Welcome to this week’s edition of Berries and Cream Blog Design’s Cream of the Crop series. We hope that you will enjoy today’s featured blog, Farming in the Shade, and its corresponding Etsy store, Shady Side Farm .
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I admire those who make a living from agriculture and livestock. My husband’s grandparents have a small herd of cattle and plant a large garden every year to provide meat and vegetables for the family. I know how hard they work, and I cannot begin to imagine the amount of work it would take to make a livelihood from a similar source. Yet that is what Lona and her family are doing at Shady Side Farm.
I had the opportunity to find out more from Lona about her family farm.
I’d like our readers to get to know you a bit better. Please share some background about yourself, your blog and store, and anything else you’d like others to know about you.
I started blogging in June of 2007, and opened the Etsy shop in November of 2007. We’ve been full-time farmers for 13 years and have become more concerned about the lack of accurate information about farming in America. We’ve also felt the economic pinch brought about by the “get big or get out” reality of agriculture. It was our hope that the internet could be a tool to help put a face to one American farm family.
Why do you blog?
To help people understand farming better.
What do you normally blog about?
I blog about our daily life on the farm (with photos), some fun farm facts, farming struggles, fiber arts, a smattering of politics and sometimes an inspirational post from the Bible.
What is your favorite post?
I think my favorite post was an early one–Farming in the Shade. It has a lengthy excerpt from a novel “Jayber Crow” by Wendell Berry. It captures better than I ever could some of the worry I see among those who work the land and tend the animals.
What are some of your readers’ favorite posts?
I get the most comments from our shearing day and baby lamb blog posts. Hard to compete with cute!
What will people find in your Etsy store?
Our etsy shop includes wool items made from the wool from our sheep. You’ll find wool yarns and roving for knitting, spinning and crafting. In addition, you’ll find wool socks knitted by Mike on his antique hand crank sock knitting machine, and rag rugs handwoven by Lona on her antique floor looms.
What is your favorite item in your store right now and why?
My favorite item is a set of 3 socks–it is definitely a unique item!
What are the top sellers in your store?
The hand cranked wool socks are our biggest sellers at this time. People love the whole sheep to sock concept, and once they’ve tried our socks, they are really impressed with how warm and soft they are!
Can you share some products that you are planning to put in your store soon?
I am working on some felted wool balls to use in your dryer in place of dryer sheets. They don’t make your clothes soft, but they do reduce the static cling problem, and without any chemicals at all! They can be used over and over again, and don’t leave any nasty residues on your clothing or the inside of your dryer.
As a business owner, what is the best piece of advice you ever received?
Do what you love and love what you do.
Thank you, Lona, for sharing more about yourself, your blog, and your business.
Sky of Seeryus Mama is another blogger who has become more than just a client, and I am so pleased to be featuring her blog today. I appreciate her taking the time to answer my questions.
