Interview with Candice Miller from All Things Fiber Camp
Today I’m interviewing Candice Miller, who, along with Scott Miller, is the co-owner of All Things Fiber Camp.
All Things Fiber Camp is an all-inclusive fiber vacation. The spring camp is scheduled for May 13 – 18, 2012 at Ramapo for Children in Rhinebeck, NY. I’ll be one of the instructors and I hope to meet some of you there!
Candice and Scott are also co-owners of Creekside Acres Fiber Farm. They have been involved in the fiber industry since 2006 when they purchased their first alpacas. Since then they have expanded with a llama and a small herd of pygora goats. Candice is a novice fiber artist and an avid fiber and farming enthusiast. Candice and Scott’s family consists of three children, four dogs, two cats, a lizard, and a few happy goldfish.
Scott and Candice Miller. (Fellow Star Wars fans, I see.)
Underground Crafter (UC): What inspired you to start All Things Fiber Camp?
Candice: Our pygora goats actually! I know it sounds crazy but our fiber animals really inspired All Things Fiber Camp! We have a small fiber herd of pygora goats, a few alpacas, and a llama. We love the fiber animals, along with the fiber industry, and wanted to grow with it, so we spent a long time brainstorming. We live on a small farm and we didn’t really want to grow our herd to a commercial size because we really enjoy having a close relationship with each animal. We know each of them well since we spend time socializing and handling them. We really enjoy them as part of our family. I am also a very novice fiber artist and really enjoy learning as much as I can about the different arts.
Since my family LOVES traveling and vacationing, we thought it would be really fun to enjoy the fiber arts, learn, and keep our fiber herd small by putting together a really fun, laid back event like All Things Fiber Camp!
Wicket, one of the pygora goats, with Scott.
UC: What are some of the other activities taking place at the camp besides fiber related classes?
Candice: Well, first there are SO MANY fiber arts classes being offered that people won’t be able to get to all of them in just one camp. We wanted to have a variety of fiber arts classes but felt that there needed to be other fiber-related activities to break things up a bit. With that in mind, we have scheduled times for Llama Treks and guided hikes, assisted boating, folk dancing, yoga, and tai chi. There will also be a small herd of fiber animals for campers to get up close and personal with. Campers can feed, pet, or just hang out with the fiber animals any time they want. There will also be light evening activities, fiber-related demonstrations, and even a marketplace day for campers to shop. There is something for everyone from 7:30am to 9:00pm!
Don't you want to hang out with this cutie?
UC: What are your personal favorite fiber crafts? How did you get started with these crafts?
Candice: This is always the hardest question for any fiber artist! I think my heart is really in spinning. Mostly because I love the idea of processing a fleece from one of my own animals to a finished product! It has some kind of special meaning once it is completed. And, I have so much of my own fleece – I feel obligated to use it! I am a very novice knitter and have tried some felting but really my favorite is spinning my fleeces into yarn. I have enjoyed all of it and I am willing and eager to learn more! (UC comment: If you’re a spinner, check out the Community Supported Agriculture shares from Creekside Acres. The shares are available as raw fiber, roving, or yarn. Or learn to spin at All Things Fiber Camp!)
Heather Love will be teaching spinning on a wheel.
UC: You’ve had the opportunity to visit many fiber festivals and shows to promote All Things Fiber Camp. Tell us about some of your favorite fiber festival experiences.
Candice: We have visited a lot of festivals and we love all of them! They all have so many great things to offer. We are partial to the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival because we have been exhibiting our animals their since we started with fiber animals. At the NYS Sheep and Wool we love the Llama Parades and Leaping Llama Contest. Of course, we participate in those activities, but I think even the Festival goers love them.
We love the diversity of all the shows we have attended and the great people we meet while we are there. We have been all over, from Michigan to North Carolina and back up to Massachusetts, visiting festivals.
Elizabeth Buchtman will be teaching wet felting at All Things Fiber Camp.
UC: Tell us a little about the buddy specials for people who register before the end of the year. Do you offer gift certificates or is there another way of paying for gift registrations?
Candice: Right now, we have some really great specials running! The Buddy Special gives you a discount based on the idea that the more people you sign up with, the cheaper your camp fee is! If you sign up with one person, you will receive 25% off, sign up with 5 people you will get 50% off, and if you sign up with a group of 10 you will get 100% off your tuition – FREE!!
We are also running a Holiday Special that began on 12/1/11. The Holiday Countdown Special started on 12/1/11 with 25% off. As the days get closer to Christmas, the percentage will go down 1% per day. Both the Holiday Countdown Special and The Early Bird Special will expire this month!
We do offer Gift Certificates and can make them in any amount. People can pay for all or part of a camp tuition for their loved one. The first 15 Gift Certificates will also be accompanied with a special gift from Creekside Acres Fiber Farm!
UC: Is there a way for people to keep up to date on what is going on leading up to All Things Fiber Camp?
Candice: Yes! We are on Facebook and Ravelry and we have a website and an email group at Google Groups! People can friend us on Facebook by friending AllThings Fiber. We also have a weekly blog and email featuring some part of camp.
Thanks so much for stopping by to talk about All Things Fiber Camp, Candice!
You had me at “an all-inclusive fiber vacation”.
I know, it is a great idea, isn’t it, CrochetBlogger?
[...] Interview with Candice Miller of All Things Fiber Camp. Underground Crafter shares info about an all inclusive fiber vacation! [...]