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Shepherd, Fibre Artist and Farmer
Nichole runs Cedar Brook Farm & Fibre along with her husband Murray in Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia, a sheep farm and fibre operation with a self-serve stand at the end of the driveway. Sheep have always been a part of their lives. Nichole grew up spending a lot of time on her grandparents sheep farm. Murray grew up raising and showing sheep through 4H. Their love for these animals is what brought them together and what fuels their farm.
Nichole's grandfather got his first sheep when he was 11 and raised them for more than 60 years. He taught her about sheep, but more than that, he gave her the space she needed to learn while staying nearby with words of encouragement. Her grandmother is a fibre artist who has spent her life creating from the wool of her grandfather's sheep, and she is the one who has fueled Nichole's creative side. Her grandmother taught her how to spin yarn, to weave and to process a fleece and turn it into something you can work with. Without the knowledge shared from both of her grandparents, and the time and patience they gave her, Nichole will tell you plainly, the business would not exist.
All of their sheep have names. They all have their own individual personalities, and Nichole's quiet rule is that the farm never gets so big it loses that. Every business pulls toward more, and she has decided where that pull stops. She doesn't want to arrive at a point where she can't see each one, or where there's no time left to sit down with the sheep and give them scratches and treats. Growth that costs her that is not growth she wants.
Nichole believes farm stands make local products more affordable and accessible to communities, and that belief is the whole architecture of the place: no storefront, no middleman, just a stand you can pull up to and serve yourself. Wool from her own sheep, yarn, craft kits, handmade crafts, fresh flowers and seasonal produce, all of it grown or made right there. What she is building is not scale. It's a small, steady way of being useful to the people around her.
Wool, Flowers, and Roadside Kindness
Stitched One Animal At A Time
Cedar Brook Farm & Fibre's crocheted stuffed animals started long before there was a farm stand to sell them from. Nichole taught herself to crochet in 2014 with her grandmother's help and YouTube. Because she loves animals, that is where her hands went: stitch by stitch bringing each animal to life.
For a while she never advertised that she took custom orders. Then when the stand opened, several people asked her outright to make them stuffies. From there it took off. Requests now come in from all over the province, some from people who have never been to the stand but know the stuffies by name.
The custom side brought a second pleasure she did not expect, requests for all sorts of animals she probably wouldn't have thought to crochet on her own. And when the finished ones leave, the story doesn't end at the handoff. She loves getting pictures of the stuffies in their new homes.
Wool, Flowers, Crafts, and Homegrown Produce
The stand
Yarn
Ann Needle Felting Kit
Custom Crochet Order
Custom Crochet Order
Crochet Goose
Murphy and Nelly
Freshly Picked Flowers
Lavender
Hazel
Lambs Doug and Frank
Murphy Ready to Greet Visitors
A Heartfelt Note
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for stopping by our little farm stand!
Every visit, every purchase, and every kind word means more to us than you know. When you support our farm, you’re supporting our sheep, our gardens, our handmade creations, and a dream built with love and hard work.
We’re so grateful to be able to share a little piece of our farm with you. Whether you take home fresh flowers, garden-fresh produce, something made from our sheep’s wool, or a handmade treasure, we hope it brings a little joy to your day.
We truly appreciate each and every one of you!
~ Nichole & Murray
