Raincloud & Sage

Raincloud & Sage began quite organically. For several years it was actually the name of a personal blog, started and written by Ruth Werwai. Over the years, the brand has grown and expanded through many different experimental phases, eventually becoming the business it is today, with their current mission, values & practices.

Much of the wool produced here in Germany is incredibly undervalued on the market, making it difficult for shepherds to find a use for it. On occasion this yarn is sold off to a broker to be exported but it often ends up being thrown away or in the worst case even burned. At the same time yarn is being imported to Germany for knitters to use in their projects. This yarn is not traceable- it comes from all over the world and is often shipped out to multiple locations for each of the different stages of production. And so Raincloud & Sage decided to try something a little different.

Raincloud & Sage is founded on and operates under three core values: sustainability, transparency & diversity.

For the first years Raincloud & Sage focused on purchasing wool directly from shepherds (or shepherds collectives), often using fibers that due to colour or breed would have otherwise been thrown away. Then they also began experimenting with several different sourcing methods in the hopes of both expanding and streamlining their production process. This means that in addition to sourcing from shepherds directly, they now also source local wool through both our partner mills and brokers. Their hope in doing so is to increase both the speed and volume at which they can create new yarns, ultimately preventing the raw wool from being exported by finding a meaningful use for it here locally. Primarily this is still German wool, though Raincloud & Sage is open to sourcing wool from elsewhere in Europe (something they are exploring more in detail with their limited edition Unspun yarns).

Raincloud & Sage wants to create yarn with a story. They care very much about each step of the production process and want you to feel involved and informed - from sourcing, spinning & dyeing, right through to packaging and shipping. They want the yarn to end up in the hands of knitters who love good wool and making warm items with their own two hands, as they believe this is the perfect ending to the story they tell themselves when making each yarn.