The music of the spinning wheel will be as balm to your soul. (Gandhi)
About us
Welcome to Green Mountain Spinning Wheels, owned and operated by the Francoeur family in Leicester, Vermont.
Green Mountain Spinning Wheels brings together Kris' love of fiber, spinning and knitting with Paul's love of fine woodworking. Those interests were passed down to us from our grandparents and parents. Kris' grandmother, Anna Wesslen, taught her to knit by the time Kris was five. Paul's great-grandfather, Flavien Bergeron, owned a sawmill in Quebec, and his grandfather was a carpenter.
In 2003, we bought three fiber alpacas from Champlain Valley Alpacas in Bridport, Vermont. We quickly realized that spinning their fiber using a drop spindle was fun, but not necessarily going to produce large amounts of yarn for knitting. We then began to look for affordable options for spinning wheels, finding that some were affordable but not terribly attractive to us, or finding traditional wooden wheels were very expensive.
Therefore, we decided to create a wheel that combines the aesthetic beauty of the traditional wooden wheels, with the affordability of the more “modern” wheels. The combination of beauty, sturdiness, and affordability resulted in the “Otter Creek” wheel, which is named in honor of the beauty and endurance of the Otter Creek in Vermont. It is our hope to also promote the buying of local wheels and accessories, as many spinners are forced to buy wheels or accessories built outside of the United States.
Green Mountain Spinning Wheels is a family-run business. Each member of the family has a part in the wheel-making or fiber-producing. Paul designs and builds each wheel individually, Kris takes care of the alpacas and tests each wheel extensively. Our two youngest children help to make sure that each wheel is virtually squeak-free, as well as helping with the animals. Together, we create wonderful spinning wheels and accessories in the midst of the beauty of Vermont.
To learn more about Green Mountain Spinning Wheels, please see our recent feature on WCAX's Made In Vermont:
www.wcax.com/story/16431494/mivt-spinning-hobby
Or read the recent article about us in Seven Days. To link to the article, please click on the link below:
www.7dvt.com/2011green-mountain-spinning-wheels
We also were featured in an article in the Addison Independent. To link to the article, please click on the link below:
www.addisonindependent.com/201012leicester-couple-finds-home-spun-success
Home of the Otter Creek Wheels
Green Mountain Spinning Wheels
780 Shackett Road
Leicester, VT 05733
Phone: 802-247-3197
Email: greenmtsw@gmail.com
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