Hurstlea Station is located in a quiet corner of New Zealand, the Hakataramea Valley. The sort of place where there are more sheep than people, and you have to drive for thirty minutes to reach your nearest neighbour.
The summers are hot, dusty and dry, and the long winters are snowy and cold. It's a harsh climate, but when you're watching the sun come up from the small hill behind the homestead, there's no better place to call home.
Thats what Aaron and Anna Haugh think anyway. The husband and wife duo run Hurstlea Station and look after the nearly 6,000 sheep that call the property home. Aaron is continuing a legacy of stewardship of this land thats been going for three generations.
Now, he and Anna are raising the fourth, their two daughters Charlotte and Jess. Aaron's parents Ross and Chris live just next door and remain a part of daily life on the farm.
Turns out the extreme temperatures of Central Otago are pretty close to perfect for growing merino wool. Every year in early spring, an expert shearing gang arrives on farm to harvest that season's fibre.
Amongst the noise and bustle of a shearing shed operating at full steam, a wool classer carefully hand selects the fleeces that are best suited for Outopia. They test for colour, micron, strength and consistency, ensuring only the highest quality wool is selected before it travels abroad for processing and is eventually made into garments. That same level of care carries through to how the wool is grown.
Hurstlea Station is ZQ certified, meaning the property is independently audited to meet some of the world's most demanding animal welfare, environmental and social standards. ZQ certification keeps our connection to the source bigger than a supply chain outlined on paper, its a connection we've come to understand by spending time on the land with growers like Aaron and Anna.
One morning this summer, Aaron and his family weren't the only ones to experience the beauty of Hurstlea Station as the sun came up. Our co-founder visited Hurstlea Station with a group of local runners to host a mindful running experience, connecting deeply with the source of the fibre.
Before the run began, the group reflected on the journey the fibre had taken, grown on the land beneath their feet, and now made into a garment on their backs. The run celebrated the full circle of care - the land, the growers, the animals, the makers, and our community of runners all over the world.
After three scenic kilometres around the farm, the run finished with gratitude exercises and stretching at the yards, closing the experience with mindfulness and calm.
Outopia product begins with ZQ certified merino grown by people like Aaron and Anna. Their days start early, tending to the flock and working with the conditions the land gives them.
It's not something abstract to us, we've spent time on farm and seen it all firsthand. Using the fibre they have grown and sharing it with others is a priviledge we don't take lightly.
Sometimes, that fibre makes its way back to the farm again, worn out in the same hills it was grown on, in a quiet corner of New Zealand.
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