34 | Ruanui Station Woollen Blankets Two tonnes of lamb’s wool went into the idea, producing 900 beautiful blankets, with 14 vibrant colours and a diamond weave. Richard Loader RURAL PEOPLE » Ruanui Station Beyond being luxuriously soft with beautiful colours and patterns, what makes Ruanui Station Woollen Blankets extra special is that there are real farming people and a real story behind the products. “People absolutely love knowing exactly where the product started its life, and where it was produced,” says Meredith Carpenter who, along with husband Andrew, operates the 3130-hectare Ruanui Station. “They love knowing that real people are doing the hard graft and that it isn’t magically appearing overnight from an overseas factory. When people see their beautiful lambswool throw on their couch they know it came from Ruanui Station, and they know our faces behind it. People’s buying habits have really changed and they love that ‘Made in New Zealand’ thing.” Ruanui Station has been in the Carpenter family for three generations, and a fourth is in the wings. With a view of Mt Ruapehu as its constant companion, twenty minutes Norwest of Taihape, Ruanui Station is a hill-country property, flush with rich fertile soils on beautiful volcanic hills. Andrew farms for the environment, with a mix of Angus cattle, Romney sheep and some red deer calling the property home. Sustainable farming has always been at the heart of the Carpenter’s farming ethos, and the declining price of wool has been a source of frustration, with wool sitting unsold in wool stores. For many years, Meredith had wanted to do something productive with the finer lambs wool, and when Covid hit in 2020 the opportunity for innovation presented itself, giving birth to Ruanui Station Wool Blankets. Two tonnes of lamb’s wool went into the idea, producing 900 beautiful blankets, with fourteen vibrant colours and a diamond weave that Meredith believes is unique in New Zealand. “The wool gets scoured in Hawke’s Bay, spun in Lower Hutt, and then woven in New Zealand’s last remaining commercial weaving factory in Auckland. This month we entered our fourth round of weaving since operations started, with an extra half tonne of wool put into making the product range. Every year is different, every year we look at what we’re doing, what is selling and what isn’t, and try something new. We’re doing a range with a different pattern this year and some new colours. You can’t just keep doing the same thing every year — a bit like farming really.” The diverse product range now includes the original woven throws, along with knitted blankets for beds, pet beds, baby blankets and buggy blankets, with lamb’s wool jerseys and cushions about to be launched. “We think wool is a no-brainer really,” says Meredith. “We’re in this climate crisis and we can’t understand why wool isn’t being used more. We’re one of the biggest producers of wool in the world, and we really need to start doing something with it. It’s the best fibre in the world as far as we’re concerned. Who wants oil based synthetic fibres in their home? We have been in this disposable world for the last twenty years and it has to stop.” Thanks for the decades of doingmonthly pastures cuts which enable us to report the Taihape High Country pasture growth rates Enough Veterinary Excellence to Fill our Gumboots! 24hours a day, 7 days aweek! Emergency Contact: 06 388 0863 • 24-hour service Proud to be supporting Ruanui Station 06 388 0863 / Fax 06 388 0657 taihapevets@xtra.co.nz While the internet accounts for 80% of sales, there are 22 specialist stockists from Te Anau to Auckland. “We’re quite selective as to who stocks our products, and they are in some really beautiful design stores. We also sell a lot overseas.”
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