Tag Archive for: Wool

Francesco Botto Reda and Rewoolution

#093: Francesco Botto Poala takes us behind the scenes of Reda 1865

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Francesco Botto Poala is the Chief Operating Officer at the well known vertically integrated weaving company Reda 1865. In this episode, Francesco talks about how the company strives for continued success through quality and innovation. Francesco explains that innovation means to be always willing to change and adapt in order to survive. Traceability, animal welfare and environmental standards are of highest concern to Reda. Francesco explains how the company tracks and traces its own progress in these areas while setting the benchmark for other companies as well. Francesco goes even so far to discuss why consumers are also asking for this kind of level of transparency and responsibility.
Listeners will also gain insights on the challenges of founding the sportsbrand Rewoolution and the brand’s social media activities.

About Francesco Botto Poala

Born in Biella in 1964, after completing school education in Italy, Francesco Botto Poala starts building his 360° experience, both at home and abroad. Francesco works in London for a fabrics wholesale and for a short period also for a mill in Scotland, then for a garment manufacturer in Italy and after this experience, he joins Reda the family company in textile since 1865.

Francesco was appointed for 4 years as a Sales Manager for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and around 1989 he got his first experience with wool working for 3 months for the Australian Wool Corporation, and after buying wool for several years in 1993 the company bought the first of the 3 farms in New Zealand. This gave Francesco the opportunity to get experience also in the farming side and in classing wool. Since 1990 he started to get a lot of knowledge of the business in all its different facets, and in particular, he was more and more involved in the mill’s production process and the related technical aspects. Francesco was responsible for raw material supply and right after he was in charge of the farms in New Zealand.  But, it is in the year 2000, that he became the mill’s COO.

Francesco is also a board member of different companies and President of the spinning mill CB Spa and a combing mill Pettinatura lane Romagnano Sesia Spa.

Connect with Francesco Botto Poala here

Reda 1865 website

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Dave Maslen

#092: Dave Maslen about giving consumers a great wool experience

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Dave Maslen introduces the New Zealand Merino Company in this Wool Academy Podcast interview. Dave explains the different benefits NZM offers to its wool growers, supply chain partners and brand retailers. He also talks about the research NZM conducted to better understand the environmental impacts of wool. Dave  is also an expert when it comes to understanding the passionate wool consumer and what it takes to turn first-time wool customers into raving fans.

About Dave Maslen

Dave Maslen is the Global Partnerships Manager at the New Zealand Merino Company. This involves taking primary responsibility for NZM’s key international relationships with its retail brand partners and supply chain partners. He is responsible for NZM’s marketing activities, maintenance and growth of existing business, development of new business, supply chain and contract management, strategic growth initiatives, research and development, and sustainability, traceability and ethical production. Dave has a background in environmental science and sustainable land management, and is engaged globally with a broad range of agencies focused on sustainability.

Connect with Dave Maslen here

The New Zealand Merino Company website

The ZQ Merino accreditation programme

NZM on Facebook and Twitter

ZQ Merino on Facebook

ZQ Merino Fibre Factsheet

 

Other episodes you may enjoy as well

#049 Dr. Beverley Henry about Wool Life Cycle Assessment
#075 Ingun Klepp on how consumer research reveals new business opportunities for wool Edit
#076 Stephen Wiedemann about Wool Life Cycle Assessment
Mac Bishop Wool & Prince Wool Academy Podcast 048

#048: Repost – Mac Bishop from Wool & Prince

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In this episode, Mac Bishop, founder and CEO of Wool & Prince talks about his business. The goal of Wool & Prince is to deliver durable long lasting apparel out of wool. Mac shares his experience on launching his business with the support of a Kickstarter campaign. For the Kickstarter campaign, Mac created a well-known video where he wore one of his wool button-down shirts for 100 days. In the interview, he shares how the video got created and what to look out for when creating a successful video for your product launch. Mac also talks about key learnings and challenges when growing his business.

 

About Mac Bishop from Wool & Prince

Mac Bishop is the founder of Wool&Prince, an online menswear brand that makes naturally odor- and wrinkle-resistant wool button-downs. When Mac started the company, he wore a wool shirt for 100 days in row to demonstrate the functional properties of wool. After four years in upstate New York at Cornell University and another four years in NYC, Mac moved back to Portland this past summer.

