In episode 180, Kestrel welcomes Kat + Ryan Huston. the cofounders of Huston Textile Company, to the show. With a focus on making high quality, small-batch cloth, Huston Textile Company uses vintage American-made machines in their manufacturing process. “The main concept for me, at least as a kid, that I took away was — you can’t expect to have a manufacturing job in the U.S. if you’re constantly buying things that are manufactured outside of the U.S.” - Ryan Huston, Cofounder of Huston Textile Company On this week’s show, Kat and Ryan share more on their backstory, and how anticipating the birth of their first child was what instigated them to go down this path of manufacturing textiles in the United States. They also explain more on the sorts of challenges they face on a regular basis, going against the grain, and using vintage machines. For Kat + Ryan, the goal is the build out an entirely local / region textile chain from the fiber to the finished textile, and while they are able to source some fibers in the U.S. currently, they are consistently working further toward this big dream. The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat: The closing of Cone Mills, an article about this in Men’s Journal Huston Textile Company’s fabrics > Factory Tours at Huston Textile Company > Videos on Huston Textile Company’s YouTube channel >