A brand is born

Like most things that truly matter, VULNA existed long before it had a name.

I remember being fascinated by the shearing sessions during spring holidays at my grandmother’s farm. The rhythm of the work, the smell of wool, the calm concentration of the hands involved. I still keep a few loose pages of a story I wrote during one of those sessions — an early attempt to make sense of what I was witnessing.

I lived on that farm from birth until I was four, and years later learned to knit my first scarf there during a summer in my teens. Knitting returned to my life when I became a mother, once again living on a farm, raising three children in the Uruguayan countryside. Over the years, my connection with rural life and agricultural production deepened, as did my awareness as a consumer. Choosing durable garments made from natural fibers became not just a preference, but a way of living — a decision that extended into many other areas of my life.

Some years later, my parents — after living abroad for a long time — returned to farming and committed themselves to breeding an extrafine merino wool flock. Together with Uruguay’s national agricultural research institute and a group of farmers brought together through CRILU, they began a patient, long-term process: measuring, selecting, and cross-breeding finer rams year after year to improve softness, whiteness, and comfort. It was slow, rigorous work, guided by knowledge and respect for the animal and the land.

Although production remained small, the wool began to be appreciated by highly selective international markets. From Milan to Dubai, shop windows displayed garments made with fibers from our farms — while the price paid to those same farmers continued to fall. At times, continuing production felt less like a business decision and more like an act of hope.

While working on other projects, my interest in wool — and in what wool represents — kept growing. I became increasingly convinced that more people would choose natural fibers, local production, and ethical processes. That by valuing craftsmanship and staying close to the full production cycle, it is possible to add meaning and value to this extraordinary material. And that preserving ecosystems also means preserving ways of working — decentralized, rural, and human.

Time is a silent collaborator in all of this. From breeding finer wool to knitting a single garment, nothing here is rushed. VULNA is built on patience — on the belief that what takes longer tends to last longer, feel better, and matter more.

Uruguay’s scale makes closeness possible: between people, land, and process. Knowing where materials come from, who works with them, and under what conditions is not a limitation — it is a privilege.

Extrafine merino wool is comfortable, durable, and respectful of the land it comes from. VULNA pieces are designed to honor those same qualities — in fiber, in process, and in intention.