As a girl in Peru, Sandra Jordan  learned about the Incan traditions of weaving silken fabric from alpaca fleece. “They called it the gold of the Andes,” says the former creative director of Jordan Winery in Healdsburg, “but the itchy blankets I used to see in the marketplace didn’t match what I’d read about.” The diplomat’s daughter came to the U.S. for college in the ’60s but never lost a connection with her home country. In 2006, when she researched textiles for a redesign of the winery, she stumbled upon a story in Discovery magazine on the DNA of purebred Peruvian alpaca. Several trips to Peru later, her exclusive line, Sandra Jordan Prima Alpaca, was born. Today, she works with a sustainable Peruvian mill that uses highest quality, purebred fibers to create upholstery weight weaves or drapery sheers in 50-plus shades by the yard. And some big names are fans. Designer Jiun Ho used it for his new upholstered furniture line. Michael S. Smith bought the fabric in Peony pink for the Obamas’ White House bedroom. “I got an order for 140 yards of the Mushroom from Kanye West,” she says. “My kids had to tell me who he was.”

By Christine Lennon

 

Pictured: Sandra Jordan
Photo courtesy of Prima Alpaca

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