General FAQs
We are a fibre studio based in Co. Cavan reinvigorating the previous rich textile heritage associated with the area. Her unique yarns are inspired by the beauty of Ireland and are designed to become a part of your crafting projects. Our mission is to create sustainable yarns on ethically sourced fibre that is hand dyed and spun in Ireland with the emphasis on both material and process.
What is the best way to contact us?
General enquiries: hello@olann.ie
Customer enquiries: shipping@olann.ie
Fibre processing enquiries: mill@olann.ie
Wholesale enquiries: wholesale@olann.ie
You can also call us on: +353 87 133 6611
Of course! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and Ravelry. We love to update your social feeds with pretty pictures of yarn and from time to time use the live feed function on Instagram to let you guys see our workshop and what we are up to.
Do we have stock for sale in our studio?
Yes, we have a range of bases and colours always available in our studio.
Yuo can find us at: Olann, Unit 3, Cavan Enterprise Centre, Dublin Road, Killygarry, Cavan, H12 E403.
We are open Monday - Friday 10:00am - 5:00pm. It is a good idea to ring ahead to confirm an appointment.
We do. If you are a LYS please feel free to email us at orders@olann.ie for our most up to date wholesale price list.
Yes, we currently dye custom colours for both designers and LYS. Contact us at wholesale@olann.ie to chat about possible colourways.
Is the studio available for group tours ?
Yes, we regularly have tours and workshops of both our mill and processes. Contact us at mill@olann.ie to chat about availability.
Yarn FAQs
Interested in our clubs? We offer a monthly club subscriptions that we hope appeals to each one of you. You will find our club memberships under the 'collections' tab and then see 'club memberships'. Clubs are a monthly instalment and will ship at the end of each month. Shipping is flat rate so if you add an extra club you wont be charged twice for shipping. Club colours are exclusive and will not be sold to the general public or LYS.
How often is the shop updated?
We try to keep inventory updated as frequetly as possible for small batch production. The best way to catch updates on our inventory is through our social media and by subscribing to our newsletter.
At times, dye to order yarn will also be listed on the website. This is yarn that has yet to be dyed and there is a typical lead time of 2-3 weeks before delivery however we do aim for a 2 week turnaround.
How accurate are the photos to the yarn I will receive?
We have taken utmost care and diligence to make sure our photos are as accurate as possible. Some monitors or devices will produce a different result when displaying the photo. Our photos are for reference only.
Will you reserve skeins for me?
Unfortunately the shop updates operate on a first-come first-served basis. We are unable to reserve any skeins for individuals.
Our yarns come from little farms in South America that guarantee fair and humane treatment to their herds of sheep. We pre-wash our yarns to remove lanolin and any dust that may have been caught during the spinning stage. When the undyed hanks are delivered to us we store them carefully, in dry conditions and away from light. We only dye in small batches, this ensures each skein that passes through our hands gets the full care and attention it deserves. We use non toxic acid dyes and a food grade citric acid as our setting agent.
All the dye is exhausted from our dye pots so that there is zero nasty stuff being poured into our drains. Citric acid also looses its potency as it helps the dye absorb into the fibres. Rest assured, we are environmentally friendly. Water is often re-used to also minimise our water usage and wastage.After the dye process is completed, our freshly dyed yarn takes a long nice soak in gentle wool wash to ensure all that citric acid water is scrupulously rinsed from the yarn. Our yarn is now super clean and super soft and is ready for your crafty hands.
Why can I still see yarn but it's all sold out?
All our listings stay up for the duration of the month after a shop update to give customers a flavour of the range that we stock. We understand that this can be frustrating and a very unusual way to keep an online shop, but we dye small batches throughout the month and when we have enough stock we release it all at once. We feel this gives both you and I a better experience - for example, the website when open is a better experience, we usually have lots of colours on lots of bases, all our shipping is done in one big batch and it's also a very consistent way of operating a business when everything has to be hand dyed.
How do I care for my scrumptious Olann yarn?
