Yarn Tourism – A Big Island Fiber Adventure
Keeley Richardson
Founder and Chief Fiber Officer
As fiber lovers, a visit to a yarn store often forms a part of vacation planning, right? When we recently decided to take our family to Hawai’i for a few days r and r, the Ohana Fiber Mill immediately sprang to mind. I have been following the developments at this new fiber mill on social media for the past twelve months, and our vacation on the Big Island gave me the perfect opportunity to discover what a fiber mill in a tropical paradise looks like. What I wasn’t expecting was that I had closer connections to their yarn than I imagined and that this trip to Hawai’i would turn into a bigger fiber adventure than I had planned.
If you haven’t come across the Ohana Fiber Mill yet allow me to introduce you. Launched by Alisha and Chris in July 2024, it’s a relative newcomer to the island, but it’s already big news amongst Hawai’i’s fiber community and the couple are living the life that many of us fiber enthusiasts dream of.
Originally from Ferndale WA, Alisha and Chris visited the Big Island for the first time in February 2023 and a this is where their love affair with this stunning part of the world began. A decision was made to leave the Puget Sound Region and begin a new life on the Pacific Islands. The journey from their first visit to the island to opening the mill took just eighteen months! The mill itself is in a former plantation general store that is steeped in history and the perfect space for a fiber mill.
Alisha explained, “We both really feel that the island chose us. It was by chance that Chris met the previous owner of our building, and she’s a fiber artist too! We fell in love with the island immediately, there’s so much support for makers and artists. We both just felt like we belong here. We were fortunate enough to be able to pack up our lives and move to Hawai’i!”
There can’t be many fiber mills in the world with views like this one. Seriously the northeast coast of Hawai’i takes your breath away and it is easy to see why Alisha and Chris fell in love with this beautiful part of the world. This area of the Big Island also works for practical reasons too. The climate is perfect for fiber processing – the cool trade winds blow through the building meaning there is no need for climate control. Just the right amount of humidity also means a lack of static build up on the machines and they function perfectly here.
The Ohana Fiber Mill specialty is producing yarn solely from the State of Hawai’i. They offer full service fleece to skein custom processing for local fleece producers, and unsurprisingly their services are fully booked as soon as they open their books each quarter.
Alisha and Chris also produce their own fabulous range of yarn. It is a beautiful blend of Merino, Corriedale and Blue Faced Leicester that comes from the Kahua Ranch on the Northeast Coast of the island (more on this later). I couldn’t resist three beautiful skeins and I am looking forward to casting on very soon. There is also a shop on site selling a range of yarns and supplies for local fiber enthusiasts.
As in all aspects of life one yarn adventure can lead to another. I was so hyped to meet Alisha and Chris and following my visit to the mill I sent a photo of their yarn to my knitting group. Proving that fiber folk don’t have many degrees of separation, my dear friend Megan (one half of The Fiber Bees), told me that she was close friends with one of the owners of the Kahua Ranch that supplies the Ohana fiber. It is truly a small fiber world! Megan connected us and a couple of days before we were due to leave my Hawaiian vacation turned into one big sheep to skein experience. Yes, I got to meet the flock!
The Kahua Ranch is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Courtesy of the kind and generous owner, Pat, my husband and I felt that we were treated to a glimpse of paradise. The ranch is located on the northwest side of the Big Island, and with verdant mountains as a backdrop, it stretches for acres down to the blue waters of the Pacific. It was bought by Pat’s ancestors in 1928 and has been family owned ever since. The four hundred sheep that are raised here lead an idyllic life and share the land with cattle and horses. They are herds with pedigree, and you will find their lamb on local restaurant menus (a trip to Merriman’s comes highly recommended by the Richardsons).
The 100% woolen yarn produced by this wonderful collaboration between Kahua Ranch and Ohana Fiber Mill is currently available in DK weight and has a beautiful natural look and feel. There are some great color options (I chose green of course), with plans to expand the range over the coming months. It is a truly uniquely Hawaiian product that is milled with the intention of reflecting the spirit and resilience of the Hawaiian Islands while supporting the community and environment.
“For our future, we’ll continue to do custom processing for farms within the state, and increase production of our own line. We also have plans to produce woven throws from our yarn.” Alisha told The Woolpack.
Woolpack readers will be pleased to hear that there are plans to add an online shop to the Ohana Fiber Mill website, so keeping an eye on their social media and signing up for the newsletter is highly recommended, after all who wouldn’t want to support this brilliantly sustainable and eco friendly yarn brand grown and produced in paradise? In the meantime, Alisha is very happy to offer teleshopping, so do give them a call. I’ll be keeping in touch with Alisha, Chris and Pat and look forward to sharing more details of their fiber adventures with you.
