Profiles in Fiber Arts: Camaj Fiber Arts

Interview with Mary Pavis Egbert

I am so excited to get a chance to talk to Mary and ask here the questions that are burning most in our minds! I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I do. Thank you Mary for taking the time from your busy schedule to talk to me and my readers.

I encourage all fiber artists to check out Mary’s web sites and social media pages, she shares so much wonderful and educational information that any fiber artist will benefit from. I also highly recommend her book on scouring, it’s the bible of wool washing so you won’t damage your valuable fibers.

Thank you again Mary!

Please give a description of your business.

I supply the fiber arts community with fiber, both retail and wholesale,  for their craft. I also have a monthly fiber box called the Spinning Box® and I also have online fiber arts classes at the Camaj School of Fiber Arts.  I also wrote a book titled The Art of Washing Wool, Mohair and Alpaca for the fiber scouring enthusiast. 

Where did the name Camaj come from?

Ahh the name.  When I started my business, I wanted the name to reflect three of the things, or rather persons, I love the most, my three daughters.  Carissa, Marla and Jessica.  My thought was to call my little business Camaje,  using the first two letters of their names.  I did a google search and found a restaurant in New York named Camaje.  I didn’t want to use the same name and I emailed them asking how they came up with the name.  They said it was the first two letters of the three owners wives names.  How weird right? I dropped the “e” and Camaj was born.

How did you get from being a P.T. to a fiber entrepreneur?

I know, it’s sort of an odd jump, eh?  I’ve always been a huge animal lover, in fact I really wanted to be a veterinarian, but there were no local colleges and I had three small kids and could not travel to where the college was.  My husband and I were visiting Colorado and there happened to be an Alpaca show.  We absolutely fell in love with them!  There were a few local farms where we lived in Utah and went for a visit.  We started out with five which turned into 25 very quickly in a few years.  When I dive in, I dive in!  I began to learn about the animals, their fiber, took sorting courses, researched and practiced scouring, dyeing and spinning.  I felt like I found a part of me that was “meant to be”.   I loved, and still love, every minute of it.   We moved from Utah to Florida in 2012 and felt it was too hot here for them, especially when I read Florida Alpaca folk air conditioned the barns!  All I saw was $$ signs for the electric bill.   We decided to disperse the herd before the move South.

You always seem to be on the go, how do you manage to balance your work and home life?

Never a dull moment.  I’ve had to learn to stop working after a certain time at night.  I think that was the hardest boundary to make for myself, especially when one is in business for themselves. Small business owners and creators brains are always thinking.  Once I was able to step away, close the office door and spend time with family, it made all the difference.  Knowing that whatever I needed to do would be there tomorrow.

How do you keep the business from taking over your home space and time?

HA! That’s a tough one.  My business started out in my in my home and began to take over the house.  That’s when I knew it was time to get a small outside office.  My daughter, who lived in Florida at the time,  worked with me and it was perfect.  She moved back to North Carolina for a couple of years and having the outside office did not make sense.  I moved the business back into the house, under the pretense that my husband could have one of the storage/bedrooms for his office/man cave.  I have two rooms for my office and storage and try with all my might to keep it confined.  It works.  He’s happy, I’m happy. I have lots of shelves and am the master at making things fit in small spaces.  My daughter is back in Florida and she also works from home and is about 10 minutes from me.   

In regards to time, I could work every waking hour. I’m a thinker, researcher, creator, and want to get things done.  I have to tell myself to stop, go walk on the beach, take a breath, sit outside on the patio and feed the squirrels.  It’s a mindset I’ve really worked on for my mental and  physical health and the love for what I do.

What got you involved in fiber arts to start with?

The alpacas for sure!  I was always crafty though. I sewed a lot making my clothing for me and my kids.  I dabbled in quilting and needlework was another thing I loved to do.   I crocheted at a young age and even made beaded bracelets to sell to the neighbors.   I remember going to a festival where someone dressed up in pioneer clothing was spinning yarn on a spinning wheel.   I felt so connected to her and told my husband how badly I wanted to do that! That was long before the Alpacas.  It was just meant to be.

