Two weeks into our three month production period and we are slowly starting to bring materials together. Good quality hempwool blends have been hard to find this year (mostly due to the sharp increase in wool prices), but we are now blending the yarn ourselves to make sure what we sell is pure Himalayan hemp and pure New Zealand wool. The picture below shows (from left to right) Wild Nepalese Hemp raw material, Pure New Zealand Wool and finally the blended hempwool yarn. Our blend is a straight 50/50 mix.
The supply of Himalayan hemp is quite regular and can easily be found since rug and carpet manufacturers have switched from using hemp to wild Himalayan Giant Nettle. The large quantities that these manufacturers require has reduced the levels of nettle fabric in the marketplace and also pushed up prices. (current prices around 25% higher than the same time last year!)
Below is a photo of Wild Himalayan Hemp that has been harvested, retted and handspun in the remote parts of Nepal and collected from the villages by our supplier.
During the week we plan to visit the carding facility and see our hemp and wool blend being created. Naturally we will report our findings in the very near future.