the singing falls waterfall singing falls logo text capella, the goat shepherd's constellation

Marginal
Agricultural
Land
Is not
Marginal
Wilderness
~ox-{

 

 

Expression With Meaning

a sprue of locks

Washed Mohair Locks-click to view

All of the labors, trials and blessings of being modern day "pioneers" and shepherds in America are not the result of a whimsical quirk of fate that has cast us, as peasants, into a high tech society. Our move from what we were to what we have become was conscious and confident. We have avoided overly exposing, to our readers, the true impetus that has led us this way. This intentional abstraction of our motivations is in the hope of keeping them sublime and out of the reach of commerce (one of my pet peeves). But to deny their expression altogether would be to deprive us of great joy. Our spirituality and philosophical paradigm are quintessential to our makeup. Therefore they are manifested to some degree in all that we do. That is important to us.

a rainbow colored hand woven mohair throw

Beauty and warmth-click to view

Rural living, as we have approached it, is difficult. The greater part of all that is temporally in our lives has been much the work of our own hands. In many respects our tasks are time consuming and work intensive. Some projects go unfinished. Priorities are always shifting. The reward of our lifestyle and labor, among other things, is a profound sense of deep seated fulfillment. Our immersion into this organic and natural way of living is a product of spirit that has the unique capacity of reinforcing itself by the way that we live. What our hands have touched and what they have made are an expression of the deepest aspects of our being. For us it is more than art and more than mere instinct to survive. We acknowledge fully that the materials with which we create and live will disappear in time. But the impact on us as persons, the love that we have put into all that we have done will remain forever. Such virtues are genuine. The very same tasks done by myriads before us may not bear the same fruit. We are living and walking our passion and bringing it to the world.

We cannot actually say that we have had mentors. Yet we have. First and foremost nature has taught us. Then through focused research we have read and gleaned from many sources around the world; books have taught us much. Then there are the tales and hard earned knowledge of seasoned neighbors and friends. Mostly we have learned by discovery through our own effort and experiment. We have learned the hard way. As enjoyable as reading is to us, it has never quite taken the place of raw experience. It has only somewhat prepared us for it.

hand spun natural colored yarn

Yarns of natural colored mohair-click to view

As decidedly ardent natural fiber advocates, our passing this way was... well... natural. Our first steps were purely altruistic and practical. Hand crafted items always seemed of more valuable to us because we had a sense of the measure of their true worth. That we would live in symbiosis with our livestock was decided upon early on. Smaller creatures appeared better to start with, so we settled for goats, sheep and birds. Once we had a supply of fleece on hand, the obvious next step was to use it for warmth and comfort. Quality warmth and comfort. I remember well the first scarves and hats Alexandra knitted. Even with consistent exposure to the extreme elements of the wild, I was immensely warm. My warmth and comfort was all the more special because every strand had the touch of my beloved upon it. That is warming in itself.

Soon, one acquaintance, then another, said, "I want one!". So it began, and soon we were very busy preparing raw fibers, yarns and garments for others. Thus have we have lived and extended ourselves beyond parameters of the physical boundaries of our small wild world. We share what we have discovered to have value, beautifully and practically.

a custom designed natural color mohair throw

Warmth for a friend-click to view

Others Knew

It wasn't until we moved to Oregon and purchased a computer in mid 1990's that we offered our items on line. This wonderful medium of communication has made it possible for us to have the best case scenario for our lifestyle and living. I've enjoyed using the tools that have been made available to me through the open source software community to creatively extend ourselves and our offerings to the world. It in itself has become another venue of artistic expression. Through it we have been made aware of a wonderful group of people with similar interests from around the world. Our earnest hope has been that they have truly experienced an extension of our place and persons into their lives, a genuine reciprocity of art and life. The electronic medium of the www has bridged the gap between us and those who appreciate natural and hand crafted items. Our customers live all over the world. They are discriminating individuals that see the intrinsic and practical value of our work. We greatly appreciate the exchange.

Since then we have made many friends through our cottage industry. Years have gone by and we are still in contact with many of the individuals that have commissioned a blanket or purchased doll hair or a rug. We have done our very best to satisfy our customers and build a reputation for quality service and art. If we have inadvertently fallen short of that goal, we assure our customers of a money-back guarantee. Fortunately we've only had one incident in the past twenty four years when a patron has returned a product. It was promptly replaced and our customer was well satisfied with the replacement. All commissioned work carefully goes through a process of prework communication so that the fine details of color, texture and size are established prior to engaging the project in earnest. We are available by phone but generally iron out those details via email and sample mailings.

Now that we have covered the why and what, let us point you to the various segments of our site for a better view of what our herd of angoras and the work of our hands provide. To best serve that purpose, I have put together a series of galleries.

If you are interested in our doll hair locks or the nature and character of mohair in general, our mohair locks display is the place to go. I have put together a line up of images that illustrate the lock type and colors available here at Singing Falls. Every strand of mohair comes from an angora goat with a name. You'll get to meet them also.

Next we would like to direct you to the gallery of images associated with many of the custom made products that we've created. The weaving gallery well illustrates the versatility of mohair and how we have utilized it to meet customer demands. If you looking for a hand-spun, hand-woven mohair item, please enjoy our weavings presentation there. If you are interested in the processes involved in weaving from scratch, we have a page illustrating that here.

Last but not least is our gallery of angora goats. We feel it is important for our patrons to see where their desired product actually has its origins. We are very fond of our herd and interact with each one as would a faithful and caring shepherd. It seems right to us that people make the connection between the source of mohair fiber (the goats) and its use. We would very much like to have our products carry with them the continuity of the flow of nature as it reveals its richness and generosity through the herd and through our hands. It seems a disservice to do otherwise. If while viewing the images you find a particular individual or color to your liking, let us know. We can weave an item utilizing their mohair.

If by chance you have a unique need for mohair, feel free to contact us and we will see if we can accommodate you.

Stanley & Alexandra Petrowski
34620 Tiller Trail Hwy.
Tiller, Oregon 97484
mohair@singingfalls.com
The wise woman is skilled with her hands