Parts of an iconic, longrunning Maine yarn mill that closed last year will get a second act at a new fiber mill opening in the midcoast.
Jagger Spun, a yarn producer in Springvale, announced it would close its mill in September 2024 after more than a century of producing worsted wool yarn. It cited rising labor and material costs.
Three hours east, Searsport farmer Amber Mazza was about to give up on her lifelong dream of starting a fiber mill when she wondered one night what would happen to Jagger’s expensive equipment.
A few cold calls later, she and her husband Vic were disassembling the mill’s massive machines to start one of their own in their midcoast barn. The couple plan to open next year, filling a vital need for small farmers who currently have limited access to fiber processing.
At the time of Jagger Spun’s announced closure, Mazza was worried about what was next for her mill dreams, given that a set of the “mini mill” equipment used by most small U.S. wool processors would cost her more than $250,000.
Unable to produce enough yarn by hand with spinning wheels, the Mazzas considered trying to build a mill themselves at their farm, Gealach Fola Acres. Both Navy veterans, they have the technical skills to repair — or create — the equipment if time or money would allow.
When she got in contact with the new owners of the former mill, Chinburg Properties, they offered her whatever was left for free.
However, while the Mazzas didn’t have to buy the equipment, it has taken time, work and money to get it to their farm and operating. Most moving companies wouldn’t take the project; one wanted $10,000 a day to do it. So the couple decided to move the mill themselves.
To do so, Vic Mazza has been living in a Portland hotel room for weeks, disassembling equipment and driving it up to their barn in rented U-Hauls with the help of a few friends.
The couple don’t know how old the equipment is, though some pieces match manufacturer manuals from 1912. With it, they’ll be able to wind, spin and ply — or twist — yarn and prepare it for weaving on a loom.
Cleaning, processing and spinning wool is a multi-step process, and the Mazzas plan to build or buy some more mill parts themselves to get fiber ready to spin. When they do, it will provide a key service for small farmers in the state.
Maine has a handful of small mills in business today. Only one, Bartlettyarns in Harmony, buys from farmers and sells its own yarn products. The others are paid to produce yarn that farmers can sell.
The Mazzas want to do both of those things, in addition to making yarn from their own animals and coloring it with natural dyes.
Many Maine farmers say they lose money producing sheep wool, alpaca fleece and goat hair because there are few processors or bulk buyers left in the state. Prices for unprocessed wool have dropped across the country. Some compost fiber, throw it out or burn it rather than pay money they won’t earn back for processing and spinning.
But when farmers can access local processing, a market exists for their yarn. Two new “mini mills” have opened in Maine in the last two years and now have wait times of up to eight months.
The Mazzas expect to open their mill in 2026, once they’ve built an addition to their 1850s barn, added three-phase power and set up the rest of their equipment.
To finance those projects, they expect to fundraise and sell yarn made from several thousand pounds of merino wool left over from Jagger’s operations.
Amber Mazza said she thinks local manufacturing is important for the resiliency of farmers, the environment and Maine’s economy. In a cold climate, warm clothes are a vital thing to produce, she said.
“We’re putting everything into it,” she said.
Chinburg Properties, a New Hampshire-based company that redevelops mills across New England, bought the 68,000-square foot Springvale complex for $1.3 million last summer. It plans to create 90 apartments there, the company has said.
If the Mazzas hadn’t called, the remaining mill parts could have been melted down and recycled, according to Chinburg project manager Jennifer Avedisian. Other pieces of equipment went with a tenant who used Jagger’s machines for several years before moving offsite and downsizing.
Jagger Spun didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
