Comstock's magazine 1019 - October 2019 | Page 59

D uring summer months, 6-year-old Hazel keeps busy cumbersome task of moving them. Ryan f lew to the East playing in the office of Huston Textile Company, Coast, packed up the looms in a truck and hit the road for while her two younger siblings are in day care. It’s the cross-country drive back home. fitting that the first-born child of Ryan and Kat Hus- Many of the looms aren’t operational, and Ryan canni- ton should feel at home here. She is, after all, the balizes them for parts, which appeals to his interest in ma- inspiration for her parents’ textile milling business. chines and hands-on work. When he started his business, While Kat was pregnant in 2012, the couple brain- he had been studying for a bachelor’s degree in electronic stormed ways to comfortably tote a newborn around. “We and electrical engineering (he plans to resume his educa- knew that we didn’t want to use a stroller because we liked tion in spring 2020). being able to take her to downtown (Sacramento), and “It’s part art and part science,” he says of weaving. “It’s pushing a stroller around down there is annoying ... so we one of the few things that you can do where you can kind looked into other ways, and we of just make it up as you go. You found baby wrapping,” Kat says. have to know the end product and They bought a fabric wrap to then figure out how to get there. wear around their chests with I’m really an engineer-type per- their baby snuggled inside, but son, so I enjoy the machinery and Ryan figured he could make an working on it.” even better one. The U.S. Army Ryan is the lead weaver and combat veteran was raised by a serves as CEO and president, and single mother who taught her son Kat is the office manager. The how to sew and embroider. So he business is run solely by the hus- bought a loom and wove wraps in band-and-wife team, although his garage. their growth plan includes hir- Soon, friends and family ing employees. “Definitely, we members expressed interest in don’t want it to be him and me the wraps, which the Hustons be- forever,” Kat says. “We want more gan selling online. They expand- people. It would be great to have ed into a full-f ledged business in more people. Ryan can’t do all 2013, investing in power looms of it. Somebody needs to watch Kat Huston, cofounder, to make selvage fabric (meaning looms while they run, somebody Huston Textile Company with finished edges) and getting needs to repair, somebody needs into workwear. Later, they part- to do the office.” nered with Fibershed, a nonprofit that promotes eco-friend- In the meantime, the Hustons say they’ve figured out ly practices in fiber production. Nowadays, Huston Textile’s how to navigate the challenges of working closely togeth- customers tend to fall within two main categories: Those er, learning that patience, open communication and the who want American-made and supply-chain transparen- ability to resolve disagreements go a long way. “I love my cy, and those who want fabrics using local and sustainably husband, but I don’t necessarily always love working with sourced raw materials. him,” Kat says. “I don’t know anybody that would say work- In 2017, Huston Textile Company moved into a convert- ing with their spouse 100 percent of the time is their fa- ed military hangar at the former Mather Air Force Base. vorite thing. I like it because we can depend on each other The 12,000-square-foot space is filled with 19 looms col- and get mad at each other, and the next day there’s no hard lected by the couple over the past few years, including two feelings.” n vintage looms from the 1960s. There’s also one from Loui- siana used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and two Sena Christian is managing editor for Comstock’s. On Twitter from a barn in Connecticut; the owners said the Hustons @SenaCChristian or senachristian.com. could have them for free as long as they could handle the “I don’t know anybody that would say working with their spouse 100 percent of the time is their favorite thing. I like it because we can depend on each other and get mad at each other, and the next day there’s no hard feelings.” October 2019 | comstocksmag.com 59