52 | RURAL SERVICES » Inter-weave A proud Kiwi business through and through Kim Newth A Kiwi manufacturer has carved out a unique place in the market selling upholstery fabrics made from New Zealand wool globally. Tracy March is one of the owners of Inter-Weave, and she says the company is now the country’s only commercial wool textile weaver. While plenty of local wool is sent to China to be turned into fabric, Inter-Weave’s woolen yarn is grown, scoured, spun, dyed, woven and finished all within New Zealand. Some of the end products stay in New Zealand, but plenty head offshore, snapped up by buyers keen for quality, natural fabrics for high-end residential and commercial furniture projects. Key markets are the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. “We have a design office here (in New Zealand), and we work both proactively and reactively,” Tracy says. “We are a flexible company. If a customer has a particular aesthetic they are trying to achieve, we aim to do so. Alternatively, I’ll travel the world two or three times a year, presenting our wool fabrics and throws to the wholesale market. Once a design is selected, we test and colour the fabrics to their requirements.” Inter-Weave also works with farmers to produce woolen throws that provide consumers traceability back to the farm. “Providing farmers with the ability to add value to their lambswool is very close to our hearts,” Tracy says of the throw side of the business. “We commission weave their yarn into beautiful lambswool throws that they can then sell online or to the retail sector.” Sheep stations at Palliser Ridge in Wairarapa, Mount Somers in Canterbury, and Ruanui in the central North Island all market and sell blankets that began life in their respective paddocks. It’s a vital relationship in an increasingly constrained market. “Mid to low micron wool has been very difficult to sell,” Tracy says. “It’s different for the Merino fibre, which generally goes straight offshore to China and gets knitted into products like Icebreaker and next-toskin garments, but for those longer microns, it can be difficult for the farmers here to find a market for it. “We hope to alleviate some of that difficulty.” Inter-Weave helps coordinate with farmers to have their raw wool scoured and spun, before taking over the process. “We then design it, dye it, weave it, finish it and label it for them, providing a product that gives them a route to market,” Tracy says. Originally founded by the late Wellington wool spinner Peter Woods, Inter-Weave has a proud 50year history. While fashions can come and go, Inter-Weave “has been loyal to wool for its entirety”, Tracy says. “We really value authenticity and natural products, and the whole wool story ties in very closely with New Zealand.” Traceable homewares made right here in New Zealand with our Palliser Ridge lambs wool www.palliserridge.co.nz PALLISER RIDGE Commission weaver and designer of wool throws for the farming community info@inter-weave.co.nz www.inter-weave.com www.twillthrows.com Inter-Weave is now owned by Tracy, alongside James and Marilyn Law of Palliser Ridge Station and Roger Green of Maxwell Rodgers Fabrics. The business employs 20 staff, who largely work out of a 3,500-square-metre building in Auckland. Inter-Weave’s wool is sent to Napier to Woolworks, one of New Zealand’s few remaining wool scourers, then to Wellington to Woolyarns, where it is spun into yarn, before arriving at the Mount Wellington facility. Inter-Weave also works with farmers to produce woolen throws. Inter-Weave’s woolen yarn is grown, scoured, spun, dyed, woven and finished all within New Zealand.
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