Dear friends,
As most of you know, it’s shearing season on the ranch! That means the days are busy, productive, exhausting, and beautiful.
Last week, mom shared all about our shearing process from goat to mohair.
We are still busy bees shearing away each day, and as I write I can hear the hum of clippers in the garage beneath me.
This week I am a guest writer for our Letter from the Ranch, one less thing mom has to think about today.
I thought we might explore the next step, what happens after shearing. What are we doing with all this mohair?
You probably already know that we make comfy socks and throws, but the question is, how do we do that?
To start, my mom is our supply chain gal. She’s learned how to speak the language of the mills.
This is quite important because their definitions can be quite different from what you or I may think.
Communication is key, along with the willingness to connect and meet people where they are.
Mom is great at this as she has a kind and calming way of doing business.
I can’t state how important that is, as we are a little fish swimming in a rather large pond (i.e. they don’t need our business).
But the family mills we work with believe in what we’re doing and help us bring our mohair socks and throws to life!
Our ranch is both the beginning and end of our supply chain. Here’s the process…
We shear our herd of Angora goats twice a year, in the spring and fall for their beautiful mohair fiber.
After shearing, we skirt the mohair to remove any unwanted debris, setting the stage for further processing. The mohair is then meticulously sorted by color and micron count.
Next, the sorted mohair embarks on a journey through our trusted supply chain partners.
At the scouring plant, it undergoes a thorough cleaning process before being blended with 21-micron domestic merino wool for bounce and memory.
As the journey nears its end, the spun and dyed yarn arrives at the knitting or weaving mill, where it's skillfully crafted into our signature socks or throw blankets.
Finally, after a 9-month journey from fiber to finished goods, our soft and cozy mohair socks and throws make their way back to our ranch in Idaho.
We then personally package and ship every mohair good directly to you.
It’s not a quick or easy process, nor is it cheap.
It’s the opposite of the fast fashion culture we live in today.
But what we do is important, and I know many of you value what we do here at Caprine and Red Falcon Ranch.
Thank you for your continued support. We truly appreciate you.
Love from the ranch,
Sarah
P.S. If you’ve been thinking about our mohair socks and throws…this is your sign to treat yourself!