June Cashmere Weekend at Spun!
Please join us for a weekend in celebration of a special fiber and a special company!
February 18-19, 2023
Saturday: 9-6 / Sunday: 11-3
“We believe that when a business deliberately aims to benefit everyone involved, amazing things happen.”
We are so pleased to welcome June Cashmere's Amy Swanson back to Spun! Amy will be bringing along a trunk show of luxe and beautifully durable cashmere goods, and she'll also be offering an All-Things-Cashmere Mini-Retreat on Saturday designed to give participants a window into this special fiber's production and characteristics.
June Cashmere trunk show (free and open to all): Saturday, 9-6; Sunday, 11-3
All-Things-Cashmere Mini-Retreat ($25): Saturday, 10-2
- Space is limited, and lunch is provided! Learn more, and reserve your spot here.
We'll also be offering door prizes to celebrants. Here's what you might win:
- A June Cashmere gift package (see photo!)
- One of two June Cashmere kits
- One of three $25 Spun gift certificates
- One of six June Cashmere notebooks
And here's how to enter:
- RSVP for the June Cashmere trunk show (by sending an email to info@spunannarbor.com)
- Sign up for Amy's mini-retreat
- Buy any June Cashmere yarn on February 18-19
We will see you then! In the meantime, read on to learn more about June Cashmere's work in Kyrgyzstan.
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June Cashmere is based in Kyrgyzstan, a remote land of mountains and nomadic shepherd communities that demands adaptation for survival. The region’s cashmere goats have responded to the elements by developing a soft and exceptionally warm downy undercoat; Krygyz shepherds depend on animal fiber (june in Kyrgyz) for warmth and sustenance.
June Cashmere took root in 2007, when J. C. Christensen and his family met a group of Kyrgyz artisans who were traveling in the U.S. and came to understand the need for revitalization of the Kyrgyz fiber industry: While the country’s cashmere goats had long produced elite fiber, shepherds had virtually no access to international buyers offering fair market value. J.C reached out to Ohio’s Sy Belohlavek, who moved to the country with his wife and children in 2010.
These days Sy and his team travel from village to village purchasing raw cashmere that has been gently hand-combed from each goat, ensuring that the shepherds receive fair compensation for their fiber and reinvesting a portion of proceeds into this mountainous community, primarily to this point by upgrading local school facilities.
Once it has been gathered, the cashmere fiber is shipped to Europe, where it is cleaned and spun into fine, high-quality yarn, and then makes a final stop at Maine Dye & Textiles, where it is organically dyed using environmentally friendly methods.
The final product is soft, warm, sustainable, durable, and very special. We hope you’ll join us to learn more about it.
“Our passion is that Kyrgyz cashmere can be an engine for social and economic transformation.”
