Isabel Bürgin uses mainly animal fibres such as sheep’s wool, goat’s hair and alpaca for her rugs, blankets and scarves. In addition, she uses materials such as recycled cord, sisal or paper for special and durable fabrics. Together with the weaving technique, the specific properties of the materials and their combinations are decisive for the quality of the finished fabric.
Since 2013, Isabel Bürgin has increasingly been using local raw material, i.e. yarns made from 100% Swiss sheep’s wool, which she developed together with the Vetsch wool spinning mill in the Prättigau, a valley in Graubünden. The designer enhances this underestimated raw material with new colours, weaves and patterns. The wollok blanket is the first product in a new series by Isabel Bürgin that is entirely Swiss made, from the raw material to the final processing. Soon to follow in this series were the duo and nopp rugs and the latest creation, wollok special.
Other raw materials for Isabel Bürgin’s products come from different parts of the world. However, they are processed into yarn in Switzerland: from washing to carding (aligning the loose wool fibres), spinning (producing the yarn from the carded wool) and twisting (producing the twisted yarn from several yarns) through to dyeing. Exceptions are the imported sisal, which is processed undyed. The ready-spun alpaca yarn from Peru is dyed in Switzerland according to the highest quality standards.