Hard Working Wool! Do you remember the Woolmark?
Posted by Phil Grant with copy from Woolmark 1970's on 3rd Mar 2017
I was scanning old catalogues and photos in preparation for our celebration in May, when “Norsewear Is 50 Years Old!”, and reading through the information, looking at the styles and times of five decades of New Zealand knitwear manufacturing. I was reminded of when I was a boy in Gore, NZ. Taken back to the ’60s and ’70s, standing by my dad in Wright Stephenson’s (could have been Wrightson NMA, stock and station agents), being fitted in some woollen clothes and socks for the farm.
It was quite a novelty for us to be buying clothes because, at home, Mum was a production line of knitwear, from the fleece to the garment. Homespun knitwear was king.
Now I am a knitwear king myself. My mum still pumps knits out in her 80s, and my partner, Julie, is a knitwear queen. Her handmade alpaca garments and accessories go out the door around the globe as fast as she can hand-knit or crochet while we are driving between our stores and events.
The Woolmark brochure below was part of the collateral of that time, intended to strengthen the value of wool and attempt to ward off the fast-growing imports of synthetics and “cheap” garments that had been flooding in since World War II. The years between 1960 and 1975 were known as Woolmark’s glory years. The Woolmark brand continues today.
Nothing has changed. The intention of this blog is to highlight that wool and its properties haven't changed. There are new uses for the fibre, such as carpets, insulation and bedding, and there has been strong growth in fine Merino wool textiles. The woollen garment story is still the same.
New Zealand's wool industry stems from inauspicious beginnings in 1779, when Captain Cook landed a pair of sheep that lived only two days, colonial farm development and export grew to be our Primary Industry.
New Zealand Natural Clothing Connection and Heritage Suppliers of Quality Woollen Garments
1884 – Manawatū Knitting Mills was established in Manawatū, spinning yarn and producing knitted garments.
1913 – Swanndri was created by William Broome, based on wool's water-shedding properties, to make the bush shirt.
1967 – Norsewear was created by Ola Rian. The New Zealand/Norwegian Consulate connection saw Norsewear established in his garage in Wellington before production moved to Norsewood.
1997 – The NZ Natural Clothing label was created by Norsewear as its New Zealand-made natural-fibre brand.
2007 – New Zealand Natural Clothing was purchased by Julie Hedley and Phil Grant, along with seven retail stores, from their former employer, Norsewear. Today, they continue to make layers under the NZNC label and sell Norsewear and Swanndri from their store in Norsewood and online at www.nznaturalclothing.co.nz.
I hope these images take you back, as they have for me, and inspire you to see that natural fibres are where you start when dressing yourself and your family for health, comfort, good looks and value for money.
Kind regards
Phil Grant