Even the floor needs an outfit – made-to-measure dreams in sheep’s wool
A small village situated high above the Merano countryside. A farm at the end of a field path. Here, surrounded by trees that are centuries old, you will find the home of Johanna Aichner. In addition to the cultivation of organic vegetables, very special artisanal products are created here.
Curve after curve, the road climbs up the mountain from Lagundo. The villages, the fields and the river far down in the valley become a world of miniatures. Cool mountain air welcomes me when I finally step out of the car at 1000 m above sea level at the end of the village of Velloi. Birds are singing. The distant rumble of a tractor can be heard. Johanna Aichner is arranging a few self-crocheted cushions in a basket. There is a metal sign next to the basket. It says “Hoferhofs Hofladen” (the farm shop of the Hofers). Below it, someone has drawn a heart with white chalk.
In the beginning there was the sheep
The 29-year-old greets me with a beaming smile and we are immediately on a first-name basis. The first question is already burning on my lips, because I see a close-meshed metal grid on four wooden legs behind Johanna, on which numerous pieces of wool are spread out. They are glowing like little clouds in the morning sun. That’s precisely how they feel, light and airy and soft. Johanna tells me that almost half of the wool for her creations comes from her own mountain sheep, the rest she buys from other farmers in the Burgraviato region. Johanna and her husband Armin Haller’s sheep farm currently consists of 33 animals. They are sheared twice a year. The wool is washed by Johanna herself in a wheelbarrow. She then puts it into empty pillowcases and gently spins it in the washing machine before spreading it out to dry on the grid in the garden or on the roof. “In a few hours the pieces of wool are dry. I usually use the spring wool because it’s easier to dry in the fresh air during the summer.”
Johanna, who was born in Barbiano, takes the clean sheep’s wool to a spinning mill in the Val Passiria, where the wool is first carded and then spun according to old craftsmanship traditions. It takes one to two weeks until Johanna can collect the spooled wool threads. For her products, she mostly uses yarns in natural colours: white, beige, brown, grey or black. The different shades are achieved by mixing different coloured sheep’s wool.
A work of art made loop by loop
After the wool has been prepared, the crochet work begins. “I have loved crocheting since I was a little girl. Later, when I worked in the catering industry and had a few hours in the mornings and afternoons, I started crocheting again. At first I bought the wool, but then I thought I should benefit from our farm’s own sheep herd”, says Johanna, who has devoted herself entirely to the art of crochet. Carpets with a 3D effect, i.e. with ups and downs, have always fascinated her, but it took her a long time to find instructions on how to make them. She finally found what she was looking for on a Russian YouTube channel. Since May 2020, Johanna has had her own business. It has been a constant learning-by-doing process. For example, Johanna tells me that sheep’s wool is quite soft and has a high lanolin content – in other words, fat. When you crochet with a plastic needle, the plastic is slowed down by the fat, which makes your progress slow. The lanolin also provides a high resistance to dirt. It is sufficient to lay the finished garments in the snow or hang them out in the damp air on a rainy day. That way they clean themselves. The young farmer, however, advises against washing, as the wool easily felts.
A small farm shop with a big heart
Having heard all this information, I am really excited to see Johanna’s creations as we enter her farm shop. The shop looks like a mini mountain hut in the garden. Next to the entrance there is a sign with the name of her small business: boden.kleid (floor.dress). “My husband’s idea,” says Johanna and chuckles when she tells us that at first some people thought she was making floor-length dresses.
Inside the farm shop the alpine atmosphere is also omnipresent. The floorboards creak under my feet as I glance around. The textile products are lovingly positioned between green plants on the wooden shelves. A cosy armchair with self-crocheted cushions on it sits in one corner. Nothing recalls that this was once a chicken coop. The small room is perfect for presenting Johanna’s artworks; after all, there are now too many for her to store in her flat.
Johanna is best known for her popcorn rugs, which have a typical burled pattern. They feel rough yet soft to the touch when I hold them in my hand. Johanna needs 11 to 13 hours to make a carpet with a diameter of 130 cm. This requires quite a lot of sitting. “That is the biggest challenge for me, sitting for a long time. I compensate by working in the farmyard and doing sports,” she says with a smile. Exercise is especially important in the cold season, because autumn and winter are high season for the Aichners, no doubt also because of Christmas. A self-crocheted sheep’s wool rug looks great under the Christmas tree. In addition to carpets, Johanna also crochets cushion covers, seat cushions, cuddly blankets, headbands and doilies as coasters. She affectionately calls the latter “Grandma Emma’s doilies”. Her latest project is ring bags. It is especially important to her to create high-quality and unique pieces. She doesn’t want to imitate anyone. And that catches on, especially with the younger generation, which is turning away from mass consumption and prefers to buy from small local businesses; even if it’s a bit more expensive. Johanna does not only sell dreams made of sheep’s wool in her farm shop. She also sells a pitch ointment made from her grandmother’s larch resin, handmade soap according to a traditional family recipe, artistic earrings and woodturnings made by friends, as well as lovely nativity scene figures. Everything made in South Tyrol.
“My works are 100% regional, 100% handmade and 100% sustainable.”
Johanna first became known through the Instagram account of nutrition coach and blogger Silvia Gasser. Meanwhile, South Tyroleans from the distant Val Pusteria travel here specifically to buy her artistic works, but her customers also include Germans, Austrians and the Swiss. “I am present at some crafts markets. People usually have a look around there and then contact me later. Then I make textile goods especially for them, because carpets have to fit the space and the ambience, of course.” But locals and tourists also drop by her farm shop from time to time – many just by chance, as a hiking trail leads right past the farm. The chairlift from Lagundo takes you quickly and easily to Velloi and offers a wonderful view of the valley. What motivates Johanna? “The satisfaction of my customers and the fact that I was able to fulfil my dream.” A dream, that is also what best describes Johanna’s home high above the Merano countryside. No wonder unique works of art are created here.
