Aragon Alpacas

Alpaca farm near Eugene includes an onsite Farm Store & Craft Studio offering yarn and items made from the farm's own alpacas' fleece as well as from other local farms' bounty.  Ann Dockendorf encountered her first alpaca in 2004 while on a motorcycle ride with her husband in Southern California. A vineyard was playing host to an alpaca show, and, curious, they stopped for a closer look. “I was so taken with them right away,” Ms. Dockendorf recalls. “I had never even heard of alpacas before that. They weren’t noisy; they weren’t smelly. Some were fluffy; some were shaggy. They were all so peaceful and charming. And there was this whole subculture around them that I had never been aware of.” oday, the farm is home to more than 50 alpacas (and one llama!), and has become a popular destination for visiting groups, plein air painters, even picnickers. And it’s still growing: in March, Ms. Dockendorf opened A Spinner’s Barn, a farm store offering textile goods and materials produced by several local farmers and artisans. Working in collaboration with Cindy Myers of Alpacas at Hum Sweet Hum and local fiber artist Debbie Hebert, Ms. Dockendorf has been able to use the store to host various fiber arts workshops, including classes and demonstrations in spinning and felting. “We work hard to create a spirit of collaboration,” Ms. Dockendorf says. “Cindy and I work together with everything. We’ve been there for every one of our alpacas’ births.”