Born in 1967, Bex spent her early years convinced that she was "manufactured" at St Mary's Hospital in Jeff City (MO). Each time her family passed the hospital where she was born her parents pointed and told her "that's where you were born." She looked and saw the boiler room through the large windows and thought that was the baby factory.
Her mother, Carol Leigh Brack-Kaiser, owner of Hillcreek Fiber Studio, was a flautist with Jefferson City's symphony after attending Drake University on scholarship, which is where she met Bex's father, Phil Spriggs. Phil was an opera singer, conductor, and university voice instructor. Bex joined the family's musical enterprises playing Gretel in a Little Theater performance of "Sound of Music" at age 5.
Bex's brother, Carl Spriggs, photographed the family's musical endeavors. He is the owner of "Spriggs Creations in Wood" which manufactures the patented Spriggs Adjustable Frame Looms (triangle, rectangle, and square models available in cherry, walnut, maple and oak) and drop spindles among other things.
Bex's sister, Rose, is a student in photo journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Rose is an accomplished, weaver, knitter, and spinner.
Bex graduated early from Rockbridge High School to travel in Europe for three months, unofficially attending Gymnasium in Saarbrucken, Germany with friends. While in Germany, she learned to knit continental style from her good friend Gudi. This was a natural continuation of a passion for fiber arts she has shared with her mother.
Bex went on to attend colleges and Universities in three states, changing her major 5 times before settling on Middle School Unified Science/Math/Social Studies Education. She taught at Smithton Middle School for a year before returning to the family fiber business.
In 2003 Bex married her long time sweetheart, Eric Oliger. Together they have three sons, two from a previous marriage and a recent addition. Their sons are Ben (15), Jesse (13) and Charlie (born in September).
Fiber Arts History
Carol Leigh Brack-Kaiser (Bex's mom) has become a world renowned fiber artist and has owned, and taught at, Hillcreek Fiber Studio in Columbia, Missouri for 25 years. Carol Leigh got Bex hooked on fiber arts when Bex was thirteen and Bex joined her mother's fiber business at age 15.
Bex's best friend since Junior High, Shella, also got hooked and has apprenticed with the family for 22 years. They ate, breathed, and lived wool/silk/alpaca as they traveled from fiber show to fiber show and historic reenactments.
In her travels Bex encountered many influential and knowledgeable fiber artists, including Michelle Wipplinger, Jim Liles, Paula Simmons, Anna Zilboorg, Anne & Eugene Bourgeois, Merike Saarniit, Nancy Wiseman, Melissa Leapman, Nancy Bush, Lucy Neatby, and Elsebeth Lavold in addition to others too numerous to count.
Bex developed the knitting side of Hillcreek Fiber Studio until knitting obsessed customers started taking over Carol Leigh's weaving space. In 2003, the family opened Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe with the help of her good friends including Shella and Ana at Designer's Plumbing and Hardware.
Bex and her family are no longer affiliated with Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe.
Bex is currently working on a book of knitting techniques, with encouragement from several of the above mentioned influences, and patterns for Frog Tree Alpaca Yarns.
