Operation Wool

We are big champions of wool (as you can probably tell) and use it across lots of our product ranges. It is sustainable, versatile and has endless natural properties that makes it perfect for using in our homes.

We particularly love Herdwick wool which comes from Herdwick Sheep. Why? Well, not only is it local, but it has some unique characteristics that make it super functional – it is coarse and wiry, which ensures it can hold itself well, making it perfect to use for our Chimney Sheep®. Like other wool, it is also naturally insulating, malleable, durable, breathable and hygroscopic, which means we also use it in lots of our other products such as our pet beds, rugs, Snug Feet, shillies and more.

We used to buy our Herdwick wool felt as a finished product from a supplier who would have bought it from a merchant. They would have bought it at auction via the wool marketing board. However, it seemed silly that we were surrounded by sheep farms and not buying directly from the farmers and, with the declining wool price, we wanted to ensure we were supporting them as best we could. So, in 2018, we decided to start our annual ‘Operation Wool’.

Follow the Operation Wool journey...

Stage 1

The Herdies come down from the fells

Herdwick Sheep are hardy sheep that are native to the Lake District, close to where we are based, grazing on the fells throughout the year. Herdwicks are charismatic sheep, with white faces and socks, and fleeces that come in an attractive range of colours, from slate grey to brown. They are only brought down a few times a year and one of those occasions is for shearing…

Stage 2

Shearing begins!

Every year, the sheep need to be sheared for their welfare. Without shearing, sheep are at risk of overheating (there is a reason we use wool to stay warm!), discomfort by eventually impeding their movement and disease by increasing the risk of parasites. It's also an opportunity for shepherds to check the health of their animals once they get a sight of them with all that wool off.

Stage 3

Contact with the farmers

Before shearing even begins, we go round the farms dropping off wool bags. Once the shearing is done for the season, the complicated task of synchronising farmers, hauliers and scourers gets underway. This takes several weeks of coordinating.

Stage 4

The heavy lifting

Over the summer, we spend a couple of months going around various farms in the Lake District and collecting the wool. It involves lugging a lot of huge wool sacks onto a big lorry. Safe to say…it’s a lot of wool! Despite the hard work it is good to see so many farmers coming together, helping each other out and it’s a great opportunity for us to chat to them about the sheep, the farms and the landscape.

Stage 5

A few trips to Yorkshire

The wool is transported over to Yorkshire where it is scoured (cleaned, removing the lanolin as well as any dust and dirt) in order to process the wool. This reduces the weight of the wool by about 30%.

Stage 6

The journey to Austria

Once scoured, the wool is driven over to Austria. Here, the wool is treated with IONIC PROTECT®. This is a unique ionic protect plasma that slightly alters ionic charge of the wool fibres which permanently protects the wool against moths. The wool is then felted to create a material that is sturdy and holds its shape but still flexible enough to fold and manipulate. Once felted, it is rolled up into 12.5m rolls.

Stage 7

Back to us!

The felted rolls are loaded up onto pallets and driven back from Austria in lorries to our factory in Workington where it is stored. This always requires a forklift and a bit of logistics to ensure we can get it all in! This felt sees us through until the next year.

Stage 8

The making begins

Once the wool is back at our warehouse, the making begins! The Herdwick felt is cut to make our Chimney Sheep® in all the various sizes we carry, as well as our bespoke Chimney Sheep®. We also use the wool to make lots of our other products including our Snug Feet insoles, use it in our dog beds and scraps are used to make our felt shilles to ensure we don’t waste any of the precious material!