Meet Collins & Nikki Griffith of Sandollar
Farms & Alpacas!
Our passion is raising the extremely rare suri alpacas and
working with their fabulous fiber! It is evident on our farm and in our
lifestyle.
In 2002, at a Fall Festival in Southern
Arizona, we first experienced alpacas at a local breeder’s booth. A corral of
yearlings was set up next to the breeder's booth of lovely alpaca items for
sale. It was love at first sight! We had found the ideal retirement
business that we could enjoy together!
Over the next 18 months we researched these
delightful and mythical creatures from South America prized for their long, soft
and silky fleece. We bought three bred females in December, 2003; Collins then
built the barn and paddocks; they were delivered in July, 2004.
Since then, our alpaca family has grown exponentially,
as we carefully added nationally renowned
genetics to our foundation herd, yielding more and more of the exquisite
fiber made famous by many Peruvian artisans. Today our herd numbers
about 14-20 alpacas on the ranch depending on the season of the year. In
2007 we moved from Arizona to the Pacific Northwest, settling in to the Heart
of Washington Wine Country, in the Tri-Cities area of Southeast
Washington.
As crias pronk in the fields, we also spend time pursuing a wide range of
other interests, including our needle
felting, weaving, knitting,
spinning, and leather crafting of unusual custom alpaca and leather
accessories that are sold in our onsite farm store, The Fuzzy Wuzzy.
Nikki is also enjoying her business life
as a commercial real estate appraiser / broker and principal of her own firm.
One of her particular joys is helping new alpaca owners find that perfect piece
of property to develop as a farm.
Nikki grew up in the Midwest, earned her
undergraduate degree in Business and Communication at St. Louis University and has worked as a real estate appraiser,
broker, banker and national educator for over 35 years. Today, in addition to
her duties as the Business Manager for Sandollar Farms & Alpacas, she
operates the Fiber Arts Studio as well as her own real
estate appraisal, brokerage, consulting and development business. In 2019, she entered the Apprentice Program for Fiber Sorting/Grading and Classing. An
experienced trainer throughout her career, Nikki loves providing educational
seminars on alpaca ownership for Sandollar Farms & Alpacas visitors and
customers several times each year. Additionally, Nikki has qualified for the prestigious Handler Seal
from Camelidynamics and
today is a Senior Consultant teaching
the basics to others.
Collins, Farm Manager for Sandollar
Farms & Alpacas as well as Store Manager for The Fuzzy Wuzzy, grew up in
Kansas and earned a degree in Agriculture from the University of Nevada. After serving in the army as an irrigation
specialist, he owned and operated a greenhouse, landscaping and nursery
business in central Washington State for 15 years, and then a landscaping
business in Phoenix. Recognizing a need for safe terrain, he
engineered and trademarked a wood fiber product called Playsafe®, now used
throughout the Southwest on playgrounds and recreational sites. Today he
manages the farm and for added pleasure, tools his custom leather accessories
and makes fabulous things out of alpaca fiber. Additionally, pasture
management, farm layout and irrigation are all a piece of cake for Collins, and
several breeders in the area have taken advantage of his expertise.
Want to know more? We'd love to show
you! Contact us today to schedule your personal farm visit today!