Since she last posted, Jenn’s sent in some photos of the farm . . .

My first two weeks at Cestari, Ltd. have been a whirlwind so far, full of new experiences and plenty of learning.  I started this adventure with PiPN knowing only how to knit, unsure of how to purl, and totally unaware of what it might be like to live in the company of sheep.  Now, after the Seminar for the Fiber Arts at Akron University and a short two weeks at Cestari, I can tell you some of the differences between the worsted and woolen systems for making yarn, understand how spinning, twisting, and coning machines work, and have an appreciation for the bleating of sheep at such hours as eleven o’clock at night.

I have, so far, learned an incredible amount about yarn, and beyond that, about small businesses and what it takes to manage them.  Mr. Chester, my gracious host and the founder of Cestari, Ltd., and I have had extensive conversations about the hope and determination that it takes to succeed in life and in business.  The cornerstones of business are personal accountability and responsibility, and this family owned and operated business has plenty of energy and heart.

I thoroughly enjoy the welcoming and down to earth atmosphere at Cestari, where there is the yarn mill where I work, next to the law office that Mr. Chester operates (he is not only a farmer, but also a lawyer), next to the vegetable stand that the Chester family owns, next to their vegetable garden.  This internship often requires me to multitask, and I have been able to enjoy taking on many different roles, from tending the vegetable stand to helping customers at the mill, and from responding to email orders to packing and coordinating shipments.  On one occasion, when the stand had run out of onions and I had searched the storeroom and refrigerators in vain, I found Mr. Chester and inquired as to where we kept the extra onions.  He told me, “follow me, I’ll show you where we keep ‘em,” and proceeded to walk me down the dirt driveway, into the vegetable garden, kneeled down, and pulled one up out of the earth.  “This is where we keep ‘em!”  Of course we keep the onions in the ground, growing.  There is much to learn here indeed, especially for someone like me, who has lived her entire life in cities or suburbs.

It has been an exciting two weeks, and I cannot wait to see what the next will bring!

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