When supporting local production is more than just business.
When making the exciting decision to add a New Zealand Wool range to our bedding collection, it was important to us that the whole manufacturing process from farm to bed was undertaken here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
We wanted to hero New Zealand makers and production as much as we wanted to celebrate working with our country’s quintessential but underrated "wonder fibre". Little did we know that this decision would give our little, heart-led business a sense of community stronger and more palpable than we could have ever imagined! But more on that soon...
Firstly, a little bit about how we make our wool blankets. The creation of the final product that becomes a part of your home is very much a family affair. When you buy a Foxtrot Home blanket, you’re recieving a little piece of Kate’s family farm. The wool comes from lambs bred on Kate’s Waipukurau farm in Central Hawke’s Bay. Kate and her husband Jeremy breed Romney and Crossbred sheep as well as operatring an Aberdeen Angus cattle stud (see more about their story here).
Lambs are born in August and by Christmas they are shorn for the first time. It’s this beautiful, natural wool that is crafted into our stunning, unique, knitted blankets.
Local shearers remove the fleece at the home woolshed before it’s shipped off up the road to WoolWorks in Napier. Here it is scoured to remove the wool's natural lanolin and any debris from a life lived in the paddock.
The clean wool is re-baled and sent to WoolYarns in Wellington, where it’s processed further. We spend a long time (probably too long!) deliberating over our bespoke colours but it's so worth it! After dyeing, the wool is then spun onto impressive cones, ready to be sent to Auckland to be knitted into our beautiful Foxtrot Home blankets.
We knit our blankets because this allows us to make much bigger pieces than those currently on the market. Knitting also allows us to craft thicker (and cosier!) blankets to our exact specifications. So, when you’re buying a Foxtrot Home piece you’re buying a size, thickness and quality unique to the NZ market!
Once made, our blankets are pre-washed and tumble-dried to prevent shrinking before they make their way back to our Waipukurau warehouse and showroom for shipping and display. If you’re in the Hawkes Bay, you can experience our textures and colours in-person, in our showroom! Please come visit as we’re always happy to have a chat...Contact us here to make an appointment.
Creating and working with businesses and producers locally not only means highlighting the immense talent and opportunity there is in our backyard and also means being part of the ride through thick and thin. Cyclone Gabrielle changed so much in an instant for us on the East Coast and highlighted to us the importance of working and supporting local makers and producers - mucking in and helping out wherever we can. New Zealand is a small place, and we are so proud to support local wool and the businesses that craft this wonderful product into functional, beautiful homewares for our Foxtrot Home community.
