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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2020)
NEWS Wallowa County Chieftain A18 Wednesday, February 5, 2020 A sign on a shelf at Sally Brandt’s Sheep Shed in Joseph points customers to wool made from local sheep. Some knitting customers prefer the locally grown wool, including that from Brandt’s alpacas. Sheep Shed Owner Sally Brandt stresses top quality, focus is hand-made wool items things,” she said. “I’m always adding new items.” Most of those items are hand-knitted items made either by herself or some of the approximately 30 local vendors who bring things in to be sold on consignment. Among the items Brandt sells By Bill Bradshaw Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH — Entrepreneur Sally Brandt has been running the Sheep Shed in Joseph for more than a decade, but noth- ing there stays the same. “We always have new are yarn and knitting supplies, neck warmers, hats, scarves, gloves, slippers, needle felt, rugs and wall hangings. One of her most unique offerings is her own hand- painted yarn, each strand having multiple colors. She takes prewashed white yarn and paints it with sponge brushes, rather than plac- ing it in a pot of mixed dye as in what is often mislead- ingly called “hand-painted.” It’s then re-skeined to mix up the colors. “You can only go so far before you have mud,” she said of the more commercial process. “With mine, I can paint on as many colors as I want.” But it isn’t an easy process. “It’s a long process,” she said. “I have to … put them in a set and then paint them and then I microwave it to set the dye.” Brandt said all of her mer- chandise is locally produced. Even some of the wool is from locally raised sheep and alpacas, which customers ask for. “They just want to work with something local,” she Mountain View Medical Group Please help us welcome... Jennifer Little FNP Jennifer is a family nurse practioner with her masters from Vanderbilt University Call Jennifer to schedule your appointment in Enterprise or Joseph today! 541-426-7900 We treat you like family 601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org Wallowa Memorial Hospital is a equal opportunity mployer and provider Discover Photos by Bill Bradshaw LEFT Sally Brandt, owner of the Sheep Shed in Joseph, demonstrates how wool is spun into yarn on a spinning wheel at her shop. ABOVE Brandt shows some of the hand-knitted afghans at her shop in Joseph. said. “Some of it is hand- spun, some of it is not. These people raise the sheep and they send it off to be processed and turned into yarn.” Brandt said she has even painted some wool from her own alpacas. “I used to hand-spin and hand-paint all my own yarn, but it was so time-consum- ing and you just can’t get the payback on it so now I order it in bulk,” she said. With her alpacas, she saves the wool and sends it off to be processed. “I had some people come by from Caldwell (Idaho) Promoting Wallowa County W allowa Be a part of this tourism marketing piece that will showcase Wallowa County to the many travelers in 2020 and get them into your business. Your advertisement will not only be seen in this book, but also through social media, on-line content at wallowa.com and all other EO Media Group websites, highlighted links, and an electronic page turning version of the Discover Guide to give you the most exposure for your dollar. 2020 Wallowa County Visitor Guide • Lumber We have • Roofing what you • Siding need to • Decking • Concrete get your • Framing project • Drywall DONE! • Insulation • Tools • Hardware • Fixtures and more! AD SIZES & RATES PUBLISHES: March 25, 2020 • DEADLINE: February 7, 2020 No payments due until April, plus 3 months to pay without a service charge All prices below include FREE full color Ad Size Price Ad Size Back Cover $2,050 7-5/8” X 9-7/8” Inside Front Cover $1,900 7-5/8” X 4-7/8” Inside Back Cover $1,800 7-5/8” X 9-7/8” Page 3 $1,400 7-5/8” X 9-7/8” $1,375 7-5/8” X 9-7/8” Full Page $1,000 7-5/8” X 4-7/8” Half Page $750 3-3/4” X 4-7/8” Quarter Page $575 3-3/4” X 4-7/8” Page 4 SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD Reserve ! elay! n’t o D n e ’ la t y D Do D If you would like to lock down the same ad as last year, mark here and we’ll get you in! reason to stop and shop same ad your business! Give travelers a reason to stop and shop your business. ou in! Business: Signature: who said they had just started a processing plant so I gave them a bag of my alpaca. They took it away to Caldwell and shipped it back to me,” she said. “It went from being a bag of a lot of fl uff to being yarn.” She doesn’t do a lot of spinning anymore, although some of her consignees do. “I can spin it, but it’s so much faster if they do it with electric spinners,” she said. “It’s pretty darned expensive.” Brandt said a couple pounds of wool yielded about 30 skeins of yarn for about $350. Contact Name: Date: Contact Jennifer Cooney at jcooney@wallowa.com • 541-805-9630 209 NW First St., Enterprise • 541-426-4567 Monday - Friday 7am-5pm Saturday 8am - Noon Closed Sunday Main Street Joseph 541-432-1917 Brandt also teaches classes in knitting, though she has no set schedule. When she gets several requests for a class, then she’ll set one up. For the past seven years, the Sheep Shed has been at 3 S Main St. For the previous three years, Brandt was in partnership with Nancy Kno- ble at a larger space next to the Cheyenne Café. Brandt said that she and Knoble talked to local merchants to make sure the Sheep Shed wouldn’t be drawing unfair competition and not carry- ing art that other businesses were. About the time Knoble decided to retire, the building the business is in now came up for sale. It had been sitting vacant for nine years. “It was a disaster, an eye- sore,” Brandt said. Fortunately, her husband, Ray DeLury, had yet to retire from his work as a building contractor and stonemason. He went to work and refur- bished the 1937 building in sections. But the Sheep Shed is more than yarn and knitting. The shop also sells artwork, art supplies, CDs by local musicians, cards by local art- ists, soaps, salves, dryer balls and an assortment of other items produced locally. The art supplies aren’t ordinary, run-of-the-mill ones, either. “They’re a little high- er-end art supplies,” she said. “I try to carry a variety of supplies for artists.”
