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our story
Woolerina was established in 2005 as a result of our founder Warwick Rolfe's long-held desire to take raw Australian Merino wool directly off-farm and follow it through to a completed garment.
Warwick joined the wool trade in 1975 as a trainee wool buyer for an Australian wool buying organisation and from his first day, he knew he had found his true passion. In 1980, Warwick and his wife Robyn moved to Forbes in central NSW where they established the first inland wool handling and brokerage centre, Jemalong Wool, which still exists today.
In the early 2000's, and having moved on from Jemalong Wool, Warwick had enough contacts to be able to develop his own line of next-to-skin Merino clothing and what was to become Woolerina.
When we launched our first collection in February 2006 there were just four styles - two for men and two for women - in three colours. These initial styles were created by Warwick's wife Robyn who has a background in fashion design and pattern making. Simple styling and basic lines were the foundation for these original designs and this principal continues to be at the heart of all the designs we create.
Working with a very specific selection criteria (carefully curated by Warwick) to select the raw, un-mulesed Merino wool which is used in our products and then following this wool through all stages of processing to knitting, dying and garment construction is what makes our brand unique.
Whilst the initial stages of processing must now happen off-shore, yarn is returned to us in Australia, enabling us to maintain close relationships with our knitter and dye-house in Melbourne and our garment makers in Sydney.
When we began in 2005, all our production was outsourced and we operated out of a small home office. Our current space on the Rolfe family property, just outside of Forbes in central NSW, encompasses offices, a shopfront and light, bright workrooms. You can read more about our space here. All design, pattern making, cutting and some garment construction, along with warehousing and despatch, happen at Forbes by our small, enthusiastic team.
Whilst we use modern machinery, the skills required to craft our garments with love are based on traditional methods and each garment passes through many hands before it is ready to be loved by its new owner.
Woolerina remains a family owned and operated business with our founder Warwick Rolfe now working alongside his two daughters, Penny and Pippa (pictured below).