Meet Hannah Tustin | Head Baker at Owls Head Farmstead

Hi Hannah, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In March of 2023 after less than a year at a new position with a new organization, I was informed that due to reorganization, my position was being eliminated. I was completely devastated. As someone in Construction Management and nearly 40 years old with a family, I couldn’t stomach finding a high stress job that took me on the road away from my family, which is what I did for the majority of my career.

However, my husband and family encouraged me to take a break from that world and follow my passion, which has always been food. I have been baking bread and playing with recipes for years and sharing that with the people close to me and members of the community during COVID. Unfortunately, we live in very rural Vermont, so a retail situation in our home was out of the question. We decided to develop a bread ‘CSA’/share program in which community members would pay a monthly fee, and we would deliver different types of bread each week, plus any additional produce or maple syrup (which we also make!) on Sundays. Our tiny community embraced us with open arms! For the first time in my life I was building something with my hands and my heart that put a genuine smile on people’s faces (I mean who doesn’t love carbs?).

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My trajectory to having a licensed home bakery has certainly not been a traditional one.

Immediately upon graduating from our local Community College with an Associates of Science in Engineering, I launched into the world of construction. I can assure you that being a woman in the world of construction management and inspection is a tough row to hoe, but I stuck with it for 2o years in a variety of roles in which I did everything from heavy bridge construction to municipal public works directorship. After my job loss in March 2023 and feeling completely burned out by that industry, I knew it was time for a change, but what? My husband and family encouraged me to follow my passion for food and start my own business.

I was raised in a very agricultural area with a family that valued home cooked meals. Although our meals were typical traditional ‘no frills’ fare, I was always helping in the kitchen no matter what was being whipped up. I can’t tell you how many dozens of cookies I made with my mom, or brownies at sleep overs, homemade donuts with my Mimi, it was always fascinating and captivated me.

As a child, I dreamed of living like Laura Ingalls Wilder and growing all of my own food. I couldn’t wait to have my own little slice of the world with gardens and a milk cow. All of this inspired me, together with my husband, to turn our property into our homestead. A bakery was such a natural addition to what we were already doing with our property, that there was never a second guess about it. We could incorporate local ingredients into seasonal offerings to supply our friends, family, and community with preservative and chemical free bread. We started off with a retail style delivery route to customers, but within two months of starting, a local store reached out asking if we could supply them with our products.

This started a snowball that has since grown immensely. We quickly learned about the world of wholesale production, sales calls, pricing, licensing, accounting, sourcing, and social media management. It was a crash course that my previous career did not prepare me for. I can’t tell you how many 18 hour days I suffered through but kept at it and refining my process until i had it nailed. No part of it was easy. I wanted to quit countless times and find a job because it seemed like an easier path. But then someone would reach out and send me a heart filled note about having our dinner rolls with their family at Thanksgiving and it fueled me to keep charging on.

As we continue to grow, my biggest struggle is giving myself grace and forgiveness. I am my own toughest critic and I’m learning to love myself, forgive my mistakes, and find the beauty and balance in having the opportunity to do this. I’m grateful every day that I literally get to feed people from my home with locally sourced ingredients that I am pouring all of my love into.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Although we don’t live in a city (deep country here), Vermont is one of the most beautiful places in the country where people have come to vacation for generations to appreciate the rich agricultural history and natural beauty. Because I am passionate about food and local producers, I would make that the focus of the trip! Day 1 (Saturday): Check out the Brattleboro (Vermont) Area Farmers’ Market and Downtown Brattleboro. So much opportunity for connecting with food producers and learning about the area.
Day 2: Quechee (Vermont) Gorge and Billings Farm. The Quechee Gorge is a deep river cut under Route 4 through a beautiful area in central Vermont with excellent hiking and quick access to a variety of interesting restaurants (like Tucker box in White River Junction Vermont for authentic Turkish food). I’d spend the afternoon at the Billings Farm, which is a historic, working farm and national historic park that was built by the Rockefeller family.
Day 3: Stowe and Waterbury (Vermont) – an incredible ski town that has several world famous breweries (including Alchemy Beer). With too many incredible places to eat such as Prohibition Pig, it would be hard to chose one spot, but my theory has always been that you shouldn’t! Eat at all of them. A can’t miss spot while in Stowe is the Von Trapp Family (yes the one from the Sound of Music) Lodge and Brewery. A famous ski lodge that can’t be missed on any trip to Vermont and fabulous beer in a tap house overlooking the mountains. A quick trip just a few minutes away to Montpelier, the country’s smallest state capital and a beer and snack at Three Penny Taproom would round out the evening.
Day 4&5: Burlington (Vermont). Our largest city on the shores of Lake Champlain would get a two day tour with no lack of incredible restaurants, shopping, and entertainment venues. No trip to BVT would be complete without a boat tour of Lake Champlain that has a rich history deeply involved with the Revolutionary war and a natural resource that is deeply valued by the residents of the area.
Day 6: Manchester (Vermont). Beautiful Manchester is known for it’s outlet shopping, but what so many people miss out on is Hildene, which is the Lincoln Family home right here in Vermont. Much like the Billings Farm, it is a working historic farm working to preserve heritage breeds and practices. No trip to Manchester would be complete without a trip to the Orvis Headquarters, where they offer FREE fly fishing lessons, which is fun even for those in the world who may not appreciate the art.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to dedicate this to my husband, Christopher Tustin, who has been my biggest supporter. When I was at my lowest point after losing my job, he was my shoulder to cry on and my cheerleader. He saw my potential for taking a hobby that I have always been passionate about and turning it into something that I could do full time. Without his emotional and physical support, I would not be feeding our community and looking forward to waking up every day instead of dreading my commute to a high stress ‘job’.

Website: www.owlshead-farm.com

Instagram: @owlshead_farm

Facebook: Owls Head Farmstead