Connect with Mac Bishop and Wool & Prince here

Website: https://woolandprince.com/

Blog: blog.woolandprince.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOOLandPRINCE/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WOOLandPRINCE

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woolandprince/

Email: help@woolandprince.com

Only What Matters website

 

 

Nick Armentrout Ramblers Way Wool Academy Podcast 47

#047: Nick Armentrout about the all American wool supply chain at Ramblers Way

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Nick Armentrout is the Supply Chain Leader at US retail brand Ramblers Way. Majority of the Ramblers Way products are made out of wool, sourced directly from US based wool growers. In his interview, Nick explains the whole Ramblers Way supply chain from farm to shop. Nick talks in detail about the Ramblers Way target group and how the company plans to grow long term.

About Nick Armentrout

As Ramblers Way’s supply chain leader, Nick oversees the sourcing, processing, and conversion of natural fibers to the finished fabrics that create our products. He enjoys working with raw materials from nature and thinking critically about the lifecycle of Ramblers Way products.

A 25-year animal agriculture and organic farming veteran, Nick has learned on his feet at Ramblers Way since 2009 and appreciates apparel designed for long-term utility and use. His role includes maintaining relationships with individual ranchers as well as manufacturers of yarns, knit and woven fabrics and the dye houses that color Rambler’s yarn and fabric. He also manages certifications of manufacturing operations, such as the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Cradle to Cradle©.

Over the course of his career, Nick has managed four small businesses for others, and two of his own, throughout start-up phase to maturity. Nick is also a Saltwater Institute veteran where he educated students on Values-Based Business Models, which for the Chappell family emphasize: 1) Quality 2) Sustainability 3) American made 4) Family Owned and 5) Transparency.

Nick holds a BA in English from Washington College, Chestertown, Maryland. He participates in Maine Farm Bureau, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and Draft Animal Power Network. He has lent his skills as a volunteer to gardening, farming, and equine therapy organizations. Nick and his wife, Sarah, run Spring Creek Farm, an organic horse, sheep, hay and grain farm that also serves as the host facility for Carlisle Academy Integrative Equine Therapy & Sports for children and adults with disabilities.

Connect with Nick Armentrout and Ramblers Way here

Ramblers Way website

Ramblers Way Twitter account

Ramblers Way Instagram feed

Ramblers Way YouTube channel

 

Janne Strommen Devold of Norway Wool Academy Podcast 046

#046: Janne Strommen about wool’s important role at Devold of Norway

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Janne Strommen, Head of Marketing at Devold of Norway, talks about the company’s long relationship and history with wool. At the same time, Janne talks about the importance of not dwelling in history but instead constantly improving the product as well as the supply chain. She shares insights about the company’s new project called from Sheep to Shop. A traceability project linking the consumer directly to the wool grower. She also shares how the company is using social media as well as influencers to position Devold to the outdoor loving consumer.

About Janne Strommen

Janne Strømmen is the Head of Marketing at Devold of Norway since August 2015. At Devold she is managing the strategic development of the Devold brand domestic and internationally and has a key role in strategic projects. One of these projects is the further development of the Devold Quality Strategy (“From Sheep to Shop”) and the Devold innovation program.  Janne also oversees the development of all consumer communication concepts and leads the development of digital and social media channels.

Prior to joining Devold of Norway, Janne held a position as Global Brand Director at Stokke AS, building strong presence and awareness to the brand across Asia, Europe and the US, and establishing social media as one of the key communication channels internationally –creating a direct link from the brand to mothers searching for the best solutions to their newborn.

Janne Strommen studied Marketing and International business in Norway and Spain and holds an MBA in Strategic Brand Management from NHH, Norwegian School of Economics.

After years of studying and working in other countries and cities in Norway, she returned to her hometown Ålesund, on the west coast of Norway where she has her closest family. She spends all her spear time in the outdoors together with her partner and their friends, either snowboarding, mountaineering, skydiving or horseback riding, and they love traveling and experiencing the great outdoors of other places around the world.

Connect with Janne Strommen and Devold of Norway

Devold Sheep to Shop website

Devold of Norway Facebook page

Devold of Norway Instagram page

 

Willy Gallia Fuhrmann Wool Acacemy Podcast 45

#045: Willy Gallia about growing organic wool in the wilderness of Patagonia

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Willy Gallia of Fuhrmann in Argentina gives insights about why and how the company committed to growing and processing organic wool in the wilderness of Patagonia. Besides feeling that it was the right thing to do, it took a long breath before this strategic step was also reflected in the bottom line for the wool growers as well as Fuhrmann.
Willy Gallia explains that brands and retailers, as well as the end consumer, now show a growing interest in sustainability, animal welfare, desertification and origin of fibre, all of which organic wool can give answers to easily. Willy talks further about life in Patagonia where experiencing nature and living in communion with nature are part of everyday life, something that the urban consumers wish to connect to. Social media now gives the possibility to do just that.