Do you have a favorite medium you like to work in?

Fiber of course!  Any fiber, Alpaca, Mohair, silk, wool, all of it. 

Please tell us about your Eszee Twist tool.

The Eszee twist tool came about when I was listening to an instructor say he could not remember which way his single was spun.  I thought there should be a card with an S and Z and arrows so one could hold their yarn up against it to check which way they spun their yarn.  Of course I have to make it bigger and better and add a yarn thickness gauge, ply angle guide, wraps per inch gauge and a yarn planner booklet. Go big or go home, right?

Your book "The Art of Washing Wool Mohair and Alpaca"  What was the catalyst for writing this bible of wool and fiber washing?

A labor of love for the fiber world for sure!  The more I scoured and the more I listened to fiber folk talk about the 100 and one ways to scour, especially the issues they were having.  How they ruined wool or when they prepped it the fiber looked chewed up.   No one could explain why they were having issues or how to correct the issues.  It was frustrating for me, so I went on a mission to figure out why the issues arose in the first place and how to correct them.

How has your Spinning Box subscription come about and grown? What does a monthly box contain?

The Spinning Box® started out as small samples from other fiber artists. I wanted to support the community and fiber artists who ran small businesses.  I paid every artist nicely for their samples and it was a big hit in the community!  The box ran for five years like this. In 2020 I changed the boxes format to no longer include artists.  Instead, I would design custom/milled combed top myself.   The monthly box contains two 4-ounce packs of custom combed top, an ounce of usually raw wool that supports a grower, one ounce of an interesting fiber and other goodies and a sweet treat. Each month there are fun themes and the box is geared toward the theme.  It’s like opening a gift each month. My tag line is. It’s not just a fiber box, it’s an experience.

How do you see your product lines as changing the fiber arts industry?

I always said I want to make a mark in the world.  Whether it’s touching ones life doing physical therapy or leaving a teeny legacy with a book or classes.  I’m not sure it changed the fiber arts industry that much. I feel like it offered a fiber artist a nice tool to use, or information to hone their craft and be able to solve problems with scouring or spinning.

I know you have taught in person classes at fiber shows, do you have any in person classes scheduled for this year's fiber shows?

 I don’t have any in person classes scheduled for 2023.  I’m still trying to get out of the 2020 mentality and am always a day late signing up to teach. Look for me in 2024!

What classes are you currently offering online?

Thanks for asking.   I have a few drum carding courses, scouring courses and in 2021 I filmed a year-long workshop.  Each month I recorded an in-depth class from sitting at a spinning wheel, spinning a consistent yarn, plying, dyeing, prepping, art yarn and more.  That is the Spinning & Fiber Extravaganza workshop.  I also have a course on social media marketing and a class teaching someone how to make an online course like I have.

What does the future hold for Camaj Fiber Arts, and you personally?  A new book?  New classes?  Plans to retire?

Retire LOL!!! Though I am just about at retirement age, I just love to think, create and move.  I don’t think I will ever stop.  You know what retirees say, they retire and have never been busier.  I started a book about five years ago on transforming fiber into something new with prepping and spinning.  I wanted to show fiber artists that fiber does not have to be one way and how fluid the medium can be.  I am definitely going to revisit that and finish it either by the end of this year or early next year.    I would like to focus a bit more on in person classes.  We will see what the future holds for recorded classes.  Stay tuned.

How can people find your business online and your social media links?

My websites are:

Camaj Fiber Arts www.camajfiberarts.com 

The Spinning Box® www.thespinningbox.com

The Camaj School of Fiber Arts

https://welcome.camaj-school-of-fiber-arts.com/

 

My scouring book The Art of Washing, Wool, Mohair and Alpaca on Amazon  http://bit.ly/464Y2o7 

or the ebook at Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/955047

Thank you!

Again, go check out Mary’s sites for invaluable information, so worth your time to look! You can get lost on her pages, so consider yourself warned! LOL!!!