My name is Cara, and this is All Alpaca Plus.

In 2002, I gave birth to my first child. Not wanting to be faced with the prospects of going back to work, I set out to find something that I could do from home. One afternoon I caught a television program about Alpacas and from then on, after many months of study and research, the business has rapidly developed into what it is today. 

There are two parts to All Alpaca Plus;
The Animals - which started with 3 yearling females and soon after we added a male. Pure Suri blood and improving on luster, twist & conformation were the goals. We now have two males, one named Smarty, who has super fine fleece with amazing lock structure, and Patch who was chosen for his fibre density and lock structure. Between the two of them we are looking forward to some amazing babies over the next while. 

Smarty’s first crias (baby Alpaca) are on the ground, one girl and a boy so far and they didn’t disappoint, both with super fine fibre with amazing sheen. Patch was more recently acquired and so we won’t have crias from him for another year yet. 
Suri animals are the rarest of the Alpacas and so they were an instant attraction for me. They look very regal and hold themselves with an air of importance about them. They are very inquisitive animals and are always aware of what is going on around them. They talk to me when I am outside or around their pens and they love our cats. I think because they are not intimidated by them and of course there aren’t any loud noises associated with the cats as there are with the dogs. Similarly the Alpacas love the children. My daughters walk right up to the crias and throw their arms right around their necks whenever there is a visitor around to help me show them off.

Retail - the second part to the business, which right now is the most important as the herd numbers grow. This developed from an idea that I had one day while out walking with my first daughter and pregnant with my second, provide Alpaca Products for the whole sale and retail markets. Using the fibre that we were now producing, along with other Canadian Made and Imported goods, I set out to create a market for these truly unique products. It has taken several years and a lot of hard work but it has flourished into a business that I am very proud of and one that will keep me busy while the girls are in school full time. 

My objectives are to provide reasonably priced Alpaca Products that are very accessible, while maintaining the highest product quality and excellent customer service. I have had experience in a number of different aspects of inventory and book keeping but nothing really prepares you for the amount of effort it takes to have a business and also to expect the unexpected. It’s hard not to take setbacks personally and so a good measure of determination is needed. In the end though, it’s been worth it and regardless of how well the business does I know that I have a family who will appreciate the time spent in later years.