Meet Charles, David and Paul, Co-owners of Le Chardon, Poland

How would you describe Le Chardon in one word?
Dream. We believe dreams can be real, with healthy living, respect of nature, traditional handcrafting and with good resting sleep, of course.

How did you come up with the idea of Le Chardon?
Le Chardon was the natural extension of our combined passion for agriculture, breeding, textile – and sleeping of course.

 What’s your connection to Poland?
Family.

Why the name Chardon?
Le Chardon means « thistle » in French. Ancient Romans first used thistle buds to comb the wool to create an elegant and refined textile. The Latin name of the plant – Cardulus Cardus – gave us the word « carding ». Wool carding with thistle buds is an ancestral process that was still in use in the 19th Century. Because carding is at the heart of our manufacturing process, we chose Le Chardon as our name to encapsulate our values: to reflect on the traditional manufacturing process which allows the highest quality, and to highlight the duality of life – the spikes of the plant, when handled properly, gives us softness.

Can you tell us about life on the farm?
We are blessed to live and work on beautiful land, where the alpacas can freely live under an ideal climate and grow the high quality of wool. Alpacas are very sociable creatures and are in need of constant affection and care, which we provide gladly every day.

Can you tell us a fact about Alpacas that no one would know?
Alpacas, much like dogs, are capable of herding sheep. They are also capable of organizing defenses against predators (wolves). Finally, alpacas are capable of providing care for people with autism or ADHD: alpacatherapy.