, paying such a beautiful, thoughtful and respectful tribute to Dr Kondo is still giving me the inspiration and motivation to keep going. The jacket that I am wearing in these photos was made for me by the wonderful women tailors @gormleyandgamble out of the Foxfibre®️Colorganic®️ corduroy that @oneany_textile_and_garment produced.
Twenty six years ago, on the first Earth Day of the new millennia Dr Kondo visited my farm. This farm in which I still live, but then it was new- I was camping out in a travel trailer using a portable building as an office. Dr Kondo’s infectious lively curiosity and kindness made such an impression on me that I made the wish ( formalized in an email) that we could work together for decades. Dr Kondo, who was a noteworthy textile engineer before becoming the president of @taishoboseki , passed away two years ago. Last month I was profoundly honored to join some of my favorite people in the world at the exhibition space in Tokyo which they filled with illuminating materials and images that allowed us to experience some of the depth of his life’s work. The days were emotionally rich as I was able to spend time and meet up with some of the people who visited my farm with Dr Kondo on that first visit. But also many of the great people that work with my cotton now, thanks to the fact that @taishoboseki has been spinning these cottons since 1993. The next post will have more images of moments with these customers whose creativity and dedication to excellence in the products which they manufacture are responsible for the success in the marketplace that these cottons (that I have so fortunately spent my life with) are currently enjoying. Here are a few photos from those deeply moving days honoring the life and work of Dr Kondo. Note the second slide which shows how the decimation of the cotton spinning mills in Japan (mirroring what happened to our industry in the US as well ). I learned how Dr Kondo was instrumental in @taishoboseki ’s survival. Some of my amazing customers are pictured : @wonderlooper@ten_i_muhou@oneany_textile_and_garment@beautifulpeople_officialsite .I remain profoundly grateful to @taishoboseki for including me in this elegant tribute to Dr Kondo’s life and work. Next post will have more photos.
More photos of beautiful seeds to share with you. We got all the increase plots in and after this it will be the smaller plots that are many more generations away from potential new variety status. Of course they are very important and where all the genetic leaps occur. But these that we got in today really needed to be planted sooner rather than later. A beautiful day, I am grateful to have had the help of the amazing team of people who have helped me for over a decade now. Who work at the neighboring farms full time, yet come and make this happen. Thank you all for supporting this research in all the ways that you do.
Ok, we began planting and got all the big seed increase plots in this morning. The intensity of the color of the linters around the seeds always blows my mind, but this year I have seen color intensity like never before. We continue until dark. This is exciting, but grueling to keep up the pace. Huge rains are coming late tonight, so it most likely will be another week until we can get in to plant the rest. But these seed increase pots are crucial that they get planted earlier rather than later.
