Back to the Home Page           Go directly to the Shopping Cart WebStore

Carol Leigh's HILLCREEK FIBER STUDIO

Welcome to Carol Leigh's Specialties & Hillcreek Fiber Studio.

2008 marks our 26th year in business.  Carol Leigh's Specialties was founded in 1982 primarily as a custom weaving, spinning and natural dyeing business. As a result of increasing inquiries of "How and where can I learn to do that?", Hillcreek Fiber Studio was added in 1986 to provide workshops, tools, books, and supplies for the growing number of weavers, spinners and natural dyers. In recent years, we've combined the names into Carol Leigh's HILLCREEK FIBER STUDIO.

Our business is family owned and operated, founded originally by myself with continuous support and assistance from my husband, Dennis Kaiser. Denny joined us full-time in 1998, following 25 years as Manager and Comptroller of one of Mid-Missouri's largest contractor equipment & camper sales/rental agencies. His forte is in providing quality customer service. Besides answering customer inquiries, he finishes our various frame looms, ships orders, does the accounting, makes corn bread and delicious soups for workshops, demonstrates triangle weaving at shows, and fills in where ever needed. Son Carl Spriggs is a gifted woodworker who was instrumental in developing our patented adjustable triangle loom, and continues to build the Tri-Looms and many of our other spinning & weaving tools. Carl and his wife, Jody, presented us with a second grandson in October of 2006. Following several years in sales and marketing with J. C. Penney, daughter Rebecca Oliger, now with three sons, was the Manager/Merchandiser for the Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe, which, in late November of '07, was taken over by Joan Ditmore (Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe, LLC). We no longer have any affiliation with that store & its operating company. In February of '08, Rebecca, in partnership with her long-time friend Shella Watson, opened a new shop - True Blue Fiber Friends. Daughter Rose, now a junior at the University of Missouri majoring in Photo Journalism, demonstrates triangle weaving, spins, and fingerweaves. She assists in our commercial booth at shows, and has taught fingerweaving and triangle weaving at events, and works at the new shop - TBFF. Phil Spriggs, Carl and Rebecca's Dad & computer specialist, does our record keeping, and publishes our brochures, newsletters, catalogs and Website. Our Apprentices provide immeasureable assistance in preparing for workshops and shows and in packaging products.

Hillcreek Fiber Studio is located three miles south of Columbia, Missouri, in the Little Bonne Femme Creek Valley, looking out on woods, pastures and a state park. Columbia is half way between St. Louis and Kansas City on Interstate 70. We offer over 16 workshop topics throughout the year (several twice) in spinning, weaving (floor loom, Navajo, triangle, inkle, tablet), natural dyeing, knitting, & Kumihimo Braiding. Bed and Breakfast at the Studio, and airport shuttle service from St. Louis and Kansas City to our front door, are available to workshop participants. This fall (for the 10th straight year), we again hosted Sarah Natani for an Advanced Navajo Weaving Workshop.

Thanks to you, our loyal customers and friends, Carol Leigh's Hillcreek Fiber Studio has continued to grow, adding to the variety of looms using the Continuous Strand Weaving Method, and more varity in products & workshops for you.

New products added recently include - the HFS Travel Square Looms, and Travel Rectangle Looms (designed to work with and compliment our 2' & 3' Travel Tri-Looms), and the Travel Square Bags (designed to compliment our 18" & 27" HFS Travel Square Looms); the HFS Mini-Modular Tri & Square Looms, and many NEW BOOKS.

Our "Shopping Cart" WebStore adds to our On-Line presence and provides our customers with a quick and convenient way to purchase virtually all of our inventory items.

Our goal is to provide reliable, friendly service with natural, quality products at reasonable prices.  We're small enough to provide you with the personal attention and assistance you deserve, yet large enough to offer a WIDE selection of fibers/yarns, natural dyes, spinning, weaving & knitting tools and equipment, and fiber-related books.  So we invite you to explore the many facets of our family business.   Welcome to our WebSite!

                                                Naturally,  Carol Leigh Brack-Kaiser

CarolLeigh@HillcreekFiberStudio.com

Back to the Home Page           Go directly to the Shopping Cart WebStore