Studios, Retail Sales Space, Teaching and Event Space. The Shepherd's Studio is a maker's space supporting artists in fiber and other mediums in their journey to create. Retail sales, studio space, supplies especially for fiber arts, events and classes are part of what we do to help artists find a place in Phillipsburg! While The Shepherd’s Studio originally and officially opened in March 2004 as
The Shepherd's Mill, the roots of the business rest securely in Finland where Sally Brandon spent 6 months as an International 4-H Youth Exchange (IFYE). During that life-changing trip, Sally learned to weave in the community weaving houses there and discovered a life-long passion for creating cloth. While Sally was gone, Jay determined she would be his wife. Neither of them would have imagined that 20 years later they would be working together taking raw fiber to exquisite cloth for customers across the country. During what Sally calls her “starving artist phase”, she and Jay attended the first ever Great Western Alpaca Show in Denver. They went to begin building Sally’s weaving business as well as Great Plains Artisans (a retail fiber arts supply business owned by Sally; her sister, Kay McCoy and mother, Virginia Hopson). They ended up with a booth space next to a family who owned a small fiber processing mill. On the way home from that show, Jay told Sally, “I think that’s what the Lord would have us do.” Sally spent the next six months writing a business plan to prove to Jay that he’d misunderstood. But through study and prayer, she ended up convinced that it was a pretty good fit. With help from Phillips County Economic Development, Farmers National Bank and the Small Business Development Center as well as strong support from the local community; the business plan become a reality on February 13, 2004, when the final financing was approved. The equipment was delivered less than a month later from Prince Edward Island, Canada. The technician who delivered the equipment spent 3 days training the original crew of two full-time and two part-time employees. By November of that year, equipment was added to keep up with demand. Jay remained at TAMKO Asphalt Products during the first 3 years and maintained equipment or prepared fiber in the evenings. In January 2008, Jay joined the team full-time and through the years we’ve continued to add employees as the business has grown and evolved. At the peak of production, the mill employed 8 people and ran an average of 150-200 # of raw fiber a week. In January 2022, the yarn mill was sold to MM Fiber Mill of the New Lancaster General Store in Miami County, KS. Sally continues to work closely with Roger and Penny Minniear to create the yarns she wants for her fabrics. The sale of the spinning mill allowed Sally to refocus on the weaving she so dearly loves while still having a hand in selecting and designing natural yarns to weave with. With a building too large for just herself, The Shepherd's Studio was born to help others follow their passion into the art world.
