A GROWING interest in wool, natural fibres and the associated creative crafts means that flocks of visitors are expected at this year’s Wonderwool Wales over the weekend of April 28 and 29.
The wool and natural fibre extravaganza at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd combines workshops, demonstrations and more than 200 stalls, showing all that is best about wool in Wales.
Originally set up in 2006 to boost the market for Welsh wool and woollen products, the show has grown year on year to become the premier wool and natural fibre festival in the principalit.
“Our showcase highlights the green credentials of wool and natural fibres, their varied uses and covers everything from the start to the end of the creative process,” said organiser Chrissie Menzies. “Visitors will find stalls selling equipment, accessories, books, kits, natural fibre products and designer items alongside beautiful Welsh or British wool and wool products, some of them from rare breeds. Several fibre producers bring their products to Wonderwool Wales direct from ‘field to fibre fan’ and others exhibit some of their animals too – we’ll have sheep, Angora goats and Angora rabbits.”
The Shetland Sheep Society and Ryeland Flock Book Society will be exhibiting examples of their breeds and their breeds wool, while other exhibitors include Ystrad from Carmarthenshire, who will be selling their eco-friendly fleece, yarns and wool textiles from their flock of organic sheep, and Flock of Ages who farm Shropshire sheep, Britain’s oldest pedigree livestock breed.
Cinderhill Farm will be exhibiting some of their Black Welsh Mountain sheep and selling yarn and designer kits and Pickwick Flock from Malmesbury, Wiltshire, will be selling fleeces from their rare breed pedigree Cotswold sheep. There will also be the chance to see Angora goats and buy mohair fleece, yarns and products from their keepers A Crafty Goat Club, as well as the opportunity to see Angora rabbits kept by Bigwigs Angora and Snowdon Angora, and buy their products. There will also be a host of alpaca farmers bringing yarn and fibre products from their herds. Among them are Bird Farm Alpacas from Ceredigion; Sodom Hall Alpacas from Denbighshire; Penrhallt Alpacas from the Gower; Apple Cross Alpacas from Worcestershire and Cotswold Alpacas from Gloucestershire. Chas Brooke and Rachel Hebditch of UK Alpaca Ltd from Tiverton, Devon will be at the show, too, with products made from their herd at Vulscombe Farm.
Sheep farmers and smallholders will also be bringing products to the show direct from the farm gate. These include Beilidu Farm, who breed the endangered Manx Loaghtan sheep in the Brecon Beacons. Fernhill Fleece and Fibre will be attending with products from their farm in The Mendips and Halsbury Barton, from north Devon, will be selling unique items produced from the wool of their flock of Jacob sheep.
Exmoor Horn wool, produced by around 120 farmer members of the Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders’ Society, will also be on sale at the show and the Community Interest Company Cambrian Mountains Wool will be selling woollen yarns from sheep reared in the Cambrian Mountains. Bringing an international element to the event, there are stallholders selling yarns or handmade textiles from all over the globe, from Scandinavia to Southern Chile. There’s also the chance to see stunning work by the joint winners of the inaugural Wonderwool Wales bursary, Kathleen Lloyd from Carmarthen and Julia Davies from Llandysul, both BA Textiles graduates from Carmarthen School of Art. Kathleen’s award-winning scarves and tops were influenced by a visit to Jaipur, where inspiration for her fashion accessories for men and women came from both the architecture and the heritage of indigo dyeing and block printing. Meanwhile Julia Davies found inspiration for her handwoven, mixed yarn scarves, clothes and throws closer to home, in the industrial heritage of Wales.
Wonderwool Wales’ popular programme of Woolschools encourages others to get creative with wool and natural fibres and there’s plenty more ideas and opportunities provided by special exhibitions, daily demonstrations and have-a-go sessions on the exhibitor stands, regular demonstrations by members of the Welsh Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and hands-on activities in the interactive area.
The ever-popular Sheepwalk, a woolly take on the catwalk, will be back again, giving exhibitors the chance to show off their creations and a highlight of the 2018 show is a massive Curtain of Poppies.
Find out more about the 2018 show at www.wonderwoolwales.co.uk. Like Wonderwool Wales Ltd on Facebook or follow on Twitter @wonderwoolwales