Our Story
A farm girl and a physics major meet in college. One is practical, creative and spicy, the other cerebral, musical and an airplane enthusiast. Both love travel, the outdoors and connecting with others.
Want more of our story? Read on:
Three kids completed our family. House moves, job changes, living in England as ex-pats, then back again, life rolls along. And yet, the pull to have land, space, and a farm was a dream that our hearts consistently returned to. Weekend trips to the Roanoke area to discover and dream led us to the Catawba Valley. We searched for several months for land or a small farm, but we never quite found the place. We were discouraged. An unexpected phone call came after another property lead fell through. We had found our land in Catawba!
We moved to the area in 2005 and into our newly built home in 2008. Now we had to plan, sketch, dig, build, plant, cut, fix, shovel, sow, pull, haul, mow……to create the place we call Red Wellie Farm.
Why Red Wellie Farm? Wellie boots are essential for living in the country, especially in the UK, where weather is forever ‘changeable.’ Put your wellies on and you’re prepared for anything unexpected. Red wellies? Well, why not have fun while you’re at it? Our hope is to bring a little of the English countryside to our place in the mountains of Virginia.
Today, we raise hay, vegetables, herbs and flowers, and use lots of what we grow in many of our farm products. Michelle started offering goods as Red Wellie Farm at the local Catawba Farmer’s Market in 2011. She now works in Red Wellie Studio creating small batch hand crafted items incorporating homegrown, up-cycled, vintage and repurposed materials and beautiful fabrics, as well as offering special order baking services to our local customers. Our products are available in our online shop and through local events.