Our Story

Our Animals

Our Animals

We love our animals and our land. Our story is about caring for the environment and continuous improvement of animal welfare because happy sheep produce the best Merino in the world!

 

Glenwood Merinos is monitored by third parties on animal welfare and sustainable farm management practices. Trace back from “fabric to flock” means that you can be 100% certain that our products are ethical, sustainable and of the highest quality. We nurture our animals guarantee that they are:

  • Non-mulesed and naturally resistant to fly strike;
  • Raised in a low stress environment with minimal chemical use;
  • Free to roam all year round grazing as nature intended; and
  • “Plain bodied” with no wrinkles, allowing easy shearing.

 



 

 

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    Sustainable Farming

    Sustainable Farming

    At LoveMerino we are very passionate about improving the
    environment for our children and future generations.

     

    Glenwood is not just a farming business but a way of life - we aim to achieve a harmonious balance between the landscape, animals, business and our family.

    It could be said that Merino is the only fibre in the world that helps to regenerate the land. Our Merino sheep are managed to mimic nature, grazing in large mobs for short periods of time before moving paddocks, allowing the land to rest and regenerate its native flora as it has done for thousands of years.

     
    Merino is a planet-friendly fibre made from the simple combination of sunlight, water and grass. It is made of up to 50% carbon, stored in a stable form. It is renewable, has the ability to biodegrade without harm to the environment and can be recycled.

     


    Our unique approach to grazing has led to the re-emergence of unique species of native grasses thought to be extinct in this area and allows for the regeneration of the top soil - reducing the impacts of drought.

    We monitor the farm’s progress twice a year using indicators such as the percentage of ground cover, type of ground cover, number of native perennials, evidence of organisms and the type of perennials.

      

     

     

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    Our Family

    Our Family

    Welcome to the LoveMerino family. This is our lifelong dream and the culmination of the hard work of five generations of Merino farmers from Wellington, NSW, Australia. 

    The Merino fleece used for our scarves is sourced solely from our property - Glenwood - which has been passed down from generation to generation.

    The first grazier in the Smith family in Central West NSW was Mr William Henry Smith. William's son Henry ran a leasehold block called Geurie Station just outside of Wellington. In 1898 Henry Smith loaned his son Norman £2000 to purchase part of Glenwood


    Norm Smith took over the management and passion for Glenwood from his father Brian in the 1990s. Norm has implemented “holistic” management of the farm and cutting edge SRS® Merino genetics. 

    Next to every great Smith farmer there is always an amazing woman and a brood of children - Norm is lucky to have his childhood sweetheart Pip by his side and five remarkable children under their roof. Together they are passionate about preserving the environment for future generations and creating ethical and sustainable products.

     


    The Smith family has a strong history in innovative farming winning regional shows for the best Merinos as far back as 1902 with a ram called “Storm”. Lester Smith (pictured above), was one of the first farmers to apply fertilizer by air and during his tenure, Norm’s dad Brian (affectionately known as “Bee” to his grandchildren) further improved pasture and built permanent water in all paddocks to reduce the impacts of drought. We still live by his motto – “if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well”.

    At LoveMerino family, heritage, integrity and traceability are values we hold dear.

     

     

     

     

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    Our Philosophy

    Our Philosophy

    LoveMerino was established in 2015 and is 120 years in the making.

    LoveMerino founder, Pip Smith lives on the family farm with her husband Norm and their five beautiful children. Pip and Norm use holistic farming methods to ensure they regenerate the land for future generations. 

    At LoveMerino we are committed to bringing the “love” back to Australian Merino by developing an ethical, sustainable and collectable fashion brand. We hope that you will come to know us for:

    • Using the world’s best Merino to craft Australian made, premium quality, luxurious garments;
    • Regenerating the land as custodians for future generations;
    • Adhering to strict animal welfare standards;
    • Exhibiting integrity and ethics in every aspect of our business;
    • Providing full traceability from “fabric to flock”;
    • Supporting and promoting local and regional Australia; and
    • Showcasing young, up-and-coming Australian designers.

