We have a lovely view in our new office premises and shop fitting showroom here, looking out onto rolling green fields containing sheep and alpacas and whilst it’s nice to look at all the lovely shop fittings, I much prefer the view from the office window. I’m fairly confident most people know how we use wool from sheep! Alpacas are interesting animals, originally from South America and are closely related to Llamas. They can be quite entertaining to watch from the office window and generally they seem to get all along fairly well. I did a bit of research on them out of curiosity (since I knew nothing about Alpacas!) and discovered that they are used for their fibre (that’s their wool to you and I). Wool is wool, right? Wrong……
Wool from sheep contains lanolin, a wax like substance which helps sheep stay dry by acting as a water repellent. It is this that makes some woolly jumpers, no pun intended, feel itchy on our skin. Some people can even be allergic to it. Alpaca fibre contains no lanolin and is softer, which makes it a fantastic medium to make clothing from. It’s softer than cashmere, hypoallergenic, warm and durable. Some further research had me looking at some fabulous scarfs, hats and jumpers in a huge range of patterns and colours. I never realised so many different products were available which were manufactured using Alpaca fibre.
Alpaca fleece straight from shearing is firstly processed to remove all the guard hair and muck from the fleece. It is then washed and left to dry naturally. Next, it goes through another process to remove any matting and tease out the fibre, which is known as picking. Fibre separating does just what it says on the tin, it separates the fine and coarse hair. The hair then is further processed to make it ready for spinning and plying. I won’t bore you with the finer details but the end result is this lovely stuff that you just want to touch as it is so soft!
What has this lovely stuff got to do with shop fittings I hear you say? Well apart from entertaining us in the office and showroom, and giving our customers a lovely view when they visit, this superior product just begs to be displayed on only the very best slatwall display units. A shopfitting display should enhance and compliment your merchandise, making it look the best it can be. Soft, warm and attractive, just like an Alpaca!
Crown Display offer a full range of top quality shop fitting and retail accessories, including shop shelving and slatwall panels. We can provide you with customised sizes and finishes, bespoke counters and display unit, as well as a professional nationwide shopfitting service. Give us a call on Free phone 0800 587 5880 or visit www.crowndisplay.co.uk
