Ahead of our day of talks on the 19th October, we asked each speaker why they chose wool to work with. We know that it has been a fundamental industry in the history of the UK and evidence can be found in almost every town we’re willing to bet. Each of the businesses talking for the symposium works with wool  in a slightly different way,  we hope showing the diversity of this sustainable fibre. You can buy tickets here  

Rampisham Hill Mill

Rampisham Hill Mill is a family run small scale spinning mill that processes fleece for customers to the required end result. The mill can scour, card, spin and ply to create yarn or fibre. They provide a valuable resource to fibre farmers, who can turn their fleece into a finished product.
 
David explains: “I have worked with and owned sheep for the last 25 years, and like many people I started to try and make more money out of my wool than I could get commercially by selling it on the open market. Essentially to cut a very long story short, I started to sell more and more raw fibre of my own and local producers to hand spinners and crafters etc, which over a very long time frame led my wife and I to start researching, designing, building and now operating our own woollen mill, which we have been operating commercially for 3 years.”

Laura’s Loom

Laura’s Loom is primarily a weaving business, but she sources the wool she uses from ‘her backyard’ and then works with local mills to process ad spin into yarn. She is passionate about wool, championing it’s warm, comforting properties, the farmers and it’s sustainability.

Laura explains:  “I used to buy in all of my materials from elsewhere, usually from another country, but living in the Yorkshire Dales I am surrounded by sheep and thought I should be working more with wool.  I couldn’t find the right kind of wool for weaving when I came back to the UK and when I did it wasn’t in the colours I wanted to weave with, so it was a natural step really to consider developing my own range of weaving yarn and having it coloured to my preferred palette.
 
 
 
 

“There’s a lot more wool weaving yarn available now than even just 15 years ago and it’s certainly cheaper on the whole to buy yarn from established spinners than to produce it from scratch.  But it’s been a hugely enjoyable journey for me, meeting farmers, scourers, spinners and dyers and learning from all of them about wool and yarn and the woollen textile industry as a whole.  I like being able to create yarn from locally sourced wool, to know exactly where my wool comes from and to understand completely the entire cycle from fleece to finished product.  The products I make have a story, but more importantly I’ve been able to pay my local farmers a fair price for their wool and then make beautiful things from it.  The farmers have appreciated seeing what I’ve made and learning about the textile industry.  I’ve really enjoyed learning a little about farming life and making some new friends.”

www.laurasloom.co.uk

The Woolly Shepherd

The Woolly Shepherd was borne from a desire to utilise wate wool from the local area. The cost of shearing was so high that farmers started burning or burying fleeces as they had so little value. The Woolly Shepherd takes a variety of fleece and transforms it into acoustic absorbers. Beautiful fluffy clouds can now be seen in village halls, offices and schools.

Tim Simmons explains : “Although wool prices are generally unstable, we continue to use wool and fleeces from small batches that would not otherwise be viable for farmers and smallholders. As the business has grown, we also source nationally, but we only use 100% UK grown wool and remain the only acoustic product designers to do so. “We believe it is vitally important to contribute to the rural economy and most of our wool is collected and paid for in Somerset and Devon. The wool is cleaned in Bradford and felted in Yorkshire and Somerset. This feeds back into our rural economy, providing fair trade for farmers and fair pay for local people at a time when the future of UK farming is uncertain and support for local producers is vital.”

www.woollyshepherd.co.uk

Tellenby Merino

Tellenby Merinos breeds high quality Australian merino sheep in Devon. The owner, Lesley Prior, is an experienced fibre farmer with a wealth of experinnce in producing fine fibre. This journey has seen Lesley take leading roles in The Campaign for Wool, become well known and respected in the international Merino community. She has appeared on radio and television sharing her passion and her knowledge.

Recently Lesley talked to us about what it is about wool that keeps motivating her: “Because it’s the answer to so many of the problems facing our planet. By choosing wool to use in our clothing, our home textiles and of course our craft work we are reducing microplastic pollution, landfill and the mountains of synthetic fibre waste sent to 3rd world countries every year.  Wool is sustainable. It grows every year and will degrade within a few months if returned to the soil or even the sea.

 “I have a passion for the finest wool; Merino. But did you know there are many different qualities of Merino? At Tellenby, we grow the very finest type; Australian Super Fine.  We produce wool of between 13 and 17 micron from our flock with very particular qualities which makes it ideal for the highest quality woven fabrics used in Savile Row suits  or the finest knitwear. We are obsessed with quality and the breeding of excellence. We have spent many thousands of pounds and travelled extensively in Australia, learning from  many experts there who have been so generous with their help. After 20 years we have accomplished what we set out to do -grow the very finest Merino in the UK and sell it to the very best, most demanding brands.”

www.tellenbymerino.com

It would be lovely to spend the day with you and remember if you can’t join us live, we record the sessions for ticket holders. Tickets can be found here.