Barbara and Peter Ziek started Wild Hair Alpacas, LLC in 1999. Barb and Peter have served on the Board of Directors of the Alpaca Breeders of the Rockies; Barb as Fiber Director and Peter as Marketing Director. They are also active in the South Eastern Colorado Alpaca Breeders where Peter has held Board positions. Barb is active in local fiber guilds.
Denise Duker, the illustrator of Wild Hair Press' books, is an art teacher and artist. She is active in the Business of Art Center in Manitou Springs, Colorado. A world traveler, Denise has traveled to Peru, the original home of alpacas.
Barb learned to felt using alpaca fiber since alpacas were the animals in her backyard. She learned wet and needle felting skills from nationally and internationally known feltmakers. Barb's work has been shown in local galleries.
As they lived with these amazing animals over the years, Peter and Barb observed alpacas' behavior and their high intelligence. A retired teacher, Barb wanted to share her observations about alpaca behavior and her passion for alpaca fiber and fiber arts with kids. She wrote several stories.
Barb needed an imaginative and skilled artist to illustrate her books. She talked to artist friend and fellow teacher, Denise Duker. Denise agreed to illustrate the books. She brought Zadie and Plain Vanilla, the Rainbow Alpaca to life with her fabulous water colors.
Once Denise was on board as a partner in this publishing venture, it was possible to move ahead to producing a book! Barb and Denise created Wild Hair Press in the summer of 2012 to publish alpaca books for kids. Peter builds anything and fixes everything at Wild Hair. He built a teleprompter for You Tube videos to demonstrate the fiber arts skills which are described in the book. He coaches Barb through technological glitches. He hauls alpacas to book signings and school events.