     

     

     

     

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    Our Fibre

    Our Fibre

    LoveMerino products are made with fibre sourced exclusively from Glenwood using a new generation of Merino sheep called SRS®, developed by ex-CSIRO researcher Dr Jim Watts.

    SRS® Merinos have been developed over the last 20 years as part of an intensive R&D program. The outcome is a plain-bodied Merino with minimal wrinkle that does not require mulesing, is comfortable in its environment and has exceptionally high levels of fibre density and length. This results in more efficient processing and exceptional end product quality.



    Our fibre is simply superior to any other Merino currently available and is the only premium fibre that is truly natural, ethical and sustainable. It is silky soft, lustrous and luxurious and feels more like cashmere than traditional Merino. A product of millions of years of evolution it also has amazing natural properties which include:

    • Super soft and non-itchy so you can wear it against the skin.
    • Having a deep, rich appearance after dyeing – Making it perfect for our luxury scarves!
    • Being an “active” fibre that reacts to changes in body temperature keeping you cool in Summer and warm in Winter.
    • Providing natural resistance to wrinkles.
    • Having excellent handle and drape which means our scarves effortlessly, elegantly and beautifully follow the form of your body.

     

     

     

     

     

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    Made with Love

    Made with Love

    LoveMerino uses fibre sourced exclusively from our property Glenwood, ensuring we can trace your scarf right back to a specific flock. We work with quality Australian suppliers - both sheep and people - ensuring a product that is ethical and sustainable; made with love, skill and with quality materials. 


     

    Glenwood Merino fibre is completely renewable, sustainable and produced with complete respect for the environment. Glenwood sheep need nothing but grass and fresh water to produce their fleece; they are free to roam all year round; and graze as nature intended. They are “mustered” for shearing every 8 months where their fleece is shorn, ready for processing into yarn to craft our super soft scarves. After the sheep leave the shed, they head back into their paddocks to start work on growing next year's fleece!

    Sourcing the best Merino in the world is only part of the story. The process of fleece to scarf involves a number of highly talented craftsmen, artisans and designers. We work with limited edition designs and colours using hand techniques to ensure each piece is unique. 


    The LoveMerino team: Co-Founder Ian Smith, Designers Manuela Strano and Tess Lloyd, Co-Founder Pip Smith.

    TESS LLOYD
    Tess Lloyd joined the LoveMerino team in August 2015 and has been working with Pip and Ian in areas of brand development, design direction and local manufacturing. Tess comes from a background in design having co-run her own business - Polli - for 10 years. She shares similar core values around sustainability,  animal welfare and Australian made so it a natural fit for the brand.

     

    MANUELA STRANO
    Part of our vision for LoveMerino is to be able to support up-and-coming Australian designers. For our first range we have worked with Sydney-based Manuela Strano. Manny is a graphic designer and artist wearing many hats, working from branding and packaging to letterpress and watercolours. 

     

    WOOLERINA
    Australian Merino industry legend, Warwick Rolfe from Woolerina (Forbes, NSW) processes our raw Merino into yarn and then oversees the machine knitting of the super soft fabric in Melbourne.


    PUBLISHER TEXTILES
    Publisher Textiles (Leichhardt, NSW) is a leading Sydney silk screen printing house established in 2002. Publisher Textiles use traditional methods to hand print our original designs onto our beautiful Merino fabric. Our designs are first put into repeat and then exposed onto a silkscreen with a metal frame. The fabric is printed in 20m lengths by two skilled screen printers who work in tandem down the length of the table.


    SHIBORI
    Shibori
    (Stanmore, NSW) is a creative partnership between Pepa Martin and Karen Davis who use traditional methods of Japanese Shibori dying. We have worked closely with this dynamic duo to experiment with colour and pattern on Merino, creating original pieces each dyed individually by hand in Sydney.

    Our scarves are cut and sewn in small batches by a team of makers in Sydney’s Inner West garment district.

     

     

     

     

     

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