Like many sheep farmers I’ve found myself increasingly infuriated with the state of the wool trade and how little we are paid for it, how little it is valued and how little it is being made use of.
In fact, I haven’t sent my wool off for the past two years because I can’t bear to be insulted with the pittance you get in return.
I’ve often thought about burning it and making a stance, causing a scene and grabbing everyone’s attention, but if I value my own product so little that I’m willing to just burn it, how on earth can I ask anyone else to invest in it and value it?
This year I made it a priority to find an alternative way to use my wool and make a better income from it and, in the end, I found two ways.
I began speaking about wool at any event I went to, both socially and professionally, just to give people the chance to be aware of the circumstances surrounding wool — as with many things if you aren’t connected to a farm then this awareness just is not there.
I was chatting to a man called Lee Paton, originally a Cumbrian himself, who now owns his own private couture house in London making bespoke garments for some insanely influential people, from royalty to the likes of Beyonce.
After a couple of conversations, suddenly a plan was born.
We used the wool from my sheep to create the base of the most beautiful hand-made bespoke headbands, wrapped in red satin silk, sequins, crystals and Swarovski pearls.
Lee paid me over three times the amount that I was getting from British Wool, which was the British Wool Marketing Board.
This opportunity and collaboration was incredible, but then it was only using a limited amount of my wool, so I set my mind to find something else, too.
Christmas was around the corner, I had stacks of wool lying there, so I began to research felting wool.
I thought this was something I could have a go at in the evening with a cup of tea and the TV on in the background.
I had four fleeces washed and carded locally and so much usable material came back I couldn’t believe it.
I made my first four Christmas baubles that night — a star, heart, sheep and a plane.
It took me 10 minutes maximum to do each one and I was so proud I had created something myself from our girls, so I decided to sell them.
I made 150 of them and they sold out within four minutes of being on my shop.
The best thing is I could have sold 10 times the number.
Why? Because these baubles came with a story, a story about bringing value back to a product that has gone through the floor, about helping our little Cumbrian farm and appreciating what our girls produce naturally.
Not only did they come with a story, they came with a price that was affordable for most people, which allowed people to feel like they were truly making a difference.
And, to be honest, they are making a difference. Those five fleeces alone made twice the amount this year’s wool cheque would have made for the entire flock of 300 sheep.
Farming is busy and we can often fall into the trap of just using the most efficient route to get the wool away and some kind of pay.
But we have to spend time to find other avenues that will bring value and investment and also help people understand how incredible this material is.
