Molly Manzanares
Molly, one of the founding spinners and weavers at Tierra Wools, grew up in a cattle ranching family, (in northern NM, in the Chama area). After graduating from Escalante High School, she attended University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.
When Molly and Antonio married it was quite an adjustment to participate in sheep ranching instead of cattle ranching, but she soon learned to love the sheep and lambs. They started out with about 30 or 40 head of sheep. They expanded this small herd over time while raising four children. Through hard work … sometimes just barely scraping by … they have increased their herd to (a commercial size flock) about 900 ewes. They raise primarily Churro, but also have rambouillet, and produce meat and wool products from both breeds.
Both Molly and Antonio were founders of Tierra Wools and the Ganados del Valle (livestock growers of the valley). It was during the early days of Ganados and Tierra Wools that Molly learned to weave. She feels very fortunate to have had Rachel Brown as her first weaving instructor. She (Rachel) taught Molly both weaving and design. Molly reflects that she learned more than weaving from Rachel. She learned to use available resources to create things of value in order to make a living. It wasn’t long before Molly became the teacher. She has taught Beginning Weaving and Tapestry at Tierra Wools, Ghost Ranch, and the Taos Institute of the Arts. (2004, Smithsonian Institute)
With the children grown, Molly has found that she has more time to devote to the family business, Shepherd’s Lamb, as well as her love for weaving.
Besides weaving, helping Antonio with the sheep, going to market, answering ambulance runs, and teaching EMT classes, Molly likes to ride horses and spend time with family.
