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Deborah DeGraffenreid
Alicia Adams, in an alpaca wool shawl, feeding her alpaca herd. Her "guilt-free fur" products are made from the animals' sheared winter coats
Alpaca fur is usually thick and scratchy, and warm enough to withstand an Andean winter, but the yarn spun from Alicia and Daniel Adams's alpaca herd is soft enough to be mistaken for cashmere.
The yarn is woven into blankets, capes, sweaters, and pillows for their clothing and homeware line, Alicia Adams Alpaca. All of it is based out of their 80-acre farm, where the couple live, work, and care for the herd of alpacas that have become almost like extended family. Like their line of clothing and housewares, the couple's background is a bit of Old World charm mixed with new world ingredients. Both are half German, and grew up in the Americas and Europe. Daniel is half American and spent part of his childhood on the East Coast; Alicia is half Mexican and lived in both Mexico and Germany as a child. However, since their arrival 11 years ago, they and their alpacas have woven themselves seamlessly into the fabric of the Hudson Valley.