2025 - Volume #49, Issue #2, Page #22
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She’s Bringing Back Broomcorn Brooms
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In 2012, Cynthia Main left her job in Chicago. “I was looking for ways to get back to the South and find more traditional ways of work,” she says. The solution was a yearlong internship at a traditional rural skills school. There, she focused on woodcraft and broom-making. “I wanted to craft simple products and have them embraced by the growing number of people seeking sustainable alternatives for their homes.”
Main noticed a gap in the market for homemade brooms and began making her own. “I worked with a program sponsored by the city of Berea, Ky., the Artisan Accelerator program,” she says. “It’s designed to find craftspeople to replace the hole left by the older people retiring. The program gave me a small stipend so I could focus on the business full-time. In exchange, I maintained an open studio.”
Her storefront, Sunhouse Craft, officially opened in 2022. It focuses on sustainability while supporting local farmers, artists and other creatives. “I’m a big believer in craft,” she says. “I get joy from connecting folks to the land, and I’m honored to have a shop on main street to carry forward the craft legacy of my region.”
Beyond the appeal of supporting human craftsmanship, Main believes homemade brooms have advantages over store-bought. “Homemade brooms can include the ‘split ends’ or fines of the top of the crop (called the hurl),” she says. “It makes them better at grabbing dirt than factory brooms. They’re also more ergonomic because of it; the broom hits the ground softer.”
Her material of choice is broomcorn, a type of sorghum with a coarse, fibrous head. It’s been a favorite for broom-making since the late 18th century and was once a significant part of U.S. agriculture. However, cultivation plummeted after the 1960s due to production moving to Mexico, the introduction of plastic brooms, and the widespread adoption of carpet in American homes.
It takes roughly 50 plants to make one full-sized broom. Consequently, Main partnered with a local organic farmer to grow three acres of broomcorn. “If you have a long enough season to grow corn, you should be able to grow your own supply,” she says. “We host a harvest party for local folks to learn how we grow it.”
Despite common perception, she’s convinced broom-making is easier than people realize. “You need very little to start: a strong stick for a handle, a good knife, some strong twine, a stick to wrap it around to go under your feet, and some broomcorn. That’s everything. Even as a professional, I only use a few extra bells and whistles.” Still, the time commitment can vary by complexity, with floor brooms taking anywhere from half an hour to several days. “Folks seem excited about our local lumber brooms,” says Main. “We mill all the handles from locally fallen wood; they work great and make lovely home décor.”
When Main started her business, 10 people under 40 in the United States publicly made brooms. Now, the craft is beginning to come back. “I’m excited to see us thriving as part of a positive, handmade future.” She’s eager to spread her love of sustainable handicrafts to more people. “My adult life has been farming and fabrication, and I’ve worked over a decade to build this business. I’ve been chasing some version of this dream my whole life, even though I didn’t put the pieces together until I was almost 40. I want to share with others that sometimes things take time, but it’s completely possible to make a business directly from the land and work on your own terms.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cynthia Main, Sunhouse Craft, 414 Chestnut St., Berea, Ky. 40403 (ph 919-452-4071; hello@sunhousecraft.com; www.sunhousecraft.com).
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