Echoview Fiber Mill announces collaboration with Appalatch Outdoor Apparel Company

From a press release:

Echoview Fiber Mill announces collaboration with Appalatch Outdoor Apparel Company

Echoview Fiber Mill is pleased to announce a new working partnership and collaboration with sustainable clothiers, Appalatch Outdoor Apparel Company. Appalatch owners Grace Gouin and Mariano deGuzman moved their operations from the River Arts District in Asheville to Echoview Fiber Mill in Weaverville last month.

Echoview Fiber Mill processes raw animal fibers for customers and is the first manufacturing mill in the United States to be Gold LEED Certified. The two-story, state-of-the art mill features design elements like solar energy, geothermal wells, and sustainable materials.

“We’re delighted to have Appalatch co-locate with us here at Echoview Fiber Mill. Our company missions and values around sustainability, supporting local farmers, living wages for workers, and preserving the environment are really similar, so it’s a great partnership,” said Echoview Fiber Mill owner Julie Jensen.

“With Appalatch moving into Echoview Fiber Mill, we have a unique opportunity to focus on linking our supply chains, and to bring local fiber from Western North Carolina to a national audience,” said Jensen. “We look forward to collaborating with Appalatch and developing some great new products together,” she added.

As one of their future collaborations, Echoview Fiber Mill will start processing yarn for Appalatch’s exclusive line of custom-fit, sustainably sourced 3D-printed sweaters.

Appalatch secured the financing for their 3D computerized knitting machine, called the Stoll, through a successful Kickstarter campaign last winter. Gouin lists the machine–which is slated to arrive from Germany the second week of June–as one of the many reasons they decided to co-locate with Echoview Fiber Mill.

“When we got the idea to bring one of these knitting machines to Western North Carolina, we began to think of where it could reasonably be located,” said Gouin.

“It’s very heavy and requires a lot of energy, but with Echoview Fiber Mill’s Gold LEED certification, part of the energy that it takes to run the Stoll will actually be coming from the sun.”

“The icing on the cake is that Echoview will soon be able to supply yarn that we can use on the machine, so we can go from raw fiber to finished product in one building. It’s the closest thing to vertical integration without actually keeping fiber animals here,” said Gouin.

Echoview Fiber Mill sources some of the fibers for its own line of yarn from Echoview Farm, just a few miles down from the mill. At Echoview Farm, Jensen keeps an assortment of fiber animals, including  alpacas, angora goats, and angora rabbits–even two Scottish Highland cows–a striking red Highland, Dara, and an off-white Highland, Fiona.

“Once the knitting machine gets here, we can start buying yarn from Echoview Fiber Mill and turning it into some great products,” Gouin said.

In addition to their line of yarn, Echoview Fiber Mill makes dryer balls, shoe laces, and is developing felt insoles–products that Appalatch plans to carry in their online store. For now, Echoview’s product line is available in their online store, and in their gift shop at the mill, which is open to the public 11 am to 3 pm during the week at 176 Jupiter Road, Weaverville, NC 28787. The shop features yarn, clothing, art, honey, and locally made gifts. Tours of the The Echoview Fiber Mill processing facility are free at 1:00 pm every Tuesday, or by appointment.