Years ago, Andrea Trinchieri bought a few alpacas to help mow his lawn, but soon he and his wife Nadia Foglia had installed spinning machines at home and were selling their yarn and knitwear as a full-time job.

They do it all – shearing, cleaning, carding, spinning, weaving, and even a bit of dying (with plants) – so the final product is what they call “kilometer zero.”

Initially, it wasn’t easy to find equipment for their small batch farm; their first purchase was a carding machine from 1890. Over time, Andrea has built custom parts for the machines and even a computer-assisted wooden loom.