About Willy Gallia and Fuhrmann

Willy Gallia is the commercial representative at Fuhrmann S.A. based in Trelew in the South of Argentina in Patagonia. Willy is responsible for the Northern European, Central and South American and Asian markets.
Fuhrmann, a family owned and run business is part of the family run G. Schneider Group.  Fuhrmann is specialised in buying and growing its own organic wool on a growing number of 13 farms with close to 300.000 sheep. All is washed and combed in the Trelew based mill in accordance with the GOTS organic standard.

Connect with Willy Gallia and Fuhrmann here

G.Schneider website

Instagram account of Will Gallia

Facebook account of Fuhrmann

Rita Kourlis Samuelson ASI Wool Academy Podcast 044

#044: Rita Kourlis Samuelson about the American Sheep Industry

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Summary

Rita Kourlis Samuelson from the American Sheep Industry Association gives a detailed overview of the sheep and wool industry of the United States. She covers such as how to what is special about American wool, what products the wool goes primarily into and how the industry is set up. Rita also talks about some of the programs the industry association runs to motivate younger generations to enter and stay in the industry as well as programs to help grow the industry. Last but not least Rita also talks about the industry’s efforts to educate the consumers about the benefits of wool.

About

Rita Kourlis Samuelson is ASI’s director of international wool/pelt marketing. As such, she oversees ASI’s domestic and international wool marketing programs, also quality improvement, product development and government procurement. She also works with international customers of American wool and wool products.

Prior to joining ASI at its start-up in 1989, Kourlis Samuelson worked for the American Sheep Producers Council beginning in 1983, bringing first-hand knowledge of wool and wool production and several years of retail marketing and management experience.

Kourlis Samuelson is past president of Woolknit Associates, a trade association that promotes wool in knitwear.

She has a business degree with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Denver.

The Kourlis family operates a sheep ranch in Craig, CO. Kourlis Samuelson’s father emigrated from Greece more than 60 years ago and started the Kourlis sheep operation years later. She was raised on the ranch with her two brothers and two sisters and has been involved in all aspects of the sheep and wool business.

Connect with Rita Kourlis Samuelson and ASI here

The American Sheep Industry Association website
ASI Facebook page
ASI Twitter account
Don Macdonald Maconald Co Woolbrokers Wool Academy Podcast 042

#042: Don Macdonald about growing wool in the Australian Outback

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Don Macdonald runs his own woolbroker company under the name Macdonald & Co. Woolbrokers in Dubbo in the Australian Outback. In this podcast episode, Don explains lots of details about wool growing under the harsh natural conditions in the Outback. He covers topics such as low rain falls, occasional floods, finding staff and overcoming long distances.

About Don Macdonald

After growing up on a coastal dairy farm Don Macdonald enrolled to study an agriculture course at Sydney Technical College in 1975. The course included wool classing and he has never set foot on a dairy farm since!
Don loved everything about wool from that moment. He loved the iconic history connected to it, the lifestyle of the shearing sheds. He liked working with sheep and even the smell of wool. And, particularly the people involved in the industry.
Don then spent the next eight years in the outback of New South Wales working as a wool classer and a shearer.
In 1984 after the bitter shearers strike over wide combs, Don decided to move into the wool brokers field and gained employment based in the wool stores in Sydney. After two years he then moved to Newcastle with that firm as a field wool adviser, again traveling the outback areas of NSW canvassing wool growers.
In late 1987 Don decided to open his own wool brokerage Lanoc Wool based in central NSW in the city of Dubbo. Nearly all the wool then was transported to Sydney and there were a few county based brokers opening and Don felt there was a good opportunity to open in Dubbo as it is very central geographically and is a natural logistic hub. In 2016/17 Dubbo was the largest storage centre for wool in NSW.
Lanoc Wool grew to become the largest country based broker in NSW and by 2002 was handling over 55,000 bales from one site. Much of their business was from the outback regions of NSW where traditionally the big wool clips were grown. The Millennium drought of the early 2000’s and the incursion of non-wool breeds like Dorpers saw wool production plummet, particularly in the outback. By 2004 the company’s wool volumes had fallen to 30,000 bales.
Things gradually recovered after the drought broke in 2009 and wool production steadied. The non-wool breeds seem to have steadied their increase and fortunately higher wool prices have helped.
In early 2011 a shareholder dispute at Lanoc Wool saw Don’s hasty departure and Macdonald & Co was formed and the new business quickly picked up where the old one left off. A new 7500sqm wool store was completed in October 2011. Macdonald & Co Woolbrokers has continued to grow, this year the company handled 41,000 bales through their new wool store turning over $A63,000,000 on behalf of their 700 wool clients. The company has some of the largest wool growers in NSW as clients and some are up to 800 kilometers west and north of Dubbo. Don is ably assisted by a staff of 15 of which 5 are wool specialists and auctioneers.

