Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to TeDi Jansen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

TeDi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Several years ago I lost my job. It was a big surprise and I had no idea what I was going to do next. We had lived on our current farm for a few years and had a little herd of dairy goats that we milked. I had been making goat milk soap and had dipped my toe in the water, selling at a farmer’s market. One day, a week or so after I lost my job I was making a batch of shampoo bars and the thought came to me that I could save the world one bar of soap at a time. It seems a little silly now and probably what really happened was that I saved myself by creating a business around that idea. What I discovered was that I was really happy for the first time in a long time. Owning your own business, specifically working from home is hard and takes a lot of discipline but when I need a break, I just walk outside and spend time with the goats for a little while and I am ready to go again.

TeDi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is TeDi, a name I chose for myself later in life. My life and business is a lot like that. It is truly a privilege to chose a life you love and work you jump out of bed in the morning to do! Of all the titles I have self bestowed, shepherdess and fiber artist are my favorites and my favorite work here on the farm is making things with the fiber from our angora goats and fiber sheep. There is just something about taking the raw wool and mohair and turning it into something beautiful. From raw fiber which is dirty from a year of being on the animal to picking and washing, next I dye the clean fiber with botanical dyes. Plants and bugs give amazing colors when you know how to coax them out. After dyeing I comb or card the fiber to prepare it for spinning. Sometimes I sell the fiber at this stage to spinners who create their own gorgeous yarn and sometimes I spin it up myself. The last part of the process is taking that yarn and making something with it. I am a weaver and usually my creations are tapestry weavings and sometimes scarves. It is so satisfying to look at that piece and think that a year ago it was on a sheep or goat, out grazing in my pasture.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Creating a connection and community with my customers is a high priority for me. A lot of my customers are beginners. They are just starting their fiber arts journey with a class they take from me. I am always available to them through FB messenger or email for questions or suggestions. In addition to these connection points, I have a private online community that my students are invited to. There is a general place in the community where any of the members can share projects or ask questions of the group. I also host my classes there and create topic areas for them to have specific discussions related to the class. Casting the net wider, I belong to the Wool and Fiber Arts Facebook group. I go live 2-4 times a month with little loom demos, tips about botanical dyeing and dye gardens and topics related to fiber and fiber preparation. On Monday evenings I go live on my Timber and Twine Facebook page to talk about farm and fiber. This one is a pretty informal discussion about whatever is going on at the farm. It’s a lot to juggle but I am building a community and I want people who are interested in fiber arts and what I do to have many touch points.

Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear about your experience with buying businesses

Several years ago I bought the Timber and Twine business and brand. It was a business I had been a fangirl of on Instagram for years. The name seemed perfect for the fiber part of my farm business. I am the fiber artist and my partner is a woodworker. She makes gorgeous fiber tools for the business. It was perfect for us!

It was an interesting process since T&T was in Australia, although an online business The woman who owned it was looking for someone who was dedicated to the care of the earth and the people who touch the products along the way. She had been importing botanically dyed yarn from India. I continued with that company for a while but found it wasn’t really practical for me. It was my first import experience and got me to two little fiber companies that I love to support and work with.

Most of the acquisition process was pretty straight forward. I still fight with Facebook about who owns the business page but that seems like small potatoes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.smallacrefarm.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timberandtwine.co/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timberandtwine.co

Image Credits
All photos were taken by me.