Business Rural North Summer 2021

| 3 “We had a lot more drive to make it happen, because it was helping share the wool story.” Sophie and Sam Hurley with baby Harry. Photos: Brad Hanson Photograpy Innovative way to share the wool story Honest Wolf has now become a luggage company (top left). The business is helping to share the NZ wool story (top middle). The multi-use bag (top right). Virginia Wright I t was while Sophie and Sam Hurley were on their honeymoon that they came up with the idea that led to their new company “Honest Wolf”. They were looking for something which could combine the skills Sophie had gained from the sales and marketing career in Auckland that she had loved, with being more involved in life on the Hurley family sheep and beef farm in Hunterville. It was 2018, the wool industry was in the doldrums, and single-use plastic bags were being phased out. Their initial idea of making sustainable, re-usable grocery bags would address both of these things as well as be good for the environment, and the idea soon morphed and grew into something larger. “We realized we could actually build out a bigger range,” says Sophie, “so we’ve become a luggage company now rather than focusing on the supermarket as such. We still call that initial product the “casual shopper”, but we advertise it as a multi-use bag not just for groceries. It’s one of our most popular items.” The underlying drive was to use wool in a new way but Sophie also knew she wanted to find a way to be part of the family business with something she could do on the farm despite its remoteness. “We looked into agritourism because it’s beautiful here with views of Mount Ruapehu, but when we came up with this idea we had a lot more drive to make it happen, because it was helping share the wool story along the way as well, and it’s been re- ally successful. We’ve had a lot of support from the rural community because they understand the wool industry and what we’re trying to do so there’s been an instant connection there.” The two years plus of development and trialing of products it took to achieve what they were after were not without their challenges, starting with finding someone to make their products in New Zealand which proved impossible. “We felt our wool to make our products so we had to find someone internationally to even get the samples made,” says Sophie. The wool is shorn on the Hurley farm before going to Hawkes Bay to be scoured and cleaned. From there it travels by sea to New Delhi where it’s dyed and felted and finally manufactured into their product lines. “It dragged out longer than we thought,” says Sophie, “but we wanted to get it right. We source our leather from a company called New Zealand Luxury Group based in the South Island. Nick Aubrey runs it and he provides leather to a tannery in India so they source what we want in terms of lamb or cow, the quality and the colour and so on. The leather we’re using is of the same quality used by high-end European fashion.” Their first range of five or six products was eventually launched in 2020 and clearly hit a chord. Their current biggest problem is running out of stock although as they gain the confidence to put in bigger orders this is changing. They’re working out what people want from a colour range which focuses on natural, colours. “It’s the colours you might see in a natural environment,’ says Sophie, “so the greens and greys and midnighty blues you might see on the land or in the sky.” Whether it’s a hard-wearing tote complete with a pocket for your drink bottle and another for your laptop, or a weekend bag with a built-in space for your shoes, the underlying philosophy remains the same. “Beautiful functional bags made from the land is what we aim to capture. We’re not creating new products,” explains Sophie, “there’s already wallets and totes out there but we’re aiming for the sustainable market and we want to make items that have longevity so could go through generations.” Their current focus is the corporate space, where they want to offer companies with a sustainable corporate gifting solution that supports the New Zealand wool industry at the same time. They’re targeting corporate gifting for the Christmas market in particular, where they hope to be the leader of the pack that the use of “wolf” in their name sug- gests. Combined with the “honest” referring to the materials they source and use in an honest way it’s a name designed for an aware, urban market with an environmental conscience. The same conscience that underpins the products themselves. Proudly supporting Honest Wolf Charlie Burton, Director Mackintosh Shearing 027-251 1111 RURAL PEOPLE » Honest Wolf