ABOUT US
Alpaca Blankets was founded on the
fundamental principles to provide customers with:
· Premium quality
· Organic, no synthetics or chemical
dyes
· Eco-friendly, all natural
· Natural fabrics
· Unique custom designs
· And Baby products
It is our
pleasure to deliver superior quality products to our customers after extensive
qualification to insure conformity to the National communities Organic and
Eco-Friendly standards.
We are a
Veteran owned, USA company.
Alpaca
Blankets has the privilege of being an Authorized North American Distributor
for Stansborough’s Natural Fiber, Eco-Friendly, family of Blankets, Throws and
Baby products.
The Stansborough Story - From New
Zealand Farm to Hollywood
When Cheryl and Barry Eldridge
looked to diversify the farming activities on Stansborough, their New Zealand
sheep station, sixteen years ago, they had no idea the results would eventually
be seen on cinema screens around the world. The unique fiber created by their
flock of rare grey sheep was used to costume most of the main characters
appearing in the blockbuster, 'Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and seen again in two
other major Disney productions, Narnia's - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
and Prince Caspian, along with The Waterhorse, BBC's Kidnapped and several
others. This New Zealand couple says that producing the fabric for the
‘Fellowship Cloaks’ and major costuming in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies was
their ultimate challenge and their biggest achievement to date.
In 1991, Cheryl and Barry Eldridge
concluded that their hill country sheep and cattle farm, situated in a
picturesque valley in the Wairarapa, two hour drive from Wellington, was a
marginal farming operation. Instead of following the example of many others
that turned their properties into pine plantations, the Eldridge’s looked for
more imaginative options. Their search resulted in them obtaining a small flock
of grey sheep and several alpacas. These sheep are also now registered as a
wool breed in their own right 'Stansborough Greys' These blue grey sheep, now
have wool that is unusually silky, soft and lustrous. This is the result of
many years of selective breeding and hard work, producing a ' Stansborough Grey'
flock of over twelve hundred.
There are also sixty alpacas on the
farm whose fiber adds warmth and variety to many of the end products.
When on display in New York, the
unusual qualities of the 'Stansborough Greys' fiber caught the eyes of the
'Lord of the Rings' costume designers and led to the order for the costumes for
Tolkien's creations, and other subsequent movies.
The Eldridge’s personally attend the
shearing, hand sorting and grading of the fleece of each animal. After the
fleece has been professionally spun, the yarn is then woven at their own small
Weaving Mill in Wellington.
100% grown, inspired, designed and
created in New Zealand, the end product is totally eco-friendly, from the
sustainable way the animals are farmed, to the finished textiles. Fibers used
are in totally natural colors or dyed with only biodegradable over dyes.
Cheryl, who has a background in the
creative arts, along with daughter Kiri, designs all the fabric, accessories
and end product range. Barry Eldridge draws on an engineering background to
expertly operate the historic looms they use in their factory. Both their sons,
Jamie and Gavin help with the farm, and the accounts. The looms, that came out
to New Zealand in the early 1900’s , were developed in England in the 1890’s to
make fine worsted textiles and are themselves masterpieces of design and
engineering. These were among the very first commercial looms manufactured, at
the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and have the ability to still create
heirloom textiles from a bygone era.
Cheryl and Barry Eldridge are
constantly developing their range of original and unique fashion, interiors
& baby wear. These are now marketed through outlets in the United Kingdom,
Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. What originally started out as an idea to
keep a rare sheep from extinction and a farm operating profitably, has grown
into a family business that begins out in the paddock and ends in high end
fashion outlets or boutique hotels around the world, and increasingly on
blockbuster cinema screens!
Our corporate offices located at:
Alpaca Blankets Corporation
3474 Amber Lane
Oceanside, California 92056
Direct: (818) 519-4919
Web: www.alpacablankets.com
Email:
CS101@NOSPAMalpacablankets.com (delete NOSPAM and compress)
