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Effective Advertising - Deconstruction

This is by far the best advertising I have seen for alpaca fiber. I asked Vanity Apparel if I could write about it and they kindly said "Go ahead".

So what makes this effective?

1. The documentation in plain numbers of how many fiber producing animals there are in the world. Not just the United States, but the whole world. When you look at the numbers, it brings the idea home that there just aren't that many alpacas out there.

Those of us who live in Washington and Ohio tend to lose sight of that fact. These two states have the lions share of alpacas in the US and that makes it difficult to point out there just aren't that many to the local buyers of product.

2. The micron report. Out of all the alpacas out there, how many have the micron that the alpaca that provided its fleece has? This tidbit adds a sense of exclusive luxury.

3. The soft yet targeted rebuttal to mass production. I like how the individual alpacas whose fiber is included in the product are listed along with their micon. This lets the consumer know just how special their product/item is. A pride point to be talked about.

4. A website to verify the statistics that were quoted if one is in doubt.

5. All the statements are positive. No bashing of other fibers or other ways of processing. Just the positive aspects of this fiber, processed this way.

Weaning, or what happened to the milk bar?

Tank got an extra month with his mom because I did not want to put him in with the big boys all by him self and Pinon was too little to wean.

So the day came like any other day. We took the little boys for a walk, practicing their halter training skills, and their picking up their feet tolerance, as well as being poked and prodded and fiber looked at.

But wait! They were let out in the big boy pen. What a blast. Running and jumping and looking at all the new things. It did not hit home that they were separated from their mommies until night fall. Then, then we had whining. Poor things. I would have been more sympathetic, but the one doing the whining was Tank. The older, much bigger cria. Little Pinon was somewhat upset, but took it in stride.

The mothers did not look back. They would occasionally come to the fence to touch noses with their cria, but for the most part, it was peaceful on the girl's side.

Now it is a week later and everyone has adjusted. Now on to the new crias, the first one is due late March.

Triangle loom weaving

I am working on a shawl on the tri loom using my homespun black alpaca yarn and some pretty blue wool with some shiny beads.

I love the contrast. I am using two two ply strands of yarn. I found that the two strands work better than a single large strand when using alpaca.

It is slow going at the moment because the black is hard to see without good light. The window side is great, the other, not so much. Will have to figure out another way to light the loom. It is 7 foot across the top, so it a mite big to be lugging around, expecially with the shawl already started on it.

Washing Alpaca

The way I wash alpaca fiber is simplicity itself.

1) Fill the container of your choice, bucket, sink or tub with warm water.

2) Add a small amount of dish liquid or shampoo, swish around.

3) Add fiber and swish it around. I find it is easier to put it in a lingerie bag before putting it in the water, but have done it without just fine.

4) When you think the water could not get more disgusting, drain the water, take out the fiber, and refill the container with the same temperature water. Swish the fiber around. This is a rinse. There will be many.

5) Repeat the rinse step until the water looks clearish after you have swished the fiber around. This is a matter of taste. I like my fiber super clean so keep going until I get that clear water.

See? Now wasn't that easy?

Alpaca Fiber 101

There has been talk on some of the email lists about what alpaca fiber is, what it does, and what it is used for.

First, let's start with what it is. Alpaca fiber comes in two different varieties as defined by the breed. There are huacayas, they are the fluffy ones and suris, these have the dreadlocks.

Huacayas have crimp. There are a many different styles of crimp within the huacaya. Think of all the different kinds of crimp with sheep breeds.

non-existent crimp,
low amplitude, low frequency crimp,
low amplitude, high frequency crimp,
high amplitude, low frequency crimp
high amplitude, high frequency crimp

The take home message is that if you want a certain style of crimp, ask the Shepherd what kind the alpaca fleece in question has.

The suri has no crimp, and is slick. It should also be shiny. Work with suri like you would silk or mohair. It has great drape.

Now softness is another question. Alpacas have quite the micron range, everything from 15 microns or less, to brillo pad. Again, ask the shepherd if you cannot get a sample or pet the fiber.

I have been spinning and knitting with alpaca for over 9 years. I have made socks, hats, scarves and a felted it. It has memory if you choose the correct fleece. You would no more expect silk to have memory, so why would you use suri and expect it to. If you are buying yarn, ask what kind of alpaca it came from. It does make a difference.

Alpaca Business Plan, Part 9 Executive Summary and other parts

The executive summary is quite easy now that you have finished the document. Keep the summary to a page. It is okay to go over and it is okay to just have one paragraph. What is important is to include the important bits. Let the person who is reading it know that you have done your homework, but don't give them minutiae. This is where the elevator speech comes into play. If you can tell the person what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how you will succeed in the time you have on an elevator, then you have done a great job.

Now add a table of contents. Most word processors will do this for you.

If you have a very long document, add an index in the back. Most word processors will help you with this.

The final piece is the cover page. This can be as elaborate or as simple as you wish. I put a picture of a cria, my logo, my name, address, phone number and the date of completion.

If there is a item that you think is important and I have not covered it, please add it to your business plan. I have tried to give you the framework on which to start. Good luck and I hope this helped.