Final run from Heather’s woolshed in the Wairarapa • In 14 active carts • 18 left
Heather's Alpaca Nesting Heart
Heather's Alpaca Nesting Heart
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Heather's Alpaca Nesting Heart
“Thirty-one years I read wool for a living. It took a grey warbler the size of my thumb, picking my fence wire clean, to show me what it’s actually for.”
Alpaca fibre is hollow through the centre, so it traps far more warmth than solid fibre. A nest lined with it holds heat through a cold spring night in October — which is exactly what eggs and new chicks need.
Unlike sheep’s wool, alpaca fleece carries no lanolin. Nothing greasy, nothing to irritate. Soft and clean against a chick’s skin from its first day out of the shell.
Synthetic thread holds a loop and tightens over time. Alpaca fibre compresses and breaks down inside the nest instead — no loops, no rigid strands, no entanglement risk.
Alpaca fibre repels moisture on its own. A wet New Zealand spring runs off rather than soaking in, so the lining stays dry instead of turning into a cold mat underneath the chicks.
The heart is a mesh frame, not a disposable. When the birds strip it bare — and they will — push fresh fleece, raw wool or pet brushings back through the hexagons and hang it up again. Season after season.
The mesh openings are wide enough that a grey warbler or a silvereye can get a proper grip and pull a strand free, tight enough that one gusty night doesn’t empty the whole heart across the garden.
“Fibre entanglement is something we see every single spring. Chicks come in with synthetic thread wound around a leg or a throat, and almost always it has come from nesting material a parent bird collected in a nearby garden. Natural fibre such as alpaca fleece compresses and breaks down safely. Synthetic fibre does neither. Our garden birds are building right now, from August through to January, so hanging out soft natural fibre this spring is one of the simplest things a household can do.”
Avian Ecologist & Wildlife Rehabilitator · Kōwhai Gully Bird Rescue, Masterton- Fleece from one named herd. Nine alpacas near Carterton, shorn in November 2025. Not a blended bale from three countries.
- Inner fleece only, four colours. Heather sorts out the coarse guard hair by hand on her old wool table and packs only soft inner fibre — dark brown, cream, caramel and charcoal, from four different animals.
- Hand-cut frames. Heather cut and shaped every one from hen netting in the woolshed. Slight differences in shape are the point, not a fault.
- Nothing added. No dye, no scent, no treatment. Washed, dried, packed. That’s the whole process.
- Built to stay out. The frame lives outdoors year-round and weathers to a soft grey. Refill it each spring.
Hang it out. If no bird has touched it and you’re not glad you bought it, email us within 30 days and we’ll sort it out — no forms, no posting it back at your expense.
November’s clip was the last shearing Heather sorted herself — her hands won’t allow it any more. 186 hearts are left from that fleece. When they’re gone, there won’t be more. Because each frame is cut and shaped by hand, expect small differences in outline and in how far the fleece sits proud of the mesh. The colour blocks fall differently on every heart too, because they come off different animals. That’s what handmade looks like.
The Last Shearing
The Last Shearing
A note from the woolshed near Carterton:
Heather Prebble classed wool in Wairarapa shearing sheds for 31 years. In September 2018 she watched a grey warbler pick ten metres of her fence wire clean of alpaca wool in three weeks. So she cut a heart from the hen netting, packed it with wool from her old sorting table and hung it under the kōwhai. That summer the warblers raised their chicks in a nest lined with it. The first heart still hangs on the same post.
Now rheumatoid arthritis has taken the fine work out of her hands. These hearts come from the last shearing she sorted herself, in November 2025 — 186 are left, and when they are gone there won’t be more.
Free NZ Shipping
Free NZ Shipping
Free shipping across New Zealand
- Delivery time: 7–14 business days
- Every heart is hand-packed and sent with NZ Post
- Approx. 30 × 28 cm, hanging chain included
- Hand-cut wire mesh frame, filled with real undyed alpaca wool — refillable through the mesh, season after season
- Made for outdoors: tree branch, fence post or verandah rail
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email info@craft-folk.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@craft-folk.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (NZT). Whether it’s about your order, where to hang it, which birds to watch for, or just to say hello — a real person writes back.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Hang it out, live with it a week, and if it isn’t right for your garden, email info@craft-folk.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions, and NZ shipping is free.
How is it made?
How is it made?
Heather cuts every frame by hand from hen netting in her woolshed. She then sorts the wool on her old classing table, keeps only the soft inner fibre from her own nine alpacas and packs it into the mesh in four undyed colours. No dye, no scent, no treatment. Because every frame is cut by hand, no two hearts are exactly alike. That is the product, not a fault.