Mohair Challenges
Letter From the Ranch #45
Dear friends,
Summer in the Mountain West is one of my favorite seasons.
The warm afternoons slowly give way to cool evenings.
Long shadows stretch across grasses that have faded from spring green to golden summer.
Every night, the mountains seem to catch the last light of the day.
My roses love this weather - long sunny days with hardly a cloud in the sky.
It feels worlds away from the gray days of winter.
It is also almost time for our annual hay delivery.
Our hay comes from eastern Washington, where irrigation produces beautiful, leafy grass that looks like soft green ribbons.
The timing couldn’t be better. Although we planted our new regenerative pasture mix this spring, we simply didn’t receive enough early summer rain for the north pasture to establish well.
We’ll reseed this fall just before the Pacific Northwest rains arrive, and next year we’ll begin dividing the pasture for rotational grazing.
Regenerating land is a slow process, but like so many worthwhile things, it rewards patience.
Speaking of patience…
Our sock knitter recently sent word that our next run of melange socks is almost finished.
This shipment includes both the mid-calf socks and...at long last...ankle socks!
Our spinning mill is also finishing another batch of yarn, including the dark charcoal color so many of you requested.
If everything stays on schedule, we’ll begin another colorful sock run this fall.
Small-batch production doesn’t move at the speed of fast fashion, and honestly, I’m grateful for that.
Every step takes time. Every decision matters. Every pair begins months, even years, before it reaches your drawer.
Many of you have asked me what “mélange” actually means.
Mélange simply means a blend of all of our natural mohair colors spun together.
Instead of dye, nature creates the palette.
Whites, creams, silvers, browns, and grays come together to create the soft, heathered oatmeal color that has become one of our most loved socks.
Because those colors come directly from our goats, every production run is a little different. No two batches are exactly alike.
That is the beauty of natural color.
But there is another reason these socks are so special.
For centuries, the textile industry has focused almost exclusively on white mohair.
White fiber is predictable. It can be dyed any color and reproduced consistently from one production run to the next.
Today, most of the world’s white mohair is raised in countries like South Africa, Turkey, Lesotho, Argentina, and the United States.
Much of the American clip is shipped to South Africa, where specialized equipment processes it for textile mills around the world.
Naturally colored mohair is different.
It isn’t produced on that scale. Instead, it comes from small farms and ranches like ours, scattered across the country.
The challenge isn’t raising beautiful colored mohair - we’ve been doing that for generations.
The challenge is building an American textile system that knows how to work with it.
Mohair is wonderfully soft and silky, but that same silkiness makes it challenging to spin and knit.
Our socks and throws are made from a blend of 30% mohair and 70% wool because that is what today’s American mills can successfully process on a commercial scale.
Over the years, I searched for mills willing to experiment, learn, and adjust their machinery to work with our fiber.
It wasn’t always easy, but I found partners who believed, as I do, that natural-colored mohair deserves a place in the future of American textiles.
That is why these melange socks mean so much to me.
They are more than beautiful natural-colored socks. They represent the beginning of something much larger.
Every pair helps create demand for naturally colored mohair.
Every order encourages American mills to continue working with this remarkable fiber.
Every sock is another small step toward rebuilding a textile industry that values natural fibers, domestic production, and the family farms that raise them.
I often wonder what this industry could look like ten or twenty years from now.
What if naturally colored mohair became something people actively searched for?
What if more small ranches had a dependable market for the beautiful fleeces they produce?
What if more American mills chose to invest in the equipment and knowledge needed to process mohair right here at home?
Those are the dreams that keep me moving forward.
Thank you for believing in this vision with us.
Every pair of socks and every throw helps tell the story of our goats, our ranch, and the future we’re working to build.
Together, we’re proving that thoughtful craftsmanship, natural fibers, and American textile traditions still have an important place in the world.
We’re so grateful you’ve chosen to be part of that story!
With love,
Angela
P.S. click here to see our unique mélange socks!