There have been a few people who have contacted me wanting to know...
Where did the merino grow?
Was it grown on the back of many happy sheep living the dream in New Zealand?
Well, here is a little bit of 'back-story' as I tell you my answer.
It was March 25th 2019.. (at approximately 2am) that my website went live. Yank merino has now crested its' second year of being available online. The journey has been incredible so far. When I started out I was told I would have 2 years before the local factory outlet would be stopping it's supply of NuYarn Merino fabrics. It ended up being a little over twelve months before I was informed that the factory outlet was closing its doors, and all their merino was being purchased by a large online fabric store. Lucky for timing. I am very grateful to the lovely ladies behind the scenes who made sure that I was able to make a bulk purchase of all the fabrics I wanted before everything was moved on. It is all of these fabrics which have made up the collections that you will find in my online shop today.
Moving forward to 2021.. In February this year I placed my first proper fabric order direct to the manufacturer. Exciting would be a complete understatement regarding what is to come. This is big. Actually this is a little bit bigger than big. Possibly even bigger than HUGE.
Still early days though.
It is a tremendous landmark for any start-up sized business to purchase a quantity of fabric direct from the manufacturer... For those who are not familiar with this process. Every manufacturer has a set Minimum Order Quantity (or MOQ) at which they will accept your order. It is the MOQ which determines whether or not a buyer will be able to afford the purchase (or even be able to utilize the quantities after the purchase has been made).
The MOQ to order fabric is one thing, there is a different MOQ if you want to choose where your merino is sourced from. The MOQ for NZ fibre is still a little bit out of reach, though it is definitely a goal that I have set for Yank. The only way I will get there is to continue to do my best to provide goods and services and keep growing my scale.
So my answer to the question.. where does the merino grow?
The merino I am currently using was grown in Australia.
This was not due to me choosing where the fibres were grown. This is literally due to the amount of fabric I need to be able to purchase and utilize before I am actually able to place an order for NZ traceable wool.
I could not agree more. New Zealand has an amazing story to tell, especially in regards to the resilience and integrity behind the wool growing industry. There are large brands who are writing their stories with use of NZ sourced merino, but their products are manufactured elsewhere.
Needless to say there are many forms of 'local'. Locally owned. Locally operated. Locally designed. Locally made. Locally grown. Every single one of these 'Locally' labeled items is keeping local hands in business in one way or another. Please consider the full picture when you choose to support local. I do believe if you are going to scrutinize one aspect of any products 'locality' you should probably have a good look at all of its other traits as well. I am pretty sure each item will have a back-story worth reading. Regardless of who the maker is or how it is being made... there is a tremendous amount of effort that goes into taking an idea, and turning it into a reality. There is an added bonus for very element of a product that can be stamped as being 'locally-done'.
Keeping things transparent:
Yank is designed, printed, cut and sewn right here in New Zealand.
The fabric is made by a New Zealand registered company in their off-shore fabric mill using Australian merino wool. The thread technology being utilized originated right here in New Zealand.
With your support ..one day soon Yank will be made using New Zealand grown wool as well.