True Blue Fiber Friends

A brief history of Bex Oliger and Shella Watson, two true blue fiber friends......

Carol Leigh Brack-Kaiser (Bex's mom) got Bex hooked on fiber arts when Bex was thirteen and Bex joined her mother's fiber business at age 15. Carol Leigh Brack-Kaiser is a world renown fiber artist and has owned, and taught at, Carol Leigh's Hillcreek Fiber Studio in Columbia, Missouri for nearly 28 years.

Bex's best friend since Junior High, Shella, also got hooked and has apprenticed with the family for 25 years. They ate, breathed, and lived wool/silk/alpaca as they traveled from fiber show to fiber show and to historic reenactments.

Bex graduated early from Rockbridge High School to travel in Europe for three months, unofficially attending Gymnasium in Saarbrucken, Germany with friends. While in Germany, she learned to knit continental style from her good friend Gudi. This was a natural continuation of a passion for fiber arts she has shared with her mother.

Bex went on to attend colleges and Universities in three states, changing her major 5 times before settling on Middle School Unified Science/Math/Social Studies Education. She taught at Smithton Middle School for a year before returning to the family fiber business.

In 2003 Bex married her long time sweetheart, Eric Oliger. Together they have three sons, two from a previous marriage and a recent addition. Their sons are Ben (17), Jesse (14) and Charlie (born in September 2007).

In her travels Bex encountered many influential and knowledgeable fiber artists, including Michelle Wipplinger, Jim Liles, Paula Simmons, Anna Zilboorg, Anne & Eugene Bourgeois, Merike Saarniit, Nancy Wiseman, Melissa Leapman, Nancy Bush, Lucy Neatby, and Elsebeth Lavold in addition to others too numerous to count.

Bex developed the knitting side of Hillcreek Fiber Studio until knitting-obsessed customers started taking over Carol Leigh's weaving space.

In 2003, the family opened Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe with the help of her good friends including Shella and Ana at Designer's Plumbing and Hardware.

As of Nov 2007 Bex, her family and close friends are NO longer affiliated with Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe LLC. The dissolution of that partnership lead to a better and healthier partnership as of Feb. 2008.

The True Blue Fiber Friends Partnership of Bex & Shella, with the outstanding support of many friends and knitting fans, has made the life long dream of Bex & Shella became a reality! The community that surrounds this little yarn shop is a constant support network to fiber friends far and wide. We like to think of it as a "Fiber Arts Co-operative and Network."

Bex, Shella and Bex's sister, Rose, who is a graduate in photo journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia and an accomplished, weaver, knitter, and spinner, will be at TBFF for all your fiber needs. Charlie is occasionally available for comic relief.

Thank you all for your continued support! Hope to see you soon!