Dee and Adria Graham are a mother-daughter team who last month picked the perfect time of year to open Adria Shop – Alpaca Fibre Products and Homestead Antiques on Market Place.
Farm owners with a herd of 130 alpacas – every one of which has a name! – near Lucknow, they know a thing or two about these gorgeous creatures! Alpaca fibres are noted to be six times warmer than wool and come in 22 natural colours and variations.
This fibre naturally wicks away moisture so is perfect for items next to the skin such as socks, insoles, mittens, hats and scarves. The shop offers all of these plus more, including handknit sweaters, softer-than-you-can-imagine stuffed alpaca toys, and alpaca spun into yarn for knitting an item yourself.
Most of the items in the shop are made by knitters Dee has hired to make the products. Dee provides the fibre in its original colour or dies it herself.
The second week in May is the annual shearing of the alpacas. Four farms come together, forming a co-op to help each other out. The hair is sheared, toenails are clipped, teeth and bite are checked, shots provided as necessary. Kind of like a day at the spa for the herd!
Dee and Adria show their alpacas and win high-profile awards regularly. “Heaven’s Just Fabulous” (his name!) just won 1st for his age category at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. He came out on top for the fineness, crimp style, brightness and density of his hair!
Formerly an Art teacher at Wingham High School, Dee is embracing retirement running the farm, caring with the help of her daughter and husband for the animals, the showing of them, and now a shop in Downtown Stratford! We hope you had a chance to visit their alpacas this past weekend at the Winter Wander-land event – they were a crowd favourite!
As an extra fun fact, Dee’s son is a professional animator and has contributed to the films 9, Up, Space Jam, Gnomeo and Juliet, the Nut Job, ‘The Boy, The Fox, The Mole’ and more while also recently winning an Emmy for his last 30 years of contribution to the sector. Very cool indeed!!
To get in touch with Adria Shop, please click here for our directory listing.
