How much fiber does your state produce annually?
This, however, may not be a good litmus test. Consider that the New England states report a total of 210,000 pounds of sheep wool production annually. And yet they represent 13 mills in those six states. That would mean that each mill should potentially be responsible for 16,000 pounds per year. But then consider the numbers in California alone which produces 2.8 million pounds of sheep wool annually yet they only have 6 mills. Meaning that each mill is potentially responsible for 467,000 pounds per year. Now consider these numbers in light of the fact that the a fully developed artisan fiber mill typically produces 6,000 pounds annually. There’s lots of room for growth.
Discovering potential markets
Finally you’ll want to consider access to potential markets in your state that you or your farmers will have access to. This topic should have it’s own post. But it’s worth mentioning that you’d want to begin asking questions like: Where are they? What are their seasons? How big are they? Part of this means you will have to do a deeper dive and determine what raw fibers are being produced in your state and what finished products those potential markets are looking for.
[…] last year and have had a growing interest in starting your own artisan fiber mill. There is easily space for another 125 startups just in the United States alone. How can we come alongside other pioneers in the fiber frontier and […]