Fun
The Tactility of Community
Last summer I spent a perfect, pastoral afternoon among fellow makers, textile artists, gardeners, and the cutest flock of Shetland sheep, a mere 35 minutes outside of Newark, New Jersey.
It was open studio day at Middle Brook Fiberworks, Anne Choi’s farm and garden in Bedminster, NJ. Having only previously heard of Anne and Middle Brook Fiberworks from diverse collective maker spaces online, I did not know what to expect on my visit—and I was utterly charmed by what I found.
I tried out weaving for the first time (table and tapestry), guided by Clara Boberg, and with help from Marceline. I bought a drop spindle kit from a teen spinner-entrepreneur, Kai of Fiber by Nature, and re-learned with a quick demo from Kai. I chatted with wood workers, quilters, spinners, jewelry artists, and others. I got to meet Anne’s sheep and the yarn Anne spun from their wool, and even got in some Shetland snuggles.
It was a delightful day of farm, fiber, and community.
You, too, have the opportunity to spend time among this inspiring community. Middle Brook Fiberworks is hosting another open studio day this spring. [Editor’s note: the open studio date has been postponed. Keep your eye on this page for the new date.]
Different from a fiber festival, a retreat, or a marketplace, the open studio day at is about two things: learning and community. It’s open to all (no registration fee). There’s no sense of being an interloper or a looming feel of clique-ishness that can overshadow some small events. And it incorporates commerce but that isn’t the sole purpose, although a variety of vendors offered some truly gorgeous wares last summer (including Anne’s own absolutely stunning Shetland yarn and a range of seedlings—vegetables, flowers, and more—from her garden).
Education and welcome are the guiding principles: the open studio is a day to explore, to play, to learn together and to affirm making.
In this, it was clearly rooted in the NJ Fibershed ethos.
As recently described in Farm Fiber Knits, Anne founded NJ Fibershed to connect people, small flocks in the state, and fiber artists. She is herself a farmer and an urban transplant with a lifelong interest in fiber and textiles. She came to fiber farming out of a diverse background, which includes divinity school.
Through NJ Fibershed, Anne helps farmers process their fleeces and get it to makers who will use the material. NJ Fibershed also conducts educational programs, local marketplaces, fiber-alongs (this year’s focus is plant fibers), and more.
Anne teaches about global textile traditions—her research has focused on Korean textiles, part of her own background—and the diverse lineages and legacies that shape makers today. This is a key part of her work and was apparent in the open studio, which featured an expansive and inclusive portrait of what textile craft is and who crafters are.
At Middle Brook Fiberworks, I met strangers that felt like friends and I realized pre-existing connections with folks I didn’t know, including Anne herself. Everyone I spoke to, from vendors and members of NJ Fibershed, to other newbie attendees, had an open, curious spirit. Whether we were knitting, spinning, weaving, doing other crafts, or simply enjoying the atmosphere, we were brought together by a fascination with craft and the many ways it exists in our lives: as art, study, hobby, career, pastime, and/or creative practice.
Everyone was excited to learn, share knowledge, and embrace their passion and the opportunity to meet new people.
Anne in March 2025, patiently waiting for spring to really spring
When so much today feels transient, virtual, and tentative, with a dizzying amount of sea change in the fiber world (how we connect, where we shop, what we can access coupled with flagship store and magazine closures, business changes, social media departures, more) let alone massive changes in the larger landscape, it’s meaningful to have in-person, tangible reminders of the tactility of community and how easy—and grounding—it is to connect and to create.
Open studio at Middle Brook Fiberworks is just that. It’s empowering. It’s a breath of fresh air. And it’s a reminder that I didn’t have to go far to find what’s at the heart of making: shared joy, learning, and community.
Want a little more procrastination? The MDK homepage is a total rabbit hole.
It sounds of “yesterday years” – just wonderful! Everyone needing each other, helping each other!
Thank you!
Thank you for that. I live 40 minutes away and didn’t know about this opportunity until now!
So well-written. Days of multi-layered experiences coupled with intense enthusiasm sometimes defy constructing an outline by which to organize a piece of writing — at least for me. I will come back and study this piece to see how Jeania pulled it off. Besides which it was very interesting! I felt as though I were there.
Re Jeania’s bio: I was pretty snobbish about adult romance novels until I met some very intelligent and educated aficionados. Still not a fan (I went through a couple of intense years of reading teen romances back then and that is enough for me) but I no longer dismiss them broadly as a much lesser form of literature. (For instance, there might be an Anne Rice of romance novels…I don’t know:).
Great article, Jeania! It was the perfect thing to read this morning as an antidote to the chaos that seems ever present these days.
I felt instantly hopeful and inspired that more of these kinds of events will spring up in other communities, bringing us together in our shared love of creativity. What a lovely thought!
Jeania you have captured this experience so perfectly, and it was such a true pleasure to be there with you and with our community. Thank you so much for encapsulating in your words this magical Maker environment.
Thank you, Marceline! It was such a great day — so glad to have met you and the others there.
I so enjoyed your article and wished I could easily attend the open house at the end of April. I was there with you as you described your experiences that day. Perhaps there is something similar here in the PNW (Washington).
Thanks for this letter, I’m going to see if anyone from my knitting circle wants to go to the next open studio day! Sounds lovely.
Thanks for this!
Thank you for a very interesting article. It’s always fun to taste a new craft. Now tell me about that weaving loom you are working on. That really looks interesting.
Thank you for a very interesting article. It’s always fun to try a new craft. Now tell me about that weaving loom you are working on in the picture.
Hi Liz: It’s a Vintage Structo 4 shaft loom. According to Anne, they have a really interesting history!
This sounds so amazing!!!! I’m really wishing I lived in New Jersey now! What an incredible place and experience! And I’m so intrigued by your dissertation on ROMANCE NOVELS???!!!!!!
Thanks for letting us share vicariously in your afternoon’s enjoyment! Any chance your dissertation research turned up this excellent treatment of Amish romance novels, The Thrill of the Chaste, by Valerie Weaver-Zuercher, published by Hopkins Press?
Hi Barbara: yes, I am definitely familiar with that book! 🙂
What a lovely article! As a Jersey girl now living in the Midwest, I’m happy to read about the NJ Fibershed. I must try to get in a visit on a trip home.
This sounds like a lovely trip! I am not far away. This is the kind of community I would love to be a part of. Thanks for writing about it.
Such a great description that I’m considering driving almost 12 hours RT. Thanks for a great read.
I loved this article but sad to see that’s it’s not in California. I would love the opportunity to watch and even knit with others. More so I always thought farmer’s markets needed a yarn element with Shetland snuggles.
awesome
Such a wonderful reminder of the connections we make through our crafts. Thank you!! I have to ask about that interesting small loom you’re using in a photo. It says Crusher on it. Is it something that can be purchased? We have a friend who would love to have a small loom like that. I tried to find it online but had no luck.
Hi Elaine: The loom is a vintage Structo 4 shaft loom. I know Anne uses it for teaching but I’m not sure about where or whether more can be purchased. I recommend maybe reaching out to your local weaving guild or asking around with other weavers. Good luck!
Thanks for the kind comments, everyone! I, too, hope more communities and spaces like this continue to happen.
Wonderful article and what a treasure that open house is. Like some others have said, I wish there was something like that near me. I’ll have to poke around and find out (or help start something). Thank you, Jeania!
I’m only 30 minutes away from Middle Brook and I had no idea it existed. Thanks for sharing and I will be attending the next open house. Plus a stop at Burnt Mills Cider up the road for a pint.