A Philosophy on Life and Wool
A Unique Way of Marketing Wool

Eugene Bourgeois is not the kind of person you meet everyday. He’s a mystical philosopher, a sheep farmer and a successful entrepreneur. Eugene and his wife Ann are the owners of the Philosopher’s Wool Co, a sheep farm and wool store just outside of Inverhuron, Ontario. Eugene founded the Philosopher’s Wool Co. in 1985, after finding that the price he was receiving for what he considered to be high quality fleece was not enough to pay for the shearing of his sheep. He believed that if he could offer farmers a better price for their fleece, he would be able to buy the highest quality fleece that Ontario farmers have to offer.

One visit to this beautiful farm was enough to show me that my idea of the good life was a little shortsighted. For although they might not have a 4-car garage or a hot tub in their backyard, Eugene and his wife Ann are living the kind of life that few of us ever will. They are traveling, meeting new people, running a successful business, and living in accordance with their values of honesty and fairness.

The Philosopher’s Wool Co. started out buying wool from local farmers and having it washed and spun into yarn. The unique thing about their wool is the way that it is processed. It is sent to Texas to be washed, but it is not treated with the same chemicals as most wool. It is treated in such a way that it retains some of the natural lanolin, which prevents the wool from being scratchy and irritating to skin. This also makes the wool exceptional to work with, for those who enjoy knitting. It is for this reason that the Philosopher’s Wool Co. has been so successful. They have developed a new way of knitting, using Fair Isle technique, where the left hand knits the continental way and the right the North American way. This has given their sweaters and patterns a distinctive look, which they say is recognizable across North America. They have gone on to add value to their yarn by having it made into MacAusland’s blankets as well as offering yarn kits, Aran sweaters, socks and woolen accessories for sale.

The way that Philosopher’s markets their wool is also unique. Instead of selling it to yarn stores in Ontario, Eugene and Ann travel around the United States for part of the year, selling their wool, kits, patterns, books, and instructional videos at wool shows. This gives them an opportunity to get the best price possible for their wool, 80% of which, Eugene estimates, is sold in the States. All this hard work has paid off. Eugene calculated that over the years he has been able to offer producers an average of $1.87/lb of fleece, including the final yield payment that they receive once the wool has been sold. That’s pretty close to the goal that he had set of eventually paying $2/lb, as opposed to the $0.32/lb that he received the first year his fleece was sold.

Eugene’s beliefs are central to the way that he runs his operation. He specifically said in the interview, “if anyone has sold wool to [him] prior to the last two years and has not received a final yield payment from [him], please get in touch because mistakes get made and [he] wants them to get paid.” What kind of reputation has this earned him? One producer described him as “honest as the day is long”, which really does say a lot about the way he conducts business. For this reason, perhaps, he has had only two producers complain in the last twenty years about the price that they received for their wool. In Eugene’s ideal, every farmer would do what he does. That is, they would have their wool processed and sold for the best available price. He realizes that not everyone can do this, but also feels that the Ontario sheep farmers do not realize that the very characteristics that make their wool of low quality on the fine wool market, make it superior in the Aran or sweater weight wool market. Ontario wool is thick and elastic; it wears well in warm and cold weather because it has been exposed to the Canadian climate. “If the market wants to pay a substandard price, it will get a substandard product,” as far as Eugene is concerned, “I’m an entrepreneur and I’m responsible or I face failure. The trouble with co-operatives is that ultimately, no one is held responsible.” Eugene is doing what he can to level the playing field.

Though not everyone can sell their wool to the Philosopher’s Wool Co., if you’re ever in the area you should make an effort to visit their farm, browse through their yarn kits, sweaters and MacAusland’s blankets, and maybe sit down to chat with Eugene about life and wool. He’ll tell you about his life, why he thinks some people fail and others succeed, and why he was prepared to do either one, so long as he made an honest living and learned something along the way.