Why We Went to Wyoming
Your wait for the next Bolt Threads product to hit the market is nearly over! Next week we’ll be unveiling our latest creation, the result of a collaboration with Mountain Meadow Wool Mill. Our partnership with the revitalizer of the American wool industry is so special that it brought us from our Emeryville labs to the Big Horn Mountains on the Western Plains of Wyoming.
These rambouillet sheep get their pick of Wyoming grazing land
The views around Mountain Meadow aren’t too shabby
Bolt and Mountain Meadow are really two different embodiments of the same goal: to sustainably make quality materials. At Bolt, we’re on a mission to make better materials for a better world. While we love diving deep into our own experimentation, we also value learning from material experts of all kinds; this has taken us everywhere from a launch party on Madison Avenue to a wool mill in Wyoming.
Mountain Meadow has close-knit relationships with local sheep ranchers
Material innovation is more than pioneering our own technology in a vacuum – it’s also about combining our technology with other premium materials and manufacturing techniques for novel consumer applications. Our collaboration with Mountain Meadow blends Microsilk™ and Rambouillet wool to make another amazing fabric the world has never seen, which we can’t wait to reveal.
A third-generation wool expert in the making
Dyeing experts know how to produce vibrant colors of wool
As material innovators, we seek out the absolute best partners. Fittingly, Mountain Meadow’s production methods are completely unique in this country. Karen Hostetler founded Mountain Meadow in 2002 with the ambitious goal of revitalizing the once-thriving American wool industry, which has nearly vanished in the past few decades. In just fifteen years, Mountain Meadow has come to be an industry leader. Karen and the Operations Manager (and her son) Ben work side-by-side with ranchers to sustainably make wool unlike any other.
Mountain Meadow founder Karen consults with Operations Manager (and her son) Ben
It’s the largest full-service spinning mill in the West and its eco-friendly manufacturing practices help the wool retain its natural lanolin, resulting in luxurious yarns that we couldn’t wait to incorporate with Microsilk™.
Time to regroup and look ahead is invaluable, even for the staff pup
We firmly believe that biofabrication is the future of materials. On our way to that future, we’re pursuing material innovation from several different angles and we look forward to partnering with more experts like our friends at Mountain Meadow.
To find out what we’ve developed together (and to get it before it’s gone), visit our site on December 7th. Our lips are sealed until then!