Driftless Tannery is a social enterprise that was founded by Bethany Emond Storm, Danielle Dockery and Brandi Bonde out of a desire to do better. The three women have homesteads where each family lives close to their food source, and each strives to live in a healthy and respectful relationship to the land, water, soil and animals in their stewardship.
The waste and heavy chemical use of large scale agriculture and industrial tanning flies in the face of everything they believe in and work for in their lives. Feeling the disconnect between their beliefs and the limited options available to them, they struck out on their own.
Driftless Tannery offers a clean alternative to hide tanning for sheep and goat farmers, bringing them beautiful, healthy, quality value-added items to their operations, while removing these gorgeous hides from the waste stream associated with animal agriculture.
Driftless Tannery also offers beautiful, naturally tanned sheepskin for eco-conscious consumers in their online shop.
I am a wife, mother, biologist and small farmer. The animals on my farm are raised with compassion and die with dignity. After having many of my own flock’s skins tanned by large scale chemical-heavy processors, I sought to find a different way. As with my farming practices, I’ve looked to the past to find out how our ancestors did it. Driftless Tannery was born out of a desire to respect the earth, while preserving and honoring my animals.
-Bethany
I moved to the driftless region of Wisconsin in 2016 from the Chicagoland area. I had spent 32 years working in the international transportation industry and I needed a serious change. On our homestead my husband and I raise laying hens, meat birds, turkeys and lamb for our freezer. I barter with other farmHers for the rest of our meat. We grow our own veggies and raise bees. I've rescued a small herd of alpacas and have two breeding ewes who help us with land management. I feel so blessed to be part of the amazing group of women in the county, working towards making our land a better place for all.
-Danielle