Our Team

Who's behind Gorgeous

Maybe we should start with how started it: arguably with Henry, who fell in love with alpacas, but let's give the credit to the boys themselves. Here's Quintus, Caesar, Tor and Jazz at home in their field in a village near Cambridge. Jazz, Tor and Caesar arrived in 2017, the two sheep (Alice and Abbey are their best friends, black Rylands, joined them in 2020), and Quintus joined them in 2023. 

We originally sheared the alpcas to prepare them for the summer (all alpacas, like sheep are sheared annually). Then we sent them off to be processed into yarn, and were amazed by how much lovely soft naturally coloured yarn came back. But what to do with it all? We sold it at local events but soon realised there was a high demand for quality yarn. So, we now sell yarn from other British alpaca farms including coloured yarns. 

Several years on, and all the DK and Chunky yarn we sell is from our own small herd of alpacas or sourced in the UK from other British herds of alpacas. Some of the yarn is 100% alpaca, others are mixed with up to 25% sheep's wool, also sourced from British herds. Our aran-weight and 4Ply ranges are sustainably sourced from Peru, the original home of alpacas.

The Design Team

Michelle Gladwish	Vibeke Kvistgaard	Clare Brown
Michelle has been knitting for more years than she can remember and after taking early retirement from the NHS now spends her time knitting, pottering in the garden and meeting up with friends. Her non-knitting (and knitting) friends frequently commented on the lovely hand-knitted shawl or scarf she was wearing and how they would love to have a go but some of the knitting patterns they had looked at were far too complicated. So Michelle decided to have a go at writing an easy pattern to get them knitting and that’s how it all started. It’s very unusual to see Michelle without a pair of knitting needles in her hand as she always has projects on the go, some in the car, in her handbag and even in her suitcase. Michelle believes that there are many health benefits from knitting and if it makes you happy then it’s good for the soul. Michelle is now responsible for the Restful Knitting range for Gorgeous Alpacas.	Vibeke is a crochet superstar, with 100,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel, Diving Ducks Crochet, and her crochet designs. She has been crocheting for 20+ years, and her channel is brilliant! She creates tutorials on YouTube that you can literally work along with. As she finishes her piece, you finish yours. We are lucky that Vibeke loves the feel of Gorgeous Alpaca yarn and produces crochet kits that work beautifully with it.	Clare has been knitting and crocheting all her life. She has previously designed and made knitwear and toys for a London high end design shop. She picks designs that look compicated but are actually easy to knit, and all our customers loves the results of the work they create from her designs. In her other life, Clare is a professional gardener and, on top of this, also walks for miles every day after work with her partner and dogs.
Emma has also been knitting all her life, and crocheting in more recent years. When not running Gorgeous, or knitting up the next kit sample, she is up early to see her ducks, chickens, sheep and alpacas, throwing the cat off the bed as she rises. Hours in the garden just about equal the hours in the workroom, which we think make a healthy balance. There's always a knitting or crochet project on hand, and supporting all our lovely team of designers, who constantly surprise her with their creative skills.	Would you like to join our team of designers?  We are particularly looking for keen crochetiers and knitters. with experience of knitting and crocheting and creative ideas. Please email Emma at contact@gorgeousalpacas.co.uk to discuss. We have a great team here and would love to talk to anyone who wants to learn more about how it works.	Mary (okay, Emma's mother) is the source of all learning. She has created knitwear for her four children over the last 60 years and now assists in the design and creation of a lot of our work, as well as working in the back office making up product. Not bad for someone in her 80s! Previously, Mary was a fruit farmer, vicar, and occupational therapist so she brings a lively mind to the design team.