Blankets from Swans Island

Blankets and throws from Swans Island are expensive.  They are expensive not because:

• The CEO of the leveraged buy-out shell company lives in an expensive New York apartment and has friends on the board. 
• They need huge markups to pay for marketing and PR to keep stories out of the press that the products are outsourced to sweat shops in China.
• Sharp-elbowed, competitive housewives will eagerly overpay for them to show off as a posh brand to frenemies in an attempt to appear sophisticated and get a leg up in their status arms race.

Rather, they cost more for all of the right reasons.

• The blankets and other items are made (and sourced) on the coast of Maine.  
• The processes used are uncompromising.  If you set out to create a perfect blanket, this is how you would do it.  
• The items can last for generations.    

A Nice Weave

Their distinctive box...

...can be customized, but I like the sheep in a dory .

We stopped by their facility to see the process first hand.

Swans Island Blankets has been renamed Swans Island, although Swans Island (formally Swans Island Blankets) is no longer on Swans Island.  But they do still make blankets.

Swans Island's headquarters is in a 1780 farmhouse in Northport, Maine.

We were able to catch up with owner, Bill Laurita.

The organic wool is soft, both in the summer weight and winter weight blankets.

I have always loved wool.  But as I learn more about it, I appreciate it even more. Cotton soaks up water (and looses its warmth when it does), and even down duvets trap moisture and can create clammy conditions.  Wool, however, keeps heat but wicks moisture away, creating a dry warmth.

They are famous not only for these blankets, but their rare wool as well.

Most commercial wool vendors use harsh processes to get out all of the dirt and twigs.  Swans Island pays their suppliers more for cleaner wool to avoid this damaging step.

Then, all of the sheared wool is custom spun in Vermont using only biodegradable soaps and oils.  And unlike other spinneries, Swans Island gets back the same wool they sent in.  Using less harsh chemicals means more lanolin is retained, which is why their wool is so soft.

Their fleeces come from farms across Maine, including from some sheep who live year round on islands off of northern Maine.

Soft gifts for babies.

We then went to the adjacent area...

(They have some amazing looms.)

...where we watched them weave on their air-assisted shuttle looms.

Bill took us to their new dye house...

...where the interesting,  complicated, and completely natural dye process was explained. No petrolium-based, synthetic dyes here.  And all their yarn is skein dyed, which means, among other attributes, that wool has slight variations in color. 

Depending on the color "recipe" some yarns are in the large tanks for only a few minutes, some are in overnight.

The Extractor

The new building had just been baptised with its first stain on the white walls. 

Irene explains an upcoming "build a blanket" feature where customers can custom-design their own blankets and throws.

Irene showed us her favorite colors.

They also sell yarn for knitting.

Natural Variations

On our way back, just down the road from them, we stopped by a familar spot.

In Lincolnville, one can get the ferry to Isleboro...

...which I did a lot as a child.

Waiting for the Ferry to Go Over

I am always intrigued by the impact that place has on production.

100% Organic Merino Wool

A Perfect Spot