wool& Spotlight: Georgia Barkwood

Georgia barkwood is an Alaskan transplant and homesteader that lives life to the fullest.

Georgia’s goal: say yes to adventure and build a life that you love.

Georgia wore the Maggie Swing Dress for her first wool& challenge.
Read more of the wool& Spotlight Series here.

What is your background?

At 52-years-old, I have worn many hats and reinvented myself a few times. Like a cat, I look forward to what may come in my sixth life. “Carpe Diem”, I say!

I have an amazing 12-year-old daughter, a charismatic husband, a house filled with animals, and one beat up vacuum. We reside in a small, rural town in the heartland of Alaska's agricultural region. We call our 1.25 acres of the Last Frontier the “Northwind Homestead.”

I’m a self-taught artist and small business owner. I love to read, learn, and live life. I am particularly good at making mistakes, as I am not afraid to say yes. In summer, I teach campers the arts in an outdoor setting on beautiful historic farmland. In my former life, I was a Certified Medical Assistant and Licensed Massage Therapist.

In February 2010 I quit my position at the hospital I had worked at for 22 years, left every friend I had and all my family for the call of the mountains and the Alaskan life that I had dreamed of. I packed my existence into 10 large boxes and exited the bustle of New Jersey for the bare bones of a 625 square foot cabin in the Chugach foothills of Alaska.

By Spring of 2011, I was immersed into motherhood, marriage, mountains, and moose. My husband worked at sea for six months out of the year, as a Merchant Mariner in Prince William Sound, so I became a SAHM. Being 3,000 miles away from friends and family with a baby and a husband at sea, was by far, my biggest adventure yet.

During this sweet time, I learned how to be an Alaskan, and how to raise an Alaskan.

One day I woke up at 4 am, threw the dog, baby, a couple buckets and a dip net into the car, and drove 40 miles in sleet and snow to stand in freezing cold water, fishing for Hooligan. In full wader bibs, with my infant daughter strapped under my parka, I highly suspected I was not a Cheechako (Alaskan greenhorn) anymore.

Where did you grow up?

I was born on a farm and raised in the hills of New Jersey, 45 minutes west of New York City. My multicultural hometown life, combined with the richness and texture of the NYC vibe, infused an appreciation of theater, arts, ethnic foods, vibrant customs, cultures and dress. My own traditions, art and style draws heavily from my Swiss heritage, experiences, travels, and locales.

Tell us about your creative pursuits and work.

My husband and I own a custom leather shop called Northwind Leather. We currently have created five pairs of Rodeo Queen Chaps. From design, to tooling, painting, hand stitching and final construction, the process takes about 500 hours. We meet with each Queen, getting a feel of who she is, and design ideas, to create a collaborative piece of wearable art that will last a lifetime. Northwind Leather has many other custom products, however, I also rely on my thrifting passion to create upcycled pieces from vintage belts. Repurposing old leather is my way of reducing waste in this business.

Leather scraps are recycled into my art, as well. I was invited as one of 16 Alaskan artists to create a sled dog art piece, raising money for Anchorage's Mushing District.

I believe in getting to know the people and area I reside in, and strive to make it a better place. I do so by maintaining a Little Free Library, hosting community trivia nights, organizing our neighborhood Christmas caroling and running Jolabokabuchaflod, which is an Icelandic inspired tradition of exchanging books and chocolate around Christmas, at our town's Kombuchery. I also judge the State Fair's International beard contest, and volunteer at organizations and nonprofits that speak to me, such as the animal shelter, our wild bird rehab and a local nonprofit which plants and grows food for public harvesting.

I fully believe in modeling the behavior I want to see in my child and finding a way to help others in whatever capacity I can, in a way that resonates with me.

Tell us about something memorable that happened in the last year.

Getting diagnosed with a chronic disease last year is pretty memorable. I have idiopathic chronic pancreatitis and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). I take enzyme replacement therapy with every meal to be able to digest food. The exocrine part of the pancreas secretes enzymes to break down food. When this is compromised, all sorts of digestive issues ensue, along with malnutrition and disease.

For a foodie and avid cook like me, this is a ridiculous illness! This super restrictive diet affords me little room for all the fabulous cooking and dining I used to do, but I refuse to succumb to a bland, boring culinary life.

So I started an online recipe support group on Facebook called “Cranky Panky Recipes.” I am learning and helping others take the cranky out of their panky, one meal at a time. My research has me convinced that pancreatitis cookbooks are not created by anyone with the illness. My successes have me convinced I need to write one myself. This is one of my future goals.

What sort of impact has wool / wool& had on your life?

Oh, where do I begin? My wardrobe has been pared down to natural fibers, vintage classics, and beloved thrift finds. I have learned visible mending, embroidery, and dyeing. I can be self-sufficient, resourceful and ready for anything without sacrificing comfort and style. One hole in a $138 dress did not ruin my world. Fixing it and carrying on confirmed I am capable of living the “Woolie life.”

