This Old Hippie
Story and Photos by Linda Cortright
Not everyone remembers the sixties. Others may prefer not to, but Barry Schacht traveled most of the world before the backto-the-land movement helped facilitate the way to his future.
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arry Schacht is nothing short of outrageous. At any moment he might have the persona of a Catskill comedian or an impassioned environmentalist. He has traveled through Europe and parts of North Africa, spent time in Thailand, and a year teaching English in Japan. He has also spent more time than he would probably care to remember living in the back of his van. In addition to being a tireless globetrotter he is also president and cofounder of Schacht Spindle Company, one of the leading manufacturers of handweaving looms and spinning wheels, with more than 450 distributors throughout the world. If you ask Barry how he got to where he is today he will probably tell you it has something to do with “Jesus”—an orphaned ram lamb that unwittingly came under his care one Christmas holiday way back when. If the vision of a Jewish kid from upstate New York bottle feeding the baby “Jesus” nestled in the Colorado Rockies seems a bit incongruous, don’t be alarmed. Barry has never been in lock step with the norm. To anyone who has had even a passing encounter with the fiber industry, Schacht products are ubiquitous. Whether you have lusted after the company’s double-treadle Matchless spinning wheel or are fortunate enough to own a Baby Wolf loom, the Schacht name has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue at one time or another. And though Barry is happy to discuss the evolution of the company, or the design aspects of its more than 150 products, those conversations have a bit more meaning when put in the context of the bigger picture. When Barry was a child his family owned a clothing business that successfully ignited his appreciation of textiles plus his design and salesman skills, so when it came time to redesign the shop’s showroom area, he discovered he had an innate talent for designing and building Above (left to right): Barry Schact with Filip Sokol. Adan MoralesTrigeros working on a spinning wheel part. A weaving shaft getting a final pass over the belt sander. Loom parts being shellacked.
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Wild Fibers Magazine
