Jan 24, 2023
In episode 283, Kestrel welcomes Kristin Morrison, the founder and designer behind All Species, to the show. A textile arts and design studio, All Species investigates the potential to create regenerative garments and textiles.
The below story was written by this week’s guest — it’s vision-inducing and reminds us of all the value that can come from further connecting ourselves to the natural world. It’s a beautiful way to envision what could happen if we work toward literally wearing the land around us.
“Can we imagine together the rumble of 200 hooves- the vibration spiraling up from your feet to your heart as you witness wooly Rambouillet sheep running in the distance. Your work boots kick up dust as you run alongside to get a closer view.
Sipping in the scent of wool, grasses, soil, you can sense the vitality of this wild ecosystem. Hooves till the soil…wild grasses are mowed by hungry animals and the carbon gases are sequestered safely back into the earth in the process.
Today is a special day, sheep shearing day. You are here to witness the fine wool be cut from the animals, leaving them with small bare bodies. Shearing is a necessity and tradition that keeps the sheep healthy and also provides a source of income for the farmer.
Giant pillows of dusty, grassy, potent wool will be sent to local mills to be made into cloth. Sensing the good intention of this in your belly, brings a feeling of wholeness to your being, like you are part of something bigger than yourself.
The wools is then spun and woven into exquisite cloth in artisanal mills. In your minds eye, you imagine the supple yet stiff fabric and how it will be draped into form passing through hands of more creators…how it might shift from cream to charcoal as it is colored with native plants-and eventually come together as calf length coat styled with other fibers from the land.
This embodied garment, carries the vibration of all the hands who have imbued love into its cloth and echos the rumble of those 200 sheep.”
Quotes & links from the conversation:
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Sally Fox, one of Kristin’s fabric suppliers — listen to Sally on episode 267 of Conscious Chatter >
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CA Cloth Foundry, one of Kristin’s fabric suppliers — listen to founder Lydia on episode 135 of Conscious Chatter >
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“When we are wearing the land, we embody the frequency of it — it’s subtle quiet and yet, powerfully transformative. And in this, we are invited into the wisdom and the knowing, to what the lands needs to regenerate.” -Kristin (32:09)