Belfast Mini-Mills international business thriving on its contact with customers AMY MCGEOGHEGAN The Guardian

Linda Nobles processes wool at Belfast Mini-Mills, a working shop that has become a destination tourism site in southeastern P.E.I. Guardian photo

BELFAST — Hidden beneath a treasure of wool and fibre, a cottage-sized industry in the heart of the community has been a landmark in expanding and re-inventing new ideas to prosper for 13 years.
Belfast Mini-Mills is a family-owned operation knitted together amidst a sea of dismay when owner Linda Nobles and her mother sent some sheep’s wool to a fibre mill and didn’t get their own wool back.
“We knew it wasn’t ours,” said Nobles. “We decided that people deserved to get their own wool and fibre back.”
Nobles and her husband, along with her parents and brother and sister, developed and created mini-fibre processing mills.
“We’re an international business, there is nobody like us,” she said.
The mini-mills are sold into 18 different countries around the world, with the most recent mill being sent to Libya to turn camel hair into yarn and other fibre contents.
“We’re quite proud of having a Canadian-made product.”
The mini-mill offers a lot of different services including free tours of the facility, a closeup look at some alpacas and local farm animals with a little store selling products made in the mill like hats and shawls.
They also offer four-hour classes with hands-on experience on needle felting, yarn painting and locker hooking.
Nobles said they have something for everyone.
“We’ve made a family destination for people to visit,” she said.
Along with all their other services this summer they will be offering tourists a chance to take a light lunch in their new tea room.
Nobles plans on using as many local ingredients in the tea room as possible.
“Everything is going to be made from scratch.”
Aside from the mini-mills and fibre sold in the Mill Store, Nobles and her sister recently wrote a children’s book about frogs and are developing ideas for a second book. Her sister’s art work is also sold in the store along with some knitted things made by her mother.
“We’re so busy we can’t keep up,” said Nobles.
The little mill gets visitors from all over the world. Nobles said she had a group of seniors call from California and tell her they were catching a cruise ship in Boston and stopping in Charlottetown.
“They asked me if I would meet them at the dock. I picked them up, took them out to the mill, showed them around and took them back to the ship.”
The dedication offered time and time again by this family business keeps the tourists coming back year after year.
“Our business thrives on being one on one with our customers; it’s all about the people.”