Woop!Wear is a small alpaca clothing company which started in 2007 with a desire to bring alpaca into the outdoor industry. Owner, Gina Eisele discovered that alpaca fiber unique qualities of silky softness coupled with its ability to provide lightweight warmth make it the perfect fiber for outdoor apparel. In the first year, she developed a base layer product, entirely not perfect and much more “sweater like” than what she wanted. After much experimenting and countless meetings with fabric producers, Woop!Wear now offers lightweight alpaca base layers, filed pants and coats outerwear, knit hat and socks.
Woop!Wear purchases the alpaca fiber directly from Peru, designs the clothes, outsources the production and sells the outdoor apparel. Based in Trout Lake, Washington, Woop!Wear operates its business in an area that offers optimal field testing for its alpaca active wear products.
MCEDD provided a $50,000 working capital loan and Gina used these funds to purchase fabric and manufacture products for inventory to sell. Woop!Wear sells its products through its own website, www.woopwear.com, Amazon.com and annually at the Portland Sportsman Show.
The MCEDD Loan Program is available to entrepreneurs, start-up businesses and existing businesses doing business in the five county (Sherman, Hood River, Wasco, Klickitat and Skamania) Mid-Columbia area. This loan program is part of MCEDD’s efforts to strengthen and support the region’s economy. Contact MCEDD’s Loan Fund Manager at 541-296-2266 or loanmanager@mcedd.org for more information on MCEDD’s Loan Program.