Connect with Don Macdonald here

Madonald & Co Woolbrokers website

Facebook page of Macdonald & Co Woolbrokers

 

Graham Ormondroyd BioComposites Centre at Wool Academy Podcast

#041: Graham Ormondroyd about how wool improves indoor air quality

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Graham Ormondroyd is originally a wood expert, yes wood not wool who has now also turned into a wool expert. Graham explains that wood and wool actually have a lot in common. Both are highly valued bio material that can be used to create bio composites. Within our world that is becoming more and more environmentally conscious, bio composites play an important role in replacing plastics and other materials made out of oil. Graham shares his latest research results about wool insulation as well as wool improving the air quality by binding VOCs. This interview gives a fresh outlook on future applications for wool.

About Graham Ormondroyd

Dr. Ormondroyd completed his PhD (Wood Science) at Bangor University, UK and has been the Head of Materials Research at the BioComposites Centre for 8 years. During that time he has written many proposals, papers and undertaken commercial works in all aspects of biomaterials science. Dr. Ormondroyd has over 70 publications including peer reviewed papers, conference proceedings, book chapters and edited books, he continues to publish regularly. Dr. Ormondroyd is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining, a member of the International Research Group on Wood Protection and in 2015 was short listed for both the Bangor and the Insider Wales Innovation Awards. Dr. Ormondroyd is an editor of 2 International Journals and a reviewer for 6 others.

 

Connect with Graham Ormondroyd here

BioComposites Centre website
BioComposites Centre Twitter account
Bangor University website
Bangor University’s YouTube page
Bangor University’s Facebook page
Francesco Botto Reda and Rewoolution

#038: Francesco Botto Poala takes us behind the scenes of Reda 1865

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Francesco Botto Poala is the Chief Operating Officer at the well known vertically integrated weaving company Reda 1865. In this episode, Francesco talks about how the company strives for continued success through quality and innovation. Francesco explains that innovation means to be always willing to change and adapt in order to survive. Traceability, animal welfare and environmental standards are of highest concern to Reda. Francesco explains how the company tracks and traces its own progress in these areas while setting the benchmark for other companies as well. Francesco goes even so far to discuss why consumers are also asking for this kind of level of transparency and responsibility.
Listeners will also gain insights on the challenges of founding the sportsbrand Rewoolution and the brand’s social media activities.

About Francesco Botto Poala

Born in Biella in 1964, after completing school education in Italy, Francesco Botto Poala starts building his 360° experience, both at home and abroad. Francesco works in London for a fabrics wholesale and for a short period also for a mill in Scotland, then for a garment manufacturer in Italy and after this experience, he joins Reda the family company in textile since 1865.

Francesco was appointed for 4 years as a Sales Manager for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and around 1989 he got his first experience with wool working for 3 months for the Australian Wool Corporation, and after buying wool for several years in 1993 the company bought the first of the 3 farms in New Zealand. This gave Francesco the opportunity to get experience also in the farming side and in classing wool. Since 1990 he started to get a lot of knowledge of the business in all its different facets, and in particular, he was more and more involved in the mill’s production process and the related technical aspects. Francesco was responsible for raw material supply and right after he was in charge of the farms in New Zealand.  But, it is in the year 2000, that he became the mill’s COO.

Francesco is also a board member of different companies and President of the spinning mill CB Spa and a combing mill Pettinatura lane Romagnano Sesia Spa.

Connect with Francesco Botto Poala here

Reda 1865 website