Those of you who have been shopping with us know that our Woolen Mill Store is a unique location among Pendleton’s 30+ stores. Well, we are here to tell you about another unique store you’ll want to see in Oregon.
This month, we were excited to cut the ribbon and celebrate the opening of a Pendleton store at the Willamette Heritage Center in Salem, Oregon–a place some of you know as home to the Sheep to Shawl fiber festival each spring.
This store marks the return of descendants of English Master Weaver Thomas Kay to the site of his namesake mill. In 1863, when Kay came to Oregon, he played a strong role in establishing the state’s wool trade and eventually opened his own mill in 1890. Thomas Kay’s grandsons, Clarence, Roy, and Chauncey Bishop, went on to open Pendleton Woolen Mills in 1909, and the rest is, well, history!
What You’ll Find
The new WHC store is small but mighty. In a charmingly industrial space, it features goods from Pendleton’s two USA woolen mills: table cut fabric and remnants, with a sewing and felting craft focus.
Shoppers will also find a curated assortment of Pendleton’s iconic apparel, home, gifts, and accessories.
Throughout the store, informative displays and graphics tell the story of Oregon’s wool industry, alongside the history of Salem, Oregon’s state capitol.
Other displays show our historic (but state-of-the-Art!) mills over the years, and explain our philanthropic partnerships, and key elements of our company’s growth from our deep Oregon roots.
The Willamette Heritage Center
Along with shopping and special events, visitors to the Willamette Heritage Center can take a self-guided tour of the Thomas Kay mill, the place where Pendleton’s weaving legacy began. And speaking of the Center, there is so much more to see here.
The Willamette Heritage Center connects generations by preserving and interpreting Mid-Willamette Valley history. The fourteen historic structures on site house permanent and changing exhibits, a research library and archive, a textile learning center, and rentable event spaces. The five-acre campus is also home to retail shops, art galleries, cooperative artist studios, and offices for our partner organizations. (source)
Since 1964, the Mission Mill Museum Association (now the Willamette Heritage Center) has worked on the restoration and interpretation of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. Learn more about the Willamette Heritage Center here: https://www.willametteheritage.org/
We are excited for this new store, with Pendleton returning to where we began.
Call with questions or phone orders, or visit us soon for the best selection. Sale valid through May 31, 2022, or while supplies last, and limited to stock on hand.
We’re Open
We would love to see you at our beautifully refreshed store. Curbside pickup is available.
When you visit our store, you’ll see a one-of-a-kind banner celebrating the materials and craft that is the heart of the Woolen Mill Store.
Measuring 8′ x 12′, the banner was designed and created by Pendleton’s Marketing team. The design is based on the Mt Hood graphic on a vintage shirt box, which is also used in our current Born in Oregon logo.
How We Did It – and there’s a video!
The pattern was enlarged onto a full-sized paper pattern using a slide projector.
This pattern was cut apart and used to trace the shape of the mountain and the shoreline.
The sky and lake shape are made from the same fabric – the face and reverse of a wool denim. The 150+ stylized trees were cut from a wide range of plaids, stripes, jacquards, and solid fabric, including our Sunbrella outdoor fabrics.
The richly colored fabrics, all in shades of blue, were appliqued together with a fusible bonding, and then machine quilted with a layer of wool batting and a solid cotton backing fabric. This secured all the fabric layers and created a diamond patterned stitch design over the entire surface. The quilting was done by Nancy at Just Quilting in Portland. You can find her at @justquilting on Instagram.
Once quilted, the layers of needle felted trees and the logo were added on top, and the banner was bound on all sides in felt by store staff. The logo was created using 3-D logo letters wrapped in wool yarn and sewn to the sky area of the banner. Shading on the lake is created with airbrushed fabric paint, the only element not sold at the Woolen Mill Store. The larger trees at the bottom, are created by freehand needle felting.
As Promised…the Video
Here’s a behind-the-scenes movie of the process.
This is a celebration of hand crafting, and a fitting salute to our quality materials and the work that our customers create. Here’s a closer view, and we hope you’ll visit us to see it in person soon.
We’re offering amix and match sale on some of your favorite crafting goods. Buy three, get one free on on yarn, felted wool, kits, and knitting tools!
But that’s not all!
We’ve extended the 20% off sale on Melton fabrics and our Pendleton Eco-Wise Wool fabrics. This special group is 20% off, limited to stock on hand and while supplies last. These are beautiful fabrics and customer favorites for apparel, crafts, and upholstery projects.
We have all kinds of ideas for these fabrics for all skill levels; come into the store and check them out!
We’re Open
We would love to see you at our beautifully refreshed store.
As many of you know, we have finally completed (most of) our store refresh. It started with our exterior, with a bold new paint color scheme, and beautiful lit signs, and some landscaping.
Inside, there are always finishing touches. We’re preparing the classroom area for the resumption of classes, and adding shelves and bins to accommodate all the wonderful new supplies we have for you here at the Woolen Mill Store.
Here is a peek at the process of setting up the new floorplan:
Hard Work and Beautiful Results
We hope to see you soon to share the fruits of our labors. Come see us at:
The weather has changed and the days are shorter. It’s a perfect month to settle in with your favorite crafts, to while away the evenings and get ready for the holidays.
Buy three, get the 4th FREE on:
All yarn
Knitting tools
Craft books
Craft patterns
(free item is of equal or lesser value)
Join us in person!
We are excited to offer this new IN-STORE class on Sunday, Nov. 14th from noon to 2pm.
Create a yarn macramé wall hanging. No experience needed to craft your own beautiful 3′ to 6′ long décor piece. All supplies are included in the class cost of $30.
Class space is limited, so email us today at woolenmillstore@penwool.com to register.
