Connected to LocalBUSINESSCouple weaves new careers

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Nov 2, 2008 by Jan Biles

By Jan Biles

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

COTTONWOOD FALLS -- When you enter the Fiber Factory on the west side of Cottonwood Fall's main street, you're likely to see Charley or Carol Klamm weaving place mats or shawls on a 19th-century loom.

"In 1897, it must have been pretty high-tech," Charley said of the pedal-less loom he used on a recent Saturday afternoon to turn scraps of denim into a blue place mat.

The Klamms, who grew up in Chase County but lived most of their adult lives in Topeka, opened the shop 14 years ago, after they retired. Charley worked as a forensic photographer for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation; Carol was employed as a nurse at Santa Fe Hospital.

"We lived in Topeka for 36 years, but this was our home," he said.

The Klamms purchased neighboring buildings on Broadway Street that formerly had housed a beauty shop, shoe shop, bakery and soil conservation office. The roof of the southernmost building, which was built in 1884, had caved in and needed a complete renovation. The other building was in better shape.

The Klamms renovated the fronts of each building into the Fiber Factory, and then redesigned the remaining half of each building into a home.

Carol knits, crochets, tats and weaves, while Charley weaves and keeps the machines running.

"When we first started, she was the weaver, and I kept the machines working," he said, adding that he ended up rebuilding many of the nine looms in the shop. "But I got hooked on weaving, too."

Among the looms are a frame loom used to make triangular shawls and an Inkle tabletop loom used to make smaller items, such as coasters.

Charley said the focus of their business is simple. "We make things out of fiber," he said.

The shop displays their wares: place mats, shawls, baby blankets, scarves, rugs, table runners, hot pads, dishcloths, purses, lap robes, belts, Christmas ornaments, coasters and bookmarkers.

While the shawls and baby blankets are made from new yarn, many of the other items are made from recycled denim. Discarded blue jeans brought into the shop by area residents lie in stacks or boxes in a work area in the store.

"When we opened the shop, we said we would save all of the blue jeans from going to the landfill," Charley said. "We go through 20 pairs of jeans a week and have a supply on hand."

Buttons from the jeans are recycled into earrings, and pockets are turned into purses for little girls.

In addition to the handwoven items produced by the Klamms, the shop also sells handmade soap by Gayle Bossman, a longtime friend from Osceola, Mo.; works by woodcarver Don Hewitt, of Cottonwood Falls; and photographs by Gary Sneed, of Cottonwood Falls.

Also on display -- but not for sale -- are cameras, historic photographs, toys and strands of barbed wire.

"The husbands look at the barbed wire and cameras while the wives do the shopping," he said.

When the Klamms opened their business, most of their customers lived locally. Now, Charley said, about 90 percent of the Fiber Factory's sales come from tourists.

"We have tour buses in the summer who come through town, which helps," he said.

Jan Biles can be reachedat (785) 295-1292or jan.biles@cjonline.com.