Our Farm

Maryland’s Last Self-Sustaining Bicentennial Farm—Specializing in Alpacas and Llamas

Our Family Farm has been in continuous operation by members of the same family members for over 200 years. We are one of only 4 Bicentennial Farms in the entire State of Maryland and have been honored by Maryland’s Governor.

• Villa de Alpacas Farm now owns and operates three commercial textile looms – 2 of the three are the largest commercial Feltlooms (built in Sharpsburg, Kentucky by Lan Mark Farm) and the 3rd is the largest rigid heddle loom on the East Coast—specifically set up to make blankets and textiles from our “Victorian Bouclé Yarn.” This yarn is one of our specialty products strongly inspired by the robust and plentiful philosophies and zeitgeist of the Victorian time period—a spirit found in every aspect of our Farm operations.
• We have done our best to properly RESTORE this past era at our Farm—NOT JUST TO RENOVATE!
• Our Victorian Bouclé Yarn is a 100% mixture of fleece from our own beloved alpacas and llamas. We do not market this yarn directly but use it to make products which represent the bounty of our hard work and artistic interests.
• Our Farm’s property and the historical, Victorian “homeplace” called Villa de Sales—after St. Francis de Sales—are proud members of the Maryland Historical Trust and the Historical National Trust.
• 100% of the proceeds generated from the sale of our animals and their most unique products goes back into maintaining our most special, Bicentennial Farm! (There are only 4 Bicentennial Farms left in the State of Maryland. In order to be classified in this category, the farm must have been owned, maintained, and run as a farm for over 200 years by DIRECT FAMILY MEMBERS.)
• Our Farm is also most unique in that it is the only SELF-SUSTAINING Bicentennial Farm run completely by one woman and also honored by Maryland’s Governor, Martin O’Malley.
• We have over 90 animals (both suris and huacayas) including 20 appaloosa silky llamas on our 46 acre Farm (which are all registered with either the ARI or ILR) that now help us to sustain what used to be our family’s tobacco Farm; this change over took place in 1996.
• Every animal on our Farm is treated as a valuable and most beloved member of our family!
• Villa De Sales property and Villa De Alpacas Farm are completely woman-owned by Angel Simmons Warner (nee Forbes-Simmons).
• Angel Warner is a third cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln (thru her father’s side)
• Most of our animals have extensive blue ribbons and championships in their pedigrees with some of our colored suri herd related to the most expensive alpacas ever sold at auction.
• We have Accoyo, Full Peruvian, Full Peruvian, Full Bolivian, and Chilean bloodlines.
• We produce natural and dyed alpaca yarns, and artistic fiber products including one-of-a-kind blankets, sweaters, scarf/shawls, and capes. There are very limited quantities of our most special alpaca yarns from our alpaca crias (babies) and also 100% suri yarn in natural and dyed colors for sale.
• Most of our dark and rare colors are kept completely natural in our yarn and products (black, mahogany, rose grey, and silver grey, for example) but we love to dye our light fawn fleece with the Jacquard and Cushing Dyes to achieve incredibly gorgeous colors and depth of color saturation.
• We also love to blend alpaca with silk and other natural fibers on our FeltLOOMs to create fantastic textiles in vivid, saturated colors.
• Every effort is made to have either some of our own fleece or all of our own fleece in our own products. If our products are not made directly at our Farm on one of our commercial looms, then every effort is made to have our products generated in the USA, and as local as possible.