NEAFP Blog

****NEAFP Note - September 2010****

We are going to keep this month's NEAFP Note short and sweet as we have
Hurricane Earl breathing down our necks and there is still much to do
around our farm.

We are excited to announce the newest addition to our product offering, the
Cable & Lace Scarf. The yarn is new, made from the finest alpaca fiber we
collect, and goes wonderfully with the new cable & lace knit pattern. The
scarf measures 78" long by 10" wide approximately and we believe it will
wear well in a number of styles.

Available now in the Product Catalog!

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Upcoming Fiber Collections

Let us haul your fiber back to the mill and save on shipping costs!

The Big E Alpaca Show - September 26th, 2010 - Worcester, MA
Green Mountain Fall Spectacular - October 15th - 17th - Essex, VT
Empire Alpaca Extravaganza - October 22nd - 25th - Syracuse, NY

NEAFP Note - August 2010
National Alpaca Farm Day Sale!

Head to this month's NEAFP Note

Stock up for Alpaca Farm Day

NEAFP is happy to announce our National Alpaca Farm Day Sale, running for the entire month of August. Open Houses are a wonderful way to invite your community onto the farm for an educational and fun day with your alpacas! Take advantage of these savings!

Be sure to head over to the National Alpaca Farm Days site and get listed if you plan on having an event!

Sale Details:
Free Shipping and Handling on All Orders over $350
Save 5% on dozens of our newest items! - Save on Diabetic Socks, Alpaca Mittens, and our newest hat, The Heirloom Cable Knit Beanie!
The Sale will run for the month of August. Shipping and Handling charges will be removed before payment processing in the office on all qualifying orders. Updated Invoices will be emailed to you with your saving totals.

Article - Tips on Writing a Successful Press Release

With National Alpaca Farm Days coming up it is a good idea to write a press release and send it to your local newspapers, radio stations, bloggers, and anyone else you think would be interested in spreading the word about your upcoming event. Press Releases are a very cost effective way to help build buzz about your alpaca farm and upcoming events. To make them even more cost effective, write them yourselves instead of hiring a professional that can charge you a pretty penny for a relatively straight forward service.

Here are some tips and resources to help you get started on your Press Release.

1)Keep it Short and Sweet - We recommend keeping your Press Release to a maximum of one full page. This forces you to choose your words wisely and stick to the point. Many media professionals receive a large amount of press releases each week so it helps to respect their time by being precise in your release.

Your opening paragraph should contain the most important information in the entire release: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. This way you ensure that even if the entire release is not read, the reporter or editor will still walk away with the most important information.

Head to the NEAFP Note to read the rest of this article!

Everyone here at NEAFP is happy to introduce the latest addition to our product line, the Heirloom Cable Knit Beanie. We set out to produce a top of the line hat that is as stylish as it is soft and warm and we are happy with the results. The pattern matches our existing Cable Knit Scarves, and uses the finest alpaca fiber we collect to create a really high end item. We expect this hat to be a major hit across the country as it's design is lightweight but warm, allowing it to be worn in a variety of varying climates. The Hat is 85% Prime Alpaca, 15% Acrylic and is available in Dozen's and Quarter Dozens with a 5lbs / 1.5lb Prime Fiber Requirement. Suggested Retail is $35.00.

This hat is now available in our Product Catalog!

++++NEAFP Note June/July 2010++++

A little late but certainly not short! Everyone here at NEAFP is happy to announce the latest addition to our product catalog, the new Diabetic Socks!

Head to the HTML newsletter to view Sock Flyer: http://bit.ly/bAGmrV

Over the years many of our customers have expressed interest in a Diabetic Sock design using Alpaca fiber. Alpaca's natural characteristics, Hypo-allergenic, Lanolin Free, Semi Hollow Fibers, Moisture Wicking, Breath-ability, and Temperature Regulation all go perfectly together in addressing the issues many diabetics face when choosing what socks to wear. We combined these characteristics with a new sock design that includes a Non-restrictive upper calf knit to help with circulation issues. We are really excited about these new specialty socks and think they will be a great hit with diabetics.

Our Diabetic Socks are on the website now ready to be ordered and will begin shipping July 16th!

Head to the HTML newsletter to view pricing / feature breakdown: http://bit.ly/bAGmrV

Here in New England we are experiencing quite the heat wave, luckily the shearing is done and the Alpacas are enjoying their daily hose offs. Unfortunately here in the mill we aren't so lucky. We have been bombarded with fiber, especially from the most recent 3 fiber collections totaling a little under 15k lbs of fiber! It is great to see more and more farms take advantage of our fiber collections and save on Shipping and Handling costs! We look forward to adding even more locations this Fall and next year's Show season and will certainly keep you all posted!

Hope you all had a fun and relaxing 4th of July! Enjoy the R & R before the Fall and Holiday rush!

+++NEAFP Note - May 2010+++
http://www.neafp.com

Head to the HTML Version: http://bit.ly/ajK3WJ

How to save 15% on Socks

NEAFP offers a 15% discount on all of our sock styles when ordering a case (10 dozen of one style). This is a great way for farms and retailers to stock up all at once, increase their profit margins, and save on average 50% in Shipping and Handling costs.

To take advantage of Case Pricing just place an order on the site for 10 dozen of a particular style of socks. We will process the discount in the office and send you an updated receipt with the new totals.

Getting Started PDF Guide

As more and more alpaca farms embrace the fiber side of their business people from all across the country have been inquiring about how they can get started using us to process their fiber and receive our products for resale. We have put together a Getting Started guide designed to answer all of the major questions asked when starting out with us.

We are happy to have it finally available online for download in PDF form.

Topics Covered: Placing your First Order, Fiber Grading, Benefits of the Fiber Bank, Preparing Fleece to be Shipped, Shipping Alpaca Fiber, Participating in Fiber Collections, Wholesale, Product Color Selection, NEAFP Notes, and other Online Resources.

Head to the HTML Version to Download Guide: http://bit.ly/ajK3WJ

Quick Note: Snowflake Pattern Watch Caps and Earflap Beanies are back in stock!

Upcoming Events

ABOV Fiber Conference – June 19th
Marlee Farm Alpacas
330 Rupert Mountain Rd.
Pawlet, Vermont

Seminar- 1 to 2:30pm , followed by a Social Hour Afterwards

Chris and Shelley will be presenting NEAFP at the Vermont Breeders Fiber Conference as well as running a fiber collection. Let us haul your fiber back for you!

Contact Barry Meinerth @ meinerth@aol.com for more information!

Empire Alpaca Extravaganza – October 22nd - 25th - Syracuse, NY
http://www.nyalpacas.com/

New England Coastal Classic – November 5th, 6th – Worcester, MA
http://www.necoastalclassic.com/

Be sure to head to the Web Version of this NEAFP Note to check out 3 Alpaca Blogs listed in the Alpaca Radar - http://bit.ly/ajK3WJ