Uan Hollow began with three bummer lambs.
In early 2025, Sus was working for Marigold Livestock Co. in Basalt, CO as a ranch hand when sadly & suddenly the first time mother of triplet lambs suddenly died. When Alyssa, owner of MLC, offered the triplets to us, because she did not have time to raise three-day-old baby lambs, our lives shifted.
Sus had been in vegetable production for a few years already, growing biodynamically in the Roaring Fork Valley, but knew the shift to livestock was her projectile. The bummers lambs became the catalyst for a now small, but growing herd of sheep. They will eventually produce lambs meat, but the first consideration was what to do with their wool once its sheared. Having a small flock often means doing it all yourself, so we were considering wool as a mulch for the garden, but when news was shared about wool pellet making came through Brook LeVan, a door opened.
Finding New Liberty Wool Pellets was the next step into business. Robert was & has continued to be very supportive in bringing this sustainable, all-natural soil amendment to the Roaring Fork, Colorado River, & North Fork Valleys of Colorado. As a biodynamic farmer, Sus is committed to integrating animal with plant production systems, understanding this integration as necessary for farm ecosystem health.
Partnerships with local sheep productions are still establishing, so if you have “waste wool” you’d like to sell, please contact us! We are not manufacturing pellets as this time, but plan to move into that segment in 2027 with grassroots outreach education & establishment of a client base being the focus of 2026.
Uan (pronouced OO-an) means “lamb” in Irish.
The word “Uan” came to us as a search for names abounded in late 2025, once we knew for certain sheep would always be part of our lives. Moving up West Elk in New Castle sealed the descriptive part of our name “hollow” as we are nestled in a valley between the tabled mesa of the Clinetops, where the sun’s reach is shorten day & eve.
“Uan” came as a search for language that tied us back to the roots that were lost when our ancestors emigrated to Turtle Island. In visits to both Ireland & England, Sus (& her Mom) felt a deep connection to the Mourne Mountains of Ulster & thus bloomed a reconnection with the home before this continent. “Uan”, then, is a name in reverence to our Irish roots & the many sheperds who came before us & held deep relationship to land & family.
Hester produces fresh, organic produce from local farmers in New York. Even our spices are fresh. Just because pickling is a preservation process doesn’t mean you can use dried-up thyme or week-old asparagus that’s already a little spongy.
We want to give our customers crisp, crunchy and delicious pickled vegetables and fruits. Most of all, we want to expand people’s palates and prove that pickles don’t always come in a green or red variety.