Why We Add A Little Rose To Our Alpaca

31 Aug 2023

In our HERITAGE Handwoven tartan collection and MINTA contemporary luxury interiors collection we use the finest British alpaca mixed with luxurious rose fibre for increased softness, rose fibre is very much like silk and also adds a wonderful lustre.

For HERITAGE Handwoven, we use 70% alpaca and 30% rose and when we dye our yarn, a gentle fleck of rose remains white so really increases the luminosity of the finished pieces. In our MINTA collection, we use 85% alpaca and 15% rose, we were previously using 100% alpaca which was not stable enough for the millweaving process so we needed to find another option. The rose fibre stabilises the yarn and makes the weave more sustainable while also improving the quality of the product with a silkier finish. People always seem fascinated about our rose, so we thought it might be good to tell you more.

Here are some great facts on our rose fibre:

• The rose fibre we use is a raw cellulose fibre produced made from the plant waste material of the Tropical Hibiscus
• The Tropical Hibiscus is a tropical plant that is native to Asia, requiring specific growing conditions
• Some roses will be grown specifically on farms for the creation of rose fibre, but equally waste trimmings and clippings will be used as a natural process to extract the material
• All Hibiscus Rosa varieties are used in the production of the Hibiscus flower for tea, powdered supplements and colouring – as well supplying the fresh flowers/confetti market too
• Once, the flowers have been harvested, the plant itself is chopped back to encourage new growth
• This is when the waste stems/ bark is used to produce the rose fibre, and the cycle starts again.

You need to touch our pieces to feel how exquisitely soft they are but if you look at our HERITAGE Handwoven collection HERE and our MINTA interiors range HERE, you hopefully see for yourself how unique these pieces are.