Here at Olann, we believe in caring properly for your yarn. Care for your yarn begins here in our studio when once the dyeing process has been completed we soak the yarn in a little wool soap to rinse away the citric acid and to leave your yarn springy clean. The dye is fully set before leaving Olann studios, so there is no reason for you to set it again (most feel the need to set with a vinegar but this is wholly unnecessary) once you receive it. However, as with all dyes some may bleed. Think of jeans, they sometimes can run a blue grey dye in the wash. Or consider a misplaced red sock in with all your sparkling whites. They don't come out so sparkling after. So take care when choosing your colours for a project. Bear in mind that if you choose a pale colour and also a bright red that bleeding may occur. We take no responsibility for your colour choices. Once your yarn is knit with we recommend using a wool specific soap on a gentle machine wash. We suggest not using bleach to your garment and not to tumble dry it either. We suggest drying your garment flat.
Shipping and Returns FAQs
We ship wordwide. Shipping costs are calculated at checkout. Orders shipped to Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Sweden Slovakia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, USA and Israel use the An Post Express service. Greece, Norway and Slovenia use An Post Priotity Parcel service. For all other countries An Post Courier Parcel service is used.
Unused goods in its original condition (including packaging) may be exchanged or refunded within 14 days of you receiving your purchase. Refunds will be issued for the full invoice amount minus any shipping costs incurred. Shipping costs can be refunded if your items were damaged or was improperly shipped. For exchanges, we are happy to exchange unused yarns for alternate colours currently in stock within 14 days of you receiving your purchase. Our return address is: Olann, Unit 3, Cavan Enterprise Centre, Killygarry, Co. Cavan, Ireland, H12 E403.
We use An Post as our shipping partner. To track your order simply click here.
I'm an international customer - what should I expect?
International shipping can vary widely depending on the receiving country. In most cases, it takes a few weeks for international orders to arrive.
Customs fees and taxes are levied by the receiving country and are the buyer’s responsibility. We are not currently able to accurately predict what those import costs might be. Please research customs information for your country before ordering, as we cannot be held responsible for unexpected fees and taxes.
Mill FAQs
Please plan ahead and contact us to make a booking as soon as you can. If there’s a specific date that you need your yarn by, please let us know when you make your booking and we will do our very best to meet this date. Please also advise us of any changes you need to make to your booking as soon as possible.
It depends on what type of yarn or processing you want, you will find our pricing for both sheep and wool above. Price is based on incoming weight. The price per kg listed includes - a wash, tumble, opening the fibres, separating the fibres, carding, spinning and finishing into cones, skeins or balls. There is a 3 euro deposit for any cone used, this is refunded once the cone is returned. Our Fibre Processing Guide and Pricelist may be found here.
What is the smallest incoming weight you can process?
We are able to batch process fleece from as little as 500g.
Our machines have been developed to carefully extract the best fibres from your fleece. It is not uncommon to lose a significant amount on sheep’s wool due to the presence of lanolin, which is a heavy and sticky natural oil found in the fleece. Alpaca does not have any lanolin present.
This is the removal of vegetable matter and excessive guard hairs from your fleece. The better skirted your fleece, the better quality your yarn will be and the higher the return rate. You can do this yourself, get us to do it, we can also recommend another company or some workshop so you can learn to do this yourself.
Can we knit the yarn into finished garments, blankets or cushions for you?
Unfortunately at this time we are only able to process yarn.
If it’s going to be a while before your fleece is due for processing, the most important thing is to keep it (or get it) dry. If you can store the fleece somewhere dry with no temperature extremes, moths or mice, it can keep for two or three years without coming to any harm. Paper sacks may be used as it allows the fibre to breath or Polythene bags if the fleece is dry.
You can either post or drop your fleece into our mill. We ask that you would send it two weeks prior to your processing date. If you are dropping it into our studio please let us know in advance. Please include an order form for each batch of fleece to be processed separately. Our downloadable Order Form may be found here.
Do we purchase alpaca or wool fleece from farmers?
Email us at mill@olann.ie to let us know if you have some and we can quote you a price for it dependant on quality.
Why would my fibre be returned unspun?
Any fibre received that does not meet our quality standard can not be processed on the mill machinery. This is due to the fact that the return on the fibre would be too low. Examples of unsuitable fibre would be as follows; high dandruff content, high vegetation content, short hairs or fleece that has been cut incorrectly.
This assessment will be made by our mill team on receipt and inspection of fibre on a case by case basis, any decisions made are final. If the fibre is unsuitable it will need to be collected by the customer within two weeks of assessment.
If the customer is unable to collect within two weeks fibre will be shipped back to the customer- we do not cover any shipping costs and these will be the responsibility of the customer. There is a sorting charge and processing fee applicable to any fibres left in Olann. This is included in invoices of completed fibres but will be applied to any not suitable for processing also.