Our History

As a former manufacturing center with a bustling downtown, Olneyville has a rich history of makers. For decades Olneyville factories outfitted the whole country with worsted wool, cutlery, locomotives, rubber and steel. Its four main streets hummed with daily life. Then, in the mid-1900s, the neighborhood fell on hard times. Factories were sold or abandoned. The streets emptied.

But now, creative communities have returned, giving the previously deserted buildings new purpose. The foundry has transformed into The Steel Yard, a network of live-work studios and industrial art space. The old rubber factory has become the US Rubber Loft apartments. At the site of Colonial Knife, What Cheer Flower Farm grows and donates flowers. Not to mention Olneyville N.Y. System, which has been serving their famous hot wieners since 1953. And down the street from Dye House, urban agriculture brand Gotham Greens has one of its largest greenhouses in the country. Olneyville is once again a hub of artists, craftspeople, thinkers and doers who are changing the West Side one reclaimed mill at a time.

Weybosset Mills

Dye House was built in 1880 as one of the nine brick buildings that make up the Weybosset Mill Complex. Ten years later, American Woolen purchased the complex and it became the country’s premiere manufacturing center for worsted wool. Over the following decades, demand for wool decreased, and in 1934 American Woolen closed the mills. For the next fifty years, the mills cycled through uses, at one point producing pens, pencils and eyeglasses under the Welsh Manufacturing Company. Dye House even served as a truck repair shop in the 1950s and as a furniture studio in the 1980s. Finally, seeing the raw beauty of the space, Studio AD undertook the historical renovation of Dye House in 2007.

American Woolen

A century ago, New England led American textile production, and American Woolen Company led New England with over 60 mills, including Dye House and the Weybosset Mill Complex. But when synthetics and off-shoring decimated the industry, that wealth of expertise was nearly lost. In 2013, Jacob Harrison Long and a group of friends purchased the American Woolen trademark. They relocated to American Woolen’s last running mill in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, which famed Italian luxury goods producer Loro Piana had saved from ruin in 1988.

Now a state-of-the-art natural fiber mill, American Woolen’s master craftspeople weave both rugged woolens and fine worsteds, creating a modern continuation of New England’s legendary textile traditions. In honor of that tradition and in homage to our origins, Dye House is furnished with American Woolen cushions, upholstery and draperies. You’ll find even more of their materials in our shop.

STUDIO AD

Even the most remarkable spaces need hard work and a vision to bring them to life, and for Dye House, that original vision belonged to Christopher Henderson and architecture firm Studio AD. Studio AD first revived the building after many years of disrepair with a commitment to authenticity and an eye for detail that extended even to recreating the window hinges and hardware. Their dedication, like those brass window mechanisms, is still evident at Dye House today.

J Schatz

From 2015 to 2019, Dye House was the home and studio of ceramicists Jim Schatz and Peter Souza. Their playful, glossy objects filled the space, adding modernity and color to the mill’s historic rooms. During their years in Olneyville, the pair also worked tirelessly to make the neighborhood even more welcoming for both travelers and locals. Now based in Maine, the J Schatz legacy lives on at Dye House in the energy and love they gave to the space and in several of their bright, eye-catching pieces.