Honeycomb Farm
Honeycomb Farm is a beautiful multi-use farm on San Juan Island run by the Shephard family. Along with cows, pigs, chickens and bees they raise Suffolk and Shetland sheep. Find products from the farm here: Honeycomb Farm. More products will be coming in the near future. Please contact us if you would like more information!
Angie Shephard is a 6th generation rancher who relocated with her family to San Juan Island in 2016. She and her family enjoy the challenge of applying their experience and education to raise beef, pork and lamb with a focus on regenerative and sustainable methods on land that is a mosaic of ownerships and uses. Her breeding program is focused on refining her flocks to produce a diverse group that thrives in the changing climate and produces the best fiber for garments and textiles.
Shetland sheep:
Honeycomb Farm's goals with their flock of Shetland fleece is to raise excellent fiber on healthy sheep while maintaining the color and fleece variety that exists in the Shetland genepool. Shetland fleeces come in three varieties, kindly (single coated), long and wavy (usually 4-6”, somewhere between single coat and double coat), and double coated (2 distinct fiber types that can be separated by combing or used together for a hearty yarn with softness from the undercoat). Shetlands have more variety than most other breeds. They strive to maintain this variety while keeping an eye on fiber and sheep quality.
Suffolk sheep:
Honeycomb Farm raises Suffolks for both meat and fiber. Since Suffolk sheep have black faces and legs, a fleece from a Suffolk sheep will have some black hairs in it. This makes the major wool pool market “devalue” the fleece and therefore most farmers don’t consider it valuable either. However, the Suffolk sheep is one of the Down breeds of sheep, and the fiber naturally resists felting. This fiber can be washed in the machine and tumbled dry and it will not felt. The micron range of Suffolk fiber goes down to 25 microns (anything below 30 is considered next to skin soft). Thanks to Deborah Robson, co-author of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook) we know that handspinners LOVE this fleece. Honeycomb Farm is now breeding Suffolks with the goal of both meat production AND high quality of fleece. This year (2025), thanks to a beautiful ram that was purchased, the yearling fleeces from the ewes was outstanding. While most resources indicate a fiber length of 2-3.5”, ours were a minimum of 3” with many as long as 4-5”. The Suffolk fleece is truly a delight to spin and will reward you with garments (socks, sweaters, etc) that are durable and soft as well as machine washable. The fiber takes dye well when kettle dyed or using a low-water immersion method. Commercially prepared Suffolk fiber rarely shows off the best qualities of Suffolk fiber. Try some of Honeycomb Farm's Suffolk for a truly delightful spinning experience.