It is hard to believe that we are starting on our fifth cashmere collection season. The years are really beginning to blur together! I moved to Kyrgyzstan in late 2010 with my family and after a period of language learning, research, and social networking, we collected our first cashmere in the spring of 2013. At the time, people were shearing their goats and the fiber was being sold to middlemen, who in turn sold it to traders who sent it on to China. The price being paid to the shepherds was a flat rate based on weight, rather than quality. Our plan was to purchase combed fiber instead of sheared—this leaves the protective guard hair on the goat’s body while also...
After five years of predominantly living in Kyrgyzstan since 2010, our family spent all of 2016 in the States as we focused on launching the June Cashmere brand. We plan to return to Kyrgyzstan in late January and as the days tick by we are increasingly cognizant of the big transition ahead of us. It takes time to truly settle in to a new place, and that process entails bumps and bruises as well as joys and victories. We are at the point now where we feel 75% at home in both places…of course America is our home and that is where our family and roots are. But we have had enough time in Kyrgyzstan to develop strong relationships and...
For our first blog post we're featuring an interview with founder, Sy Belohlavek. Have more questions for Sy? Leave us a comment or ask on social media! When did you first go to Kyrgyzstan?I grew up living overseas a lot, since my parents are in development work. As a college student, I was required to spend time abroad, and I wanted to go to the most unknown and intriguing place, and for me that was Kyrgyzstan. I first went in 2001 on a cross cultural trip as a student, and I fell in love. I went back in 2003 to volunteer at a university for a year. Belohlavek family How did you get into the cashmere yarn business?I was back...
