By Suzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer

His company sold for $100 million, but with retirement age looming, Tom Chappell said he just was not ready to hang up his tools.
Chappell, former owner of Tom’s of Maine toothpaste, has begun a new wool clothing company, Ramblers Way.
The Kennebunk-based company uses Rambouillet sheep from across the country to make the very thin and soft wool garments.
“The most common statement I hear is ‘I can’t believe it’s wool,’” said Chappell, but it is wool.
Ramblers Way clothes are cream colored, the natural look of the sheep’s wool, and come in long sleeve and short sleeve shirts and long underwear for both men and women.
But these clothes aren’t cheap; prices for women’s underwear start at $45, and the rest of the clothing costs $70 and up.
The high price is due in part to the many steps the wool goes through before it ends up as a piece of clothing on a hanger, beginning before the sheep are even born.
Chappell has worked most of his career to make sure his products were environmentally safe. With Ramblers Way, Chappell made sure he could produce the wool and clothing in this country, without importing.
“We’re creating out of nothing,” said Chappell. “There’s an emotional interest when you’re working with nature.”’
Chappell and his wife, Kate, remodeled a building on Kennebunk’s Main Street, next to town hall, as the hub for Ramblers Way operations.
Housed inside the walls are Kate’s artwork, exposed rafters and faithful employees that have followed Chappell since his toothpaste days.
“Entrepreneurs need well-rounded staff to write letters, pay checks, handle computers,” said Chappell. His right hand is Rosanne Chessie, who worked with Chappell at Tom’s of Maine. She says at Ramblers Way staff try to make the work different than at Tom’s, but other than a new building, things have stayed the same.
Chappell said he bought the building as his ideas on clothing came together.
“I’m a novice, I came into this as a customer,” Chappell said.
The idea originated from a weeklong walking tour in Wales, England, with his son. The two strolled 12 miles daily for a week. There, Chappell says the landscapes are covered with sheep – 3 or 4 million, is the estimate he cites.
Back at home the wheels began to turn. Chappell bought a few books on different types of sheep and wools. He began to talk to people about farming and traveled across the country to see farms and visit fabric makers.
He also started taking weaving classes.
“I enjoy it, spinning is very therapeutic,” he said.
Chappell demonstrates the different techniques weavers use to create the super fine wool. Chappell tears the wool apart into what looks like decorative Halloween spider webs. He then twists a small amount of the wool, feeding it into an imaginary loom, tapping his foot as if on a pedal to work the wheel to get the very thin wool used to make the clothing.
But first the wool must be sheared from the sheep
Ramblers Way uses sheep from the Chappell’s Kennebunk farm, farms in the Carolinas and the Midwest.
Chappell says he has gotten 12 inquires from local sheep farmers asking the company if he wanted the finest of the wool produced by their sheep.
The sheared wool is cleaned and taken through Chappell’s new washing treatment that uses enzymes instead of chlorine. The process also makes the clothes machine washable.
After the wool is cleaned, it is “worsted” or spun so it lays flat and parallel, instead of the usual spinning method that allows small bits of the wool to poke out of the tightly spun yarn and creates the scratchy feeling in some wool clothing.
The new business has created 10 jobs in Maine and another 15 jobs in Fall River, Mass., but Chappell wanted to help the community even more.
During the holiday season, Ramblers Way donated 5,000 garments to the unemployed in Maine.
“I got the idea on Sunday night and left a message at the Governor’s [John Baldacci] office. He called me Monday morning at 9 to say all the plans had been made,” said Chappell.
Chappell said the clothes are practical for those in need because they are warm, thin and don’t smell if left on for a few days.
Ramblers Way has been around for three months and is still expanding to keep up with demand.
In the future Chappell wants to use wool from more Maine sheep and create clothing in different colors.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.