Our Story

Our ranch raised Rambouillet Sheep wool is the basis for our entire business and our line of products.  It starts with a commodity – wool – and becomes so much more.  Our clothing and what we surround ourselves with in our home and on our bodies isn’t just about style.  It’s our first line of protection against the elements, it’s comfort and warmth, it’s an extension of ourselves, it’s our voice and our style.  

Our goal is to bring high quality yarns, fabric, and finished goods to you – our loyal (and soon to be loyal) customers.  We love to work with designers, yarn dyers, fiber artists, and anyone who loves to create with natural fibers.  

Lani's Journey

Lani’s journey with wool started with sheep and a desire to teach children about wool. Lani and her ex-husband started raising sheep in 1992.  Lani was involved with the Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom program and wanted to share her knowledge of wool.  This started a lifelong journey and love of fiber arts and textiles.  Lani’s mom taught her to sew at a young age and it stuck with her. Since then, she’s never stopped teaching or learning about textiles and fiber.

The sheep operation started with a small band of Rambouillet Fine Wool Sheep in Williams, Ca and was expanded to three bands of sheep when they moved the flock to the Bare Ranch in the High Desert of NE California/NW Nevada.  It was then that the wool and sheep became a big job!  The wool market was down and lamb was the driving force.  It was also around this time that Lani became more involved in the fiber arts.  She learned to spin, weave, and eventually how to knit.  She was a frequent visitor at Warner Mountain Weavers in Cedarville, CA.  Once bitten by the wool bug -- it became a hobby, then a side business, and with the help of Fibershed and others, it expanded in to a full time business!

Lani's Lana Core Values

Natural Wool is the Foundation of all our products, so although the product line, colors, and supply chain partners will change and evolve – the Foundation of Wool sourced locally will remain the same.

Natural Dyes - Lani strives to use Natural Botanical Dyes on her yarns and home goods.  She loves Eco-Print fabric and the pillows she creates are nothing short of amazing.    Lani started her yarn line with Swan’s Island in Rockport Maine as her dye-house supply chain partner, but as the colors sell-out, she is dyeing all the replacement yarns herself in the dye studio in Cedarville.

Transparent Supply Chain -  Lani maintains a transparent supply chain.  If the descriptions don’t give you all the information you need, go ahead and ask.  

The Sheep

The Bare Ranch operates a range sheep operation, which means that the sheep follow an outside range grazing pattern that allows the seasons and grass to dictate their range instead of a fence.  The areas that we graze are on public and private land.  In the winter the sheep browse desert rangelands and move up to the Warner Mountains in the summer months.  

The yarn and combed top produced by Lani’s Lana is grown and harvested on the Bare Ranch in the Warner Mountains of Northeastern California and the rangelands of Northwestern Nevada.  The Bare Ranch raise their sheep on the range, under the watchful eye of the sheepherders and their dogs.  It’s a lifestyle rooted in tradition and grandeur, close to the earth, close to nature and ever so open and exposed to the elements beyond control of man.

Why Rambouillet instead of Merino? 

The Rambouillet breed of sheep is closely related to the well-known Merino breed.  The Rambouillet wool is a more elastic, springy version of the well-known fine fiber produced by the Merino, but the breed has been adapted to fit the American open range model of raising sheep.  They are perfectly suited to large, wide open outside country and their gregarious, herding instinct has made them the perfect breed for our area.

Photo by Adrian Buitenhuis

The Bare Ranch

The Bare Ranch raises cattle, sheep, and hay in the high desert of the Great Basin.  The wool raised on the ranch is the foundation of Lani’s Lana ~ Fine Rambouillet Wool.  Although the ranch is a separate business, they work closely together. 

In 2016 Fibershed and the Carbon Cycle institute helped write a Carbon Farm Plan for the ranch.  The plan lists several projects that we did, are doing, and are continuing to pursue.  More projects are completed each year.

Projects include – no-till or minimum till farming, cover cropping, compost application, hedgerow planting and water conservation projects.  We have put in several beaver dams and have completed riparian restoration projects in the Warner Mountains.

Because of the conservation work we do on the ranch, we have earned the Climate Beneficial TM Wool Certification.

Warner Mountain Weavers: Brick and Mortar Flagship Store

Lani’s Lana operates out of Warner Mountain Weavers in Cedarville, CA.  It is a retail store, warehouse, dye studio, and has ample space for classes.  It is the High Desert Fibershed Learning Center, furthering our partnership and connection with Fibershed. 

Our Wool Products

Combed Top is the step before yarn. Using a combed preparation ensures that the yarn with resist piling, and have a smooth luxurious hand.  

Lani’s Lana sends their white wool to Chargeurs in South Carolina – the last commercial sized top maker in the United States.  Lani also uses Mountain Meadows Wool Mill in Buffalo, Wyoming for the black wool.  There are four colors of combed top – Snow, Dust, Storm, and Thunder.  The top is perfect for hand spinning, felting, and the basis for bigger projects.  Any commercial artisans interested in making their own yarns are welcome to give us a call.  We love to supply wool to those who are brave enough to take it to the next level!

 Blankets and Pillows - Cozy Collection Blankets are 100% Bare Ranch Wool and made in the USA.  They are heirloom quality throw blankets that will last a lifetime.  They pair perfectly with our pillows which are made in house.