Mrs Lawson, her husband Willie and their two young boys farm 3000 Romdale ewes at Merton, about 20 minutes north of Dunedin, and she has launched a line of 100% woollen coats made from the clip of their farm’s Romdale hoggets, which had a micron count of 31.
Growing up in Wanaka, Mrs Lawson spent time with her grandmother Reta, who was a dressmaker and inspired her love for fashion.
“I would spend hours watching her in her sewing room. I would sit next to her sketching, cutting and sewing my own creations. I liked to believe I was a fashion designer," she said, laughing.
Now her childhood dream had come true, it seemed fitting to Mrs Lawson to name the coat’s brand after her grandmother, calling it Atér, her name spelt backwards.
Despite the introduction to fashion, Mrs Lawson opted to become a radiographer.
“I guess I saw it [fashion design] as something slightly out of reach. Radiography seemed like a more sensible career choice.
"Fashion has always been there in the background, but more as a hobby."
Mrs Lawson’s love for winter clothing grew as she lived in London in her 20s.
But when she returned to New Zealand, she struggled to find a coat that she loved “and more importantly, was made by New Zealand designers using locally-grown wool".
Mrs Lawson believes the feel and warmth of a wool garment cannot be matched and she wants to prove that New Zealand coarse wool could be fashionable.
“I just couldn’t understand why it was so hard to use coarse wool in garments. It’s such a beautiful fibre and so readily available ... I thought to myself, ‘I will make something with our farm’s wool. How hard can it be?’.
“It turns out it’s hard. Very hard."
The 500kg wool clip went through stages of processing, “and each step is a different company in a different location in New Zealand.
"There are much cheaper options if I wanted to send the wool to Australia, China or India but that goes against the ethos of what I had set out to do".
Finally, after a year of perseverance, Mrs Lawson has launched her website and her coats are now for sale.
She wanted to create a timeless garment that would be easy to dress up or down, and chose not to give the coats a synthetic lining, “so people can just enjoy the wool".
The emphasis has been on creating a premium quality garment to last a lifetime.
Despite strong retailer interest in the coats, Mrs Lawson has opted to make them available only via her website.
“Only 97 were made so they are very much a limited edition, but I have hopes to build on what I have started and maybe release a new line each season."
- By Alice Scott
