Etsy's policies have changed - the site now allows the sale of mass-produced items that no human hand has touched. So I feel like I need to spell this out: I am not a factory, LOL.

White Birch Fiber Arts is a one-woman show. There is no plant, no machinery, no automation, and there are no employees - unless you count my Border Collies. (To be honest they really aren't that helpful. They'd be thrilled if they were allowed to assist, but it's really hard when you don't have opposable thumbs.)

So really, it's just me. I dye in very small batches, in my kitchen in southern Vermont. I love playing with color, trying out new combinations, coming up with interesting techniques, and being surprised by unexpected results.

I started dyeing in about 2006, and opened the Etsy store in 2007. Then my life circumstances changed, and I closed down the store for quite a few years. I didn't stop dyeing, though - I just did it for personal use.

In the summer of 2013, I showed a picture of some socks I had knit from my dyed yarn to a group of people on Ravelry. They liked the yarn quite a bit. One woman in particular, a woman I had briefly chatted with but didn't know well and had never met in person, sent me a lovely private message that said, more or less, those socks are fantastic, do you sell that yarn, and if not, why the heck not? I had been kinda thinking about reopening the shop, but was dithering. Her lovely note was just the encouragement I needed, at just the right time. The next day, she was killed in a car accident. (That sounds unbelievable, like something out of a bad novel, right? Sadly, it's true. A good many of my Rav friends and acquaintances will know exactly who I'm talking about.) So sweetie, wherever you are, thank you for the gentle shove. I didn't know you well, but I wish I had. I hope I'm doing you proud.

Anyway. Back to business. I don't make any attempt to precisely reproduce colorways. Skeins from different dye batches are going to be different. If you need more than one skein of something to finish a project, it's definitely a good idea to order all the skeins at one time because, though I can come pretty close, I won't be able to exactly reproduce your skein later on.

If you'd like a custom order, or if a colorway is sold out and you'd like to reserve a skein out of the next batch, give me a holler! Or, ya know, I suppose sending me a PM might be easier, LOL