Hi everyone!  Our alpaca ponchos are so fabulous, “beautiful … soft and sophisticated” as one of our customers wrote to us recently.  Once you have one, you’ll want to have it forever!  So that raises the question, how do I care for my alpaca garment?  Although you probably won’t need to wash it often, here are the washing instructions:

As with any garment made of natural animal fiber, such as wool or angora, the washing instructions for alpaca garments are simple:  hand-wash in lukewarm or cool water with a mild shampoo such as baby shampoo, and lay flat to dry.

• Wash:  fill a sink with lukewarm water.  Add a small amount of baby shampoo (approx. ½ oz.) to the water.  Place the garment in the water and gently swish it around for several minutes to remove any dirt.  Remove the garment, gently pressing it to remove excess soapy water.

• Rinse:  refill the sink with clean lukewarm water.  Place the garment in the sink and gently swish it around to rinse the shampoo from the garment.  Repeat rinse cycle as needed.

• Condition:  this step is recommended every 8 to 10 washings. After it has been shampooed and rinsed, leave the garment in water with hair conditioner for up to 30 minutes.  Rinse, changing water as needed.

• Dry:  After the garment has been rinsed of shampoo and/or conditioner, remove it from the water, and place it on a clean towel on a flat surface.  Gently position it to its original shape. Roll the towel up into a jellyroll shape.   Unroll, and place the garment on top of a clean dry towel on a flat surface to dry.

If your garment is brushed-alpaca, after washing, rinsing, and laying the garment on the towel, use a baby brush and gently brush the fabric in the direction of the fibers.  Keep away from heat.

Enjoy!

Kathy

As many of you know, we launched the Alpaca Artwear™ website this past month. I’m thrilled with the website my designers created and so pleased to have this online presence to showcase the beautiful products we carry.

One of the first people I wanted to share the new website with was the Coordinator of the fair-trade cooperatives in Bolivia where many of Alpaca Artwear’s products are created. Her response, with an excerpt below, speaks to our shared passion for the products, admiration of the artisans, and optimism that this website will bring additional business to the many talented yet poor artisans of the cooperatives.

The excerpt:

Hola Kathy,

Felicidades!!! Realmente tienes una pagina preciosa y lo que más me impresiona es que son nuestros productos, les mostraré a los artesanos para que vean hasta donde pueden llegar. Mil gracias por confiar en nostros.

translated:

Hi Kathy,

Congratulations!!! Your website is truly wonderful and that which impresses me the most is that it showcases our products! I will show it to the artisans so that they can see just where we can go. A thousand thanks for your confidence in us.

Developing the website was a collaborative project, with contributions from a diverse group of talented and creative people from across the country, and around the world. On this Thanksgiving weekend, I’d like to thank them all for their contributions and enthusiastic support of this venture.

• To the artisans in the fair-trade cooperatives – you are the inspiration behind this venture. Thank you for creating our exquisite Alpaca Artwear products – I look forward to our partnership for many years to come.
• To Becky, who I met while on a Behind the Scenes Adventures textile tour of the Andes – thank you for the use of your many beautiful photographs. You captured the majesty of the Andes – thank you for allowing me to share them with others.
• Christy, Jerry, Bob, and models – Your wonderful photography of our beautiful models powerfully communicate the natural beauty of the Alpaca Artwear products.
• Peter and Rogers - thank you for pulling together all the ideas, the images, and the technie stuff to create a beautiful website.

As you browse the website and make your purchases, I too extend my thanks to you for your confidence in all the people behind Alpaca Artwear.