(GREAT FALLS) Near Cut Bank, a rancher would sing “The Farmer’s Daughter” by Merle Haggard to his daughter Candice. That sentiment has now blossomed into into a fiber-dyeing business that captures the Treasure State’s colorful culture.
Spending her early years on a ranch near the Blackfeet Reservation, Candice English says her Montana roots are saturated in a blend of cultures that are at the heart of The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers.
“Having a Native American mother and then a rancher for a dad, it was just…I realized how unique that kind of was,” said English.
She says the combination of those two worlds inspire her business, which came to life after she decided to quit her corporate job at a childcare center.
“I was just not happy and instead of settling for a 9-5 job and being stressed out and all of these things – that I was going to change that,” said English. So in 2015, English set out to find what was needed most in the fiber arts industry.
“Dyeing yarn seemed like it was a good idea, and I started dyeing yarn and everything kind of fell into place,” she said.
Starting in her basement, English began to hone her skills – watching tutorials, reading books, and traveling to craft festivals and shows until hand-dyeing yarn became second nature.
"I don’t know – I just kept going with it, so it was just like a little bit at a time,” she said.
Since then, The Farmers Daughter Fibers has moved into a space behind the Columbus Center in the old hospital laundry facility, another piece of history threaded through the business that adds uniqueness to their products.
“What we produce in the colorways we create are very much…kind of have a nostalgic feel to them and so being in the building just fit in with all of that,” she said.
English credits the growth of her growth to the sentimentality of simpler times – which many find in the Last Best Place.
“When you’re in the city or more urban areas it’s harder to do that, so I wanted to kind of be able to bring that to people and so that I think is why we attract so many people outside of the state,” she said.
While many think of The Treasure State as a place of the past, English says Montana is full of culture, something she is proud to share wherever her yarn is shipped.
“It’s amazing to see our stuff from Montana, inspired by Montana, out there in the world because it is a piece of us, and our culture mostly here,” she said.
The business has products in 20 states and five countries. With more than 10,000 followers on Instagram, English also says social media has been key in her success.
In regard to her corporate job, English says there’s nothing she’s more proud of than starting The Farmers Daughter Fibers.
“I get so excited to come to work, if I take a few days off on Monday, I’m ready to go back in so. I think that’s the way it should be.”
English says her goal is to keep growing The Farmers Daughter Fibers website, along with increasing wholesale orders outside of the state.
She also wants to share her shop more with the Great Falls community.
For store hours and more information, click here to visit the website, or find them here: https://www.instagram.com/thefarmersdaughterfibers/ or here: https://www.facebook.com/famersdaughterfiber/.
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