Co-Owner, Operator and Studio Manager, Alyson Brown, grew up in the tiny community of Markhamville, New Brunswick. Here she chased fairies, roamed the landscape, and created adventure under the tutelage of her big sis, Amy. Alyson is one of Legacy Lane's key makers, knitters, fixers and organizers. Often not knowing what department of Legacy Lane you'll find her, what machine she's repairing, what product she's developing or what project she's brainstorming. No doubt the crew at the mill guarantee she'll walk through the doors with another idea, custom yarn or inventive product. Alyson is giddily married to metal sculptor and artist Jamie Brown, who creates extrodinary garden sculpture and interior art, much of which can now be found in the cute little "GingerBread Shed" behind Legacy Lane on Main, the most recent expansion of LLFM that Alyson delights over. In her spare time she keeps her fingers busy with knitting needles or other fiber related craft, digging in dirt, pedaling hard on some NB backroad on her bike or tromping through the woods surrounding their home in Knightville, with hubby Jamie, fur baby Opal and her most important pride and joy, son Rowyn. She is often spotted out and about as a walking advertisment of Legacy Lane, clad in the loveliest handcrafted textiles.
One of nine children, Kim Gray grew up in Sussex. She has three children of her own and four grandchildren named Cooper, Liam, Jakey and Lucas. Kim is absolutely terrified of mice and enjoys the protection and security that Ms.Kitty provieds. In the mill, Kim can be found at the carder, drawframe and skein winder. She's also picking up some mad skills steaming and conning. Kim is a steady pressence, often referred to by Alyson as the mill's lighthouse, and considered as crew member of the veteran staff celebrating 11 years of employemnt with LL in the Fall of 2022. Without her sweetheart Wayne and her hands we'd never have as many beautifully felted dryer balls, he makes em while she keeps a watchful eye, overseeing the felting and quality control of each ball. In her spare time Kim likes to read, bingeing good TV series while knitting, spending time with her grandbabies and always keeping a watch out for any sneaky mice lurking.
Sarah Tompkins, Westside represents. The city of St John NB was gifted the day this O negative blood type gal was born, blessing humanity with her rare blood and joyful laughter. This south paw left the coorporate world to feed the creative fire within and become LLFM's main in-house weaver and fiber dyer. As a young girl she mastered the complexities of playing the Glockenspiel, which equipped her with the abilty to preform typing with considerable speed as well as the dexterity to thread a loom swiftly. She has a keen interest and knowledge of Tartan weaving and specializes in producing custom Tartans for families near and far. Sarah also makes a flat bed knitting machine sing while producing several hundreds of knit items for Legacy Lane each year. She is the beaming Mother to two fur babies, 2 dogs, Lucy and Sally. She always has an amusing story to tell involving one, two or both of them!
Hannah Banana Simpson, who since joining the Legacy Lane fam has gained more Mothers then she knows what to do with. We have strict rules about letting one of us know where she is, when she'll arrive to work and to definitely send a text when she gets home. Her quite nature and sweet disposition had us all head over heels from day one. Miss Kitty, who has managed to convince Hannah of her every beck and meow, somehow charming her into playing, open the door for me over and over again, all day long. Hannah is a knit MASTER and comes with extensive knowledge in all things machine knitting. A graduate from the same post secondary school Alyson attended, the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, where she gained her diploma in Textile Design, majoring in machine knitting. Her mad knitting skills, dedication to quality and understanding of production knitting have been a huge win for LLFM.
In her spare time Hannah loves to, you guessed it, knit, along with Netfilx binging, very condusive to knitting. She loves dressing up for Halloween, has a weird fear of most flying bugs and is Mama to an orange colored gecko named Chester. The babe in our wrangle of fiber slingers, Cher's hit song, Believe was number one the year Hannah was born, which is also the same year Alyson graduated high school.
Debbie Otis joined our squad upon the retirement of Mama Jo and spends her days keeping our books in tip top shape, ensuring invoicing is done and keeping us organized. Assisting us all to stay caffinated, brewing fresh pots of coffee before we have to ask. She is most often your first point of contact when calling the mill and you can bet she'll be trying to get a laugh out of you before hanging up. Originally from South Sheilds England, Debbie made the journey across the pond with her family at the age of 12 when her father was offered a position at the drydock in Saint John, NB. Sussex is now home where she has lived for 14 years. Debbie has a new found love for kitties since joining the LLFM team, helping to mother Miss Kitty and has recently adopted 2 stary cats. Perfect Ella and crazy George, can anyone guess which one is her favorite with the use of these adjectives? After years of not knitting she has since re-ignited the passion, wonder why?
Amber Wade is new to LLFM, she joined us at the beginning of 2021. Amber's past work experience of butchering and working the line at a chicken processing plant make milling fiber feel like a dream. She isn't afraid of a hard days work or getting her hands dirty which suits her roll of all things fiber, anyone that may not know, milling fleece is hard and dirty work. She is being trained in all areas of the mill and bobs around where ever she is needed in order to meet our daily goals. She might be small but she is mighty and seems to be game for whatever task we throw her way with a smile and a serving heart. Mama of 2, Evelyn and Audrey, keep her on the move while at home. They are spitfires and along with a full day spent at LLFM running from each corner of the mill, could be the reason why she is rarely seen without a coffee in hand. Homesteading is a passion which includes gardening, baking sewing and crafting. Amber loves to sing and read but admits it doesn't take priority amongst her funny farm of kiddos and fur babes.
Cookie adopted Legacy Lane in 2012. Prior to this, Cookie was a stray who lived in the neighbouring scrapyard. At that time in her life, she sported dreads and a booming population of fleas. Cookie always knew she was destined for a more luxurious life and seized her chance when the mill moved to its current location on Vail Court.
With the saddest of hearts we longer have Cookie, she left us too soon, this July. She will be remembered by us all. RIP Cookie Cat, thank you for being our fur baby!
