Mary Jane
Carpenter, waitress, janitor, upholsterer, secretary, ranch hand, milkmaid, wilderness ranger, environmental activist, entrepreneur, author, and trend-setter, MaryJane Butters has worn many hats (and aprons) in her day, but none more proudly than that of modern-day farmgirl. Her organic lifestyle magazine, MaryJanesFarm, is available nationwide and she is the author of four books—most recently, Glamping with MaryJane. The book, full of practical how-to’s and plenty of MaryJane’s signature farmgirl charm, is the definitive guide to “glamping,” a term she coined when she combined glamour and camping by opening her wall-tent B&B, the first of its kind in the United States.
From her farm in Moscow, Idaho, she sells 60 different organic prepared foods and shares the message of simple organic living with readers of her magazine and her popular blog, Raising Jane. In addition, she is the creator of Project F.A.R.M. (First-class American Rural Made), an organization that employs rural women who sew totes, quilts, dolls, and more. She is also the owner of the historic Barron Flour Mill in Oakesdale, Washington, and owns two retail stores, one in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and one in her hometown of Moscow, Idaho, and designs and sells her own line of bedding and home décor sold in over 900 department stores. Business aside, MaryJane likes to brag that “going granny” has been her most important accomplishment to date. She is “Nanny” to six grandchildren, and two of her grown children and their spouses are employed full-time at her farm.
In addition to running her farm and businesses, MaryJane is known as Sister #1 to the more than 4,000 dues-paying members of her Farmgirl Sisterhood, a thriving, active community of women from all over the country, both citified and countrified, who come together to share their farmgirl dreams and big farmgirl hearts through MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection chatroom and her GirlGab community of bloggers.