Welcome to Maggie’s workshop. She single handedly converted this old single garage into her little Gal Cave… it’s her retreat from the rest of the world! I just love it out there… she has it all nice and cozy, with her tools and equipment and such and this is where her new company has spawned. She is making the most beautiful fiber working tools I’ve seen in a while! Just lovely things. She has a special touch, for sure. And it’s just something she really adores.
All her wood for recent orders. She got a big influx of orders in the last few weeks with the debut of her new Etsy shop… Windhaven Fiber and Tools. (You can click HERE and to go visit, but come on back, won’t ya?) It’s really been so wonderful. She’s making lovely products and really starting to help with the day to day running of our homestead! She actually paid the taxes due this month! Talk about a wonderful boost to her moral! 
Making a bit of a mess with lots and lots of sanding! She wears a bandana mask to help keep the dust out of her mouth and lungs. She really likes using her little one inch belt sander, it’s awesome for small tools. She has a 4 inch belt sander as well and that is very nice for the larger pieces. 
Working on sanding some cherry diz. A diz is used to pull fiber roving off of a carder or a blending board.
You might wonder, how does she know about these tools? Well, her mom, me, I’m a weaver. And she started out by making me a lovely shuttle for my birthday last year! It was so amazing, I said, gosh, you should make some of these to sell. And she did. And they sold like hotcakes! Well, then I asked if she would make me a different type of shuttle and she did. And it was amazing! Seeing that she had a knack for these lovely tools, we searched out about 20 different tools and she made lovely prototypes of them all. And we opened up her shop, just about a month ago.
Well, she has sold well over 100 items and is just going nuts with orders! She is getting a couple a day now and it’s just keeping her and us very busy! 
I’ve even gotten into the act of helping out! I’m working on her lovely little card or table looms!
Part of the whole project of this little division of our homestead empire, is to give Maggie a job, or rather a company to run, a craftsman skill that she can hone and develop into a line of products that she sells to help add to the family coffers. It gives her a sense of pride to create such lovely products, in demand and it also bolsters her self esteem and self-worth. This is so important for her, as an autistic young adult. It’s hard to picture her working in any traditional job that would most likely be rather simple and low paying. And difficult for her. She works best alone. Something like a woodcrafting business in her own comfortably workshop is just simple ideal. It’s not that she doesn’t try hard to work with people, it’s that, to be honest, she’d rather just be around her animals and by herself. She’s happiest that way. It’s just Maggie.
So, Jessy and I have been helping her launch this adventure. We do the accounting part and marketing, handle the shipping and such. So she can focus on making. She is best at that. She makes some beautiful things. Her woodworking is pretty much all self taught, or as she calls it, YouTube University. She has had a few very wonderful mentors to get her started, like her buddy Bill! He encouraged her when she first started making these adorable little wooden birds. And he’s still one of her best cheerleaders. I know he would be proud to see how far she’s come.
Sure, she can learn more and as her skills increase, so does the quality and caliber of her work. It’s already so beautiful, you should see the reviews of her products so far! Just amazing… So delightful to hear perfect strangers remark on how lovely her work is…
This is a fantastic hackle, especially for the price! It’s beautifully made. I started using it as soon as I opened the box and I haven’t stopped! – Stephanie…
Opened my shuttles today (forgot to get the mail Saturday). Beautiful – they look and feel beautiful. I can’t wait to use them. They’re much nicer than the manufactured shuttles.! Thanks! – Catherine
I love the design of this diz! So easy to and use! Fits perfectly in your hand. – Nancy
Just got here today and it’s beautiful. The color is exactly as described and the craftsmanship very well done. – FiberArtsJunky
I love this diz! It feels good in my hand, the wood is so smooth and warms, it’s ergonomic and gorgeous!! Plus the cute threader makes this a great buy! – Shellie
Thank you so much for such a wonderful package! I love all of the tools! They feel wonderful to hold and are beautiful and just what I needed! When you develop you inkle and tapestry looms please put me on a list and let me know! I’m especially looking for an inkle loom that is portable as right now I have a standing one.
Maggie your work is just stunning!
– Sadia
Beautifully crafted I will be using this for many years to come.
Thank you! – Lisa
It’s been so wonderful to watch as she earns more money than she ever has in her life and can purchase her own supplies, equipment, tools as well as a few goodies for herself and helping the family out. She has her own debit card for her own account now, and that is so wonderful for Maggie. She can learn to manage on her own, a huge step forward to independence.
I worried that perhaps it would overwhelm her. Just be a little too much, but rather, it’s the opposite! It’s given her drive and purpose and just an excitement over her work that I’ve never seen in Maggie! It’s so wonderful and delightful! She has no less than 18 new prototype products she is working on! And I believe, a few others rolling about in her noodle, not yet formed but getting ready to become reality! Fiber artists should be happy! She delights in making beautiful handcrafted heirloom tools for a fraction of what other fiber tool craftsman charge. Sure, a beautiful piece of work is lovely, but why spend $200 on a hackle when her $40 one is stunning, useful and economical. These tools are to be used, not to be on display at a historical museum. She designs for US… everyday fiber workers. Her beautiful tools do not break the bank, but they are not cheap or shoddy. She uses beautiful hardwoods and exotic materials to create beautiful tools. The mahogany lucets she carves are so beautiful, they are a work of art!
Maggie is still working on her decals and signs and of course, she loves to take care of her hogs and the other animals on the homestead. (Well, she could probably do without the goats! haha… The goats are her least favorite animal… I think because they push all her buttons!) But so far, with the debut of this new division of the Windhaven empire, she is staying pretty busy with this all. And working hard to get all her orders out the door quickly and have some time to work on the prototypes of new products! And I’m pretty sure we will see more of her lovely work as she develops the other interests she has such as bookbinding and paper marbling! She does those well, too!
Add this to Jessy’s thriving rock and mineral business and the weaving and other crafts that we do and you have a nice little cottage industry for us and we love it…
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