For years my husband sung the praises of wool and many of my beloved vintage classics that survived the move to Alaska were wool. I just never realized wool could be that comfortable. I knew this fabric was typically a quality, lifetime piece of clothing, but the terms “sustainable fabric” and “fast fashion" weren't part of my vocabulary then. Quickly I learned all the benefits and nuances with daily wear of the dress, and the help of the wool& community.

These dresses come with a community of lovely individuals who strive to make a difference, lifting others up, and bonding through the love of wool and quality clothing. I’m a moderator of the wool& Beyond The Basics Facebook group where I host a weekly Friday fashion tip. I really have a lot of fun with the wool& groups.

It is in this spirit that I had the confidence to design a camp called Recycled Runway. Kids age 9-13 utilize a variety of salvaged and recycled materials to create a unique wearable art piece to showcase in a runway walk. I touch on the subject of natural fibers, sustainability, dyeing, and the impact clothing has on us and our environment. I am so grateful for the experiences gathered while wearing wool& dresses, and the energy of the entire wool& community.

What is your favorite wool& product?

Honestly, I feel good in everything I wear from wool&. I greatly appreciate the company's transparency and values. That is why, almost two years later, I still wear wool& daily.

My absolute favorite piece is the Maggie Swing Dress, my 100 day dress. Layering under or over in all seasons, as a basic, tucked in as a shirt, or doubling as a nightdress, this one style does it all. It's perfect to me. I currently have two!

In second place is the Sierra Tank Dress, my wardrobe workhorse staple. I wear this dress when I need to do tough Alaskan things in comfort, like fishing, four wheeling, hiking, processing moose sausage and wrangling Alaskan sized veggies from my garden beds.

I am going to insert the Swift Leggings here too. They are indispensable to me, as I feel good wearing them year-round, under the dresses.

Have you done any of our challenges? Tell us about that!

I call myself quietly competitive. If you are going to dangle the carrot of an interesting challenge in front of me, I will rise to the occasion with gusto. I believe, at this point, I have completed nearly every challenge wool& has thrown out there.

In summer 2021, Covid was still a presence and I was looking for a fun focus. When I saw a Facebook ad for the 100 Day Dress Challenge, I was instantly hooked by one Vintage Blue Maggie Dress. The artist in me ignited and I just had fun. Whether it was putting my unique styling with the dress or making an Instagram visual diary of the daily photos, I was hooked. My two 30 day challenge dresses were with the Audrey Maxi Dress and Evelyn Shift Dress.

I have to add, the Spotlight Effect is real. Not one student, teacher, friend or foe, realized I wore a dress for 30 days, let alone 100! A few kids got close saying, "Miss Georgie, you really like blue!"

What made you decide to move to Alaska?

The mountains were in my blood. I felt I was destined to be there and Alaska had been calling to me for a long time, but I needed a push. Sometimes, life sends you a little shove and sometimes it comes in the form of a long haired, bearded, rolling avalanche of a yogi that sweeps you North.

I met Keith in yoga class on a Tuesday. By Sunday we were driving North to Alaska, a sign filling the back window that read “ Alaska Bound.” I wish I had a wool dress then, because I brought way too many clothes. It was the adventure of a lifetime.

This journey was a blast, but I flew back home after 16 days, resuming my life. Keith and I lost contact, but the pull of Alaska was still strong.

Years later, Keith and I reconnected. He was sailing on tall ships based on the East Coast. Well, I was definitely on-board with this adventure too, full sail ahead! As you may suspect, love swelled, just like the tide.

Another love ignited in me too, that of sailing and tall ships. When Keith's ship lost funding to continue their season, we decided to buy a 45 foot, live aboard steel Ketch. It didn't work out to sail to Alaska but we finally decided it was time to go home to Alaska.

Soon after this decision was made, my life ended up in 10 boxes, being shipped North.

I am a firm believer in the power of yes! Yes!
Just try it and see where it takes you. It surely worked for me.

What is something unique about you?

My mom has been blind since birth. When I was in elementary school, she would volunteer to read stories in braille. She was quite the character then, narrating in accents, greatly animated. Kids loved her.

Her reading was a daily occurrence in our house. Large boxes would come in the mail stamped, "Free Matter for the Blind." Braille books of all subjects and genres, delivered right to our home, and I would sit enthralled at the story du jour. I distinctly remember tales of Alaska and the Tlingit Natives, and am quite certain my fascination with Alaska started right there.

I knew that when I became a homeowner, one of my first projects would be to construct a Little Free Library, and so I did.

About 70 percent of my little library's books are purchased, $2 a bag, from our recycling center, where a handful of dedicated volunteers save and sort the more gently used books from going in the landfill. It gives me such joy to give these discarded books new life.