Solitude Wool is for Sale!
It’s one of few Breed-Specific Fiber Businesses
Reading Time: 6 minutes
By Christine Heinrichs
Gretchen Frederick was prepared to sell off their Virginia wool business, piece by piece. If she couldn’t find a buyer, that would be her exit to retirement.
But, after years of work, educating the public, and gaining fiber artist customers who appreciated her wool products, knowledgeable buyers emerged. Although she hasn’t closed a deal yet, two potential buyers are ready to pick up the business when the sale is finalized.
Solitude Wool
It’s been a journey since Ms. Frederick and her spouse bought the 10-acre farm in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 1992. They raised sheep and goats, while continuing to work in Washington, D.C. until 2000. Ms. Frederick began spinning her own yarn in 2001. She and Sue Bundy of Red Gate farm in Leesburg, Virginia, founded Solitude Wool in 2006.
Frederick got her financial underpinning when the small company where she was a graphic designer was bought by a venture capitalist. The company got bigger on e-commerce, she got stock, and that led to enough financial stability for her to stop working and start spinning.
She began to sell her hand-spun yarn, then some garlic she grew. She leased more land, raised more sheep, and grew more garlic.
She met Sue Bundy through Loudoun Valley Sheep Producers.
She began to sell her hand-spun yarn, then some garlic she grew. She leased more land, raised more sheep, and grew more garlic.
“We knew all these people with sheep, cool breeds,” she said. “They were throwing their fiber away, because they couldn’t find a market for it. We realized we had both been thinking the same thing, that we needed to do something with their wool.”
Growing the Business
The Solitude Wool business began growing organically. They approached the big farmers market in Washington D.C. at Dupont Circle. The market is strictly limited to producers only; no resale or third-party sales. Solitude Wool didn’t fit into that exactly, because they sold wool from sheep raised by others.
“It was a value-added agricultural product. I was already selling hand-spun yarn from my own sheep,” she said. “Without that (permission to sell at the market), we wouldn’t have survived.”
The business attracted wool enthusiasts, who became partners. Now called Woolies, they brought their own skills. Debbie Deutsch and Kim Pierce became minor partners.
From 2008 through 2014, Solitude Wool’s products continued to grow. They got more wool from more breeds. They attended more events, such as the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, where they were a sensation.
“We met people there who hadn’t seen anybody do what we were doing,” she said.
“Moira Ramsey is an important Woolie that we lean on!” Ms. Frederick said. “She is doing all the skeining and supports all warehouse activities.”
Kathy Reed raises alpaca and cashmere goats and became Solitude Wool’s Chief Knit Nut, Wool Procurement Officer, and Captain of Knitting in 2017. She became a partner in 2018.
They organized the business as an LLC. While it wasn’t making a lot of money, Ms. Frederick wanted the Woolies to share in Solitude Wool’s prosperity.
Ms. Frederick supported the organization of the Chesapeake Fibershed, to include the same area as the Chesapeake Watershed. She recently stepped down from the board, where she was one of the original members.
Breed-Specific Wool
Solitude Wool groups wool into five categories: Fine, down, medium, long, and double-coated. Wool from several breeds fits into each category.
- Fine wools include Merino, Rambouillet, Cormo, and Targhee;
- Down includes Clun Forest, Dorset down, Shropshire, Suffolk, Hampshire, and Welsh Mountain;
- Medium includes Corriedale, Finn sheep, Columbia (west US), Tunis, and Montadale;
- Long includes Coopworth, Cotswold, Border Leicester, Leicester Longwool, Lincoln, and Romney, Ms. Frederick’s personal favorite;
- Double Coated includes Karakul, Icelandic, Navajo Churro, Scottish Blackface, and Shetland.
The Solitude Wool team took their products to more events, including higher-profile fashion events such as Vogue Knitting Live in Manhattan.
“We were totally different,” Ms. Frederick said. “We got noticed by Yarn Harlot https://www.YarnHarlot.Ca/ and some great designers, such as Nancy Marchant https://www.BriocheStitch.com/. That was a big boost for us. Sales were really good. It was very exciting.”
Solitude Wool was one of the initial official providers for The Livestock Conservancy’s Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em Initiative, as well as a sponsor. SESE works to bring producers and consumers together, encouraging fiber artists to use breed-specific wools and helping farmers meet wool customers’ needs. https://LivestockConservancy.org/Get-Involved/Shave-Em-to-Save-Em/.
Ready to Sell
Ms. Frederick was ready to slow down in 2024, her hips aching for replacement. Her sister in Oregon was in failing health and needed support.
“I had already decided I wasn’t going to breed sheep next year,” she said.
Sue Bundy had already retired, stepping back from being the main wool buyer. She continues to wash and rinse wool. Debbie Deutsch partially retired from skeining and now handles fulfilling online orders. Kim was taking on more marketing and inventory responsibilities.
Kathy, Kim, and Gretchen began the plan to close down. They notified their best customers, farm and business contacts, that they were looking for a buyer. Many people sent many lovely responses, but no offers to buy the business from that.
Without a buyer, she figured she’d sell off the business assets piecemeal, the equipment and the wool inventory. She sold the farm property. She parted with her best Romney sheep to a mother-daughter farm in the Shenandoah Valley.
Then they sent the announcement that the business was closing to their email list. That shook interest from 17 prospective buyers. From that group, two have emerged as serious buyers.
“I want a buyer who I think can be successful,” she said. “I don’t want a buyer who is biting off more than they can chew.”
Neither of the prospective buyers comes from Loudon County, now a wealthy suburb of Washington D.C. Ms. Frederick sees that as positive, to take the business in new directions that reflect the new owner.
“This has totally been sculpted by what we liked, what we were good at, and what we wanted to do,” she said.
Reflecting on Accomplishments
Ms. Frederick is proud of the team that brought breed-specific wools to market. She’s gratified with the increased public awareness of the value of sheep on the landscape, of the unique qualities of their wool, and of how those wools can enrich our lives.
“It feels like we are on the verge of why different wools are better for different products, and why sheep are good for the environment,” she said. “The knowledge is getting out there.”
And if neither buyer works out, she’s optimistic that someone else will. If you might be that person, contact her at f-fsolitude@mindspring.com
Story Behind the Story
Gretchen Frederick’s email reached my Inbox. I hated the idea of this unusual business closing. It offers a service few others do, and in that small universe, every business is significant.
I’m a knitter, knitted the Livestock Conservancy’s Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em Challenge. I appreciate the nuances of breed-specific yarns. I’m knitting the official hats for the Shetland Islands 2024 Wool Week.
I reached out to Gretchen to ask if she’d like to reach Countryside readers. They might include a prospective buyer for Solitude Wool, someone to keep the business going.
When she talked about how she’d educated the consumer, I instantly understood. When my first book, How to Raise Chickens, came out in 2007, people often asked, “Is it a cookbook?”
Public perception can change fast. Within a few years, everyone knew someone who was keeping backyard chickens.
Those of us who are reviving these breeds and agricultural skills and arts are informal educators. We’re restoring practices that are close to the earth, adaptable to low-carbon goals, and richer in history and creativity.
It’s a privilege to have this work.
Christine Heinrichs is the author of How to Raise Chickens, available through the Countryside store, and How to Raise Poultry and the Backyard Field Guide to Chickens, available on the APA Store here.
Originally published in the November/December 2024 issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
