Fantasy Fibre Mill
During lockdown, Rosie Bristow volunteered on an organic fruit and vegetable farm, where she became fascinated by the entire supply chain—how food is grown and where it comes from. She then read Fibreshed by Rebecca Burgess, a weaver and dyer from California, who created her own wardrobe using a network of ranchers, farmers, and artisans within a 150-mile radius of her home to prove that fashion—one of the world’s most polluting industries—can be a force for good.
The book proved to be a watershed moment, sparking Rosie’s curiosity about whether a similar, sustainable approach could be feasible using flax grown here in the UK. This ancient crop, once a staple of Scottish farming, has seen a dramatic drop in cultivation over the last century – driven largely by shifting consumer preferences towards cotton.
Rosie, who was studying for an MSc in Fashion and Textile Management at Heriot-Watt University at the time, began befriending flax farmers on Instagram in the hope of sourcing some locally grown fabric. The conversation soon led to a field trip to a farm in Essex and the offer of a hectare worth of flax – provided Rosie provided the seeds and enough people to help with the harvest.
But, as Rosie soon discovered, one of the biggest challenges in bringing a ‘farm to wardrobe’ vision for textiles back to the UK wasn’t a lack of interest from farmers but rather the absence of small to mid-scale fibre processing infrastructure around the country. Reviving this missing link will be critical if UK-grown flax is to see a resurgence.
This hands-on experience not only yielded a harvest of flax, but it led her to join forces with co-founder, Nick Evans, and driven by a shared commitment to sustainable fashion, Fantasy Fibre Mill was born.
The duo then set to work building their own flax-processing machines from scratch using Victorian textbooks as guides and, powered by an Innovate UK grant and prize money from Converge (Rosie won the 2023 Create Change Challenge), they established a micro-mill in East Lothian.
As to the future, Rosie is supremely confident about her vision taking shape:
“The fashion industry is looking for ways to cut its carbon footprint and the increasing demand for natural, locally made linen means an entire supply chain could be developed here in Scotland within a decade.
This transformation couldn’t be more urgent as the industry is one of the most exploitative and extractive on the planet, polluting the environment at every step in the supply chain, from oil well to landfill”
By building a local and circular natural supply network in Scotland, Rosie aims to regenerate our soils, create local jobs and produce beautiful, long-lasting textiles that can be composted at the end of their life, contributing their nutrients back into the earth. It’s a truly holistic approach to fashion and one we should all embrace.