Interviews
Texas Fiber Mill processes first Suri alpaca fiber
04 Jul '09
2 min read
Wisteria Suri Ranch becomes the first alpaca ranch to process the rare luxury Suri fiber at the Texas Fiber Mill.
Wisteria Suri Ranch is the first and only Suri alpaca ranch located in Taylor, TX. Suri alpacas have silky, lustrous, draping locks and are very rare. Keiko and Matt Makarczyk, owners of Wisteria Suri Ranch, began raising Suri alpacas in 2007. Keiko was especially drawn to their silky lustrous fiber since her grandfather raised silkworms in Japan.
After intense research, Keiko and Matt carefully selected alpacas for their starter herd and moved onto a ranch. Their ranch is home to the first full Accoyo Suri alpaca herdsire in Texas.
One of their goals is to have locally grown, processed, and crafted alpaca fiber products. To meet this goal, they searched for a local fiber mill.
"We knew processing Suri fiber was going to be a bit of a challenge because of its unique fiber characteristics. Very few mills in the US have the needed experience, so we were delighted when we found Deborah Sharp at the Texas Fiber Mill." stated Keiko.
Deborah, owner of the first and only fiber mill in Texas, had never processed Suri alpaca fiber. But she was excited by the new challenge since that is her favorite part of working in the mill. She processes camel, yak, angora, mohair, Huacaya alpaca, and many other varieties of fiber at her mill. She is also a fiber producer and owns colored Angora goats and Huacaya alpacas.
After the first batch of Suri alpaca fleece was processed into roving for spinning, Deborah commented, "I thoroughly enjoyed having Suri alpaca fleece in the mill. It's exquisitely fine, smooth, and soft."
Keiko and Matt are busy tending to their first cria (alpaca baby) born at the ranch. On life as a new alpaca rancher, Keiko says "It's so exciting to learn and experience so much at once. We work hard, but it's really been an exciting and fun adventure for us. Now, I just need to spin some yarn and knit!"
Wisteria Suri Ranch is the first and only Suri alpaca ranch located in Taylor, TX. Suri alpacas have silky, lustrous, draping locks and are very rare. Keiko and Matt Makarczyk, owners of Wisteria Suri Ranch, began raising Suri alpacas in 2007. Keiko was especially drawn to their silky lustrous fiber since her grandfather raised silkworms in Japan.
After intense research, Keiko and Matt carefully selected alpacas for their starter herd and moved onto a ranch. Their ranch is home to the first full Accoyo Suri alpaca herdsire in Texas.
One of their goals is to have locally grown, processed, and crafted alpaca fiber products. To meet this goal, they searched for a local fiber mill.
"We knew processing Suri fiber was going to be a bit of a challenge because of its unique fiber characteristics. Very few mills in the US have the needed experience, so we were delighted when we found Deborah Sharp at the Texas Fiber Mill." stated Keiko.
Deborah, owner of the first and only fiber mill in Texas, had never processed Suri alpaca fiber. But she was excited by the new challenge since that is her favorite part of working in the mill. She processes camel, yak, angora, mohair, Huacaya alpaca, and many other varieties of fiber at her mill. She is also a fiber producer and owns colored Angora goats and Huacaya alpacas.
After the first batch of Suri alpaca fleece was processed into roving for spinning, Deborah commented, "I thoroughly enjoyed having Suri alpaca fleece in the mill. It's exquisitely fine, smooth, and soft."
Keiko and Matt are busy tending to their first cria (alpaca baby) born at the ranch. On life as a new alpaca rancher, Keiko says "It's so exciting to learn and experience so much at once. We work hard, but it's really been an exciting and fun adventure for us. Now, I just need to spin some yarn and knit!"
Wisteria Suri Ranch
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