WORDS & PHOTOS BY CHRIS TIESSEN
Did you know that alpaca wool is much warmer than sheep wool? Or that it has superior breathability and wicks away body moisture? How about that it won’t mat or pill or trap odour? Me neither – but it’s all true. And get this: alpaca wool is also naturally windproof, flame resistant, and water repellant. No wonder it was once called ‘the fibre of the gods’.
Here’s another thing I bet you didn’t know: Wellington County is filled with alpaca farms. And while Alpaca Time, located in Harriston, isn’t an alpaca farm, it is definitely all about alpacas – producing for sale items like socks and mitts and insoles made from Australian alpaca fibre alongside imported alpaca items from Peru and Ecuador (including ponchos, blankets, scarves, hats, stuffies and more).
‘Our top selling products are definitely our socks and insoles – which are all made in- house,’ Alpaca Time proprietor Tara Griffey tells me as I peruse the business’ bricks and mortar boutique. ‘Last year alone,’ she continues, ‘we sold over six thousand sets of insoles made from cozy alpaca wool.’ Such a great concept, I think to myself as I wiggle my chilly toes inside my uninsulated Red Wing boots. And definitely worth putting on my Christmas wish list.
Like so many other remarkable producers, farmers, and food businesses that dot Guelph and Wellington County, Alpaca Time is a partner of Taste Real – a County of Wellington program that promotes local food and facilitates valuable connections among food businesses, consumers, craftspeople, and farmers alike. That includes alpaca wool aficionados like Tara.
Learn more at alpacatime.ca and tastereal.ca