Woven in Place: A Rancher’s Journey from Sheep to Fashion and the Olympics with Jeanne Carver

Doors at 6:00 p.m., show from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. PDT. (If the event is sold out, unclaimed seats will be released to the waitlist at 6:45 p.m.)

Where: Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Ave., Hood River, OR 97031 A livestream option is available. These show typically sell out. We advise buying your tickets early.

STORY:
Agriculture has had critical importance to our region since European emigrants traveled west to settle the Oregon territory. Sheep herding and the wool industry have played an important part in that history. The Imperial Stock Ranch was established in 1871 in southern Wasco County, and by 1900, became its largest individually owned land and livestock holding producing sheep, cattle, grains and hay. Sheep were the largest focus of the ranch’s first 100 years, and the ranch has been in continuous operation for 154 years. In 1993, the ranch headquarters were designated a National Historic District.

Jeanne Carver with her late husband Dan, owned and operated the Imperial Stock Ranch since the late 1980s. Their primary focus was the health of natural resources, and under their leadership and stewardship, the ranch was recognized as a model of sustainable agriculture.

In 1999, during a collapsing U.S. wool market, the Imperial Stock Ranch began a creative approach to selling their raw wool harvest by creating and selling premium wool yarns and finished products. Working with local fiber artists and a number of U.S. textile processing and manufacturing partners, they successfully transitioned from selling wool as a commodity to selling traceable wool products into eco-chic craft, fashion and retail markets; and eventually, onto a global stage with Ralph Lauren’s uniforms for Team USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The Carvers would later scale their efforts with the founding of Shaniko Wool Company in 2018.

Jeanne will share the journey of Imperial Stock Ranch - from adapting to changing conditions and markets to maintaining viability over the generations. From the pioneers who homesteaded in 1871, to today, they have continued to pioneer innovative approaches throughout their history. Their work, as with many in agriculture, continues down a timeless yet largely forgotten road.

Learn about the challenges facing family agriculture in the U.S. today, and the cutting-edge of the American wool industry. For 26 years, Jeanne has fought to remain competitive in a global market, and preserve the critical role of well managed herds of grazing animals on the American landscape.

About the Speaker:

For more than 25 years, Jeanne Carver has been at the forefront of the slow food and slow fashion movements, rebuilding the importance of traditional skills, connections to the origins of food and fiber, and strengthening local, regional and domestic supply chain partners.

Her story is one of successful adaptation to changing markets. From her family’s Imperial Stock Ranch in Wasco County (est. 1871), she and her late husband Dan went from selling commodity lamb and wool in 1999, to selling retail products that were ecologically sensitive. Almost twenty years later, they created Shaniko Wool Company, and Jeanne oversaw the expansion of Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certified American wool, into a variety of products and markets. Jeanne has built a growing network of ranchers, designers and brands, working exclusively with U.S. supply chain partners for 25 years. In an era of outsourcing and disconnect, she led with traceability and accountability. In 2014, Jeanne became the source and voice of American wool for Ralph Lauren’s first Made in America Team USA Winter Olympic uniform program, and again in 2018, 2022 and for the summer Olympics in Paris 2024. Since 2020, she has partnered with Oregon State University in a comprehensive research effort to measure and verify results of an even greater story: the net environmental impacts of Shaniko Wool Company ranching operations across a broad piece of the American landscape.

Jeanne is an award-winning agricultural entrepreneur and author, receiving both the American Sheep Industry Innovation Award and the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences Hall of Fame Award in 2023. She was featured in His Majesty at 75: The Leadership and Vision of King Charles III, for her work in regenerative wool production and promoting the provenance of wool in fashion.

For 16-years, Sense of Place has connected people through place and storytelling.

Our flagship speaker series features people with unique knowledge of the Columbia River Gorge and who consider the natural and cultural history that has shaped this place. Guests have included: scientists, tribal members, authors, farmers, and many others from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The stories shared deepen our understanding of the Gorge and strengthen our connection to the landscape and to each other.

Learn more about Sense of Place and check out our online archive and past events HERE.

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Sense of Place is a program of Mt. Adams Institute, which provides programs that
strengthen the connection between people and the natural world through
education, service, career development, and research.