This week is Wool Week and also, incidentally, Chocolate Week – hurrah! – surely carte blanche to knit and eat chocolate whilst snuggled up under a cosy, woolly blanket? Anyway, to mark the occasion, I thought we’d take a look at contemporary, wool-inspired home accessories.
Wool is such an amazing material, and here in the UK we produce some of the world’s best – both in it’s “raw” state from the various breeds of sheep that are bred all over the UK to the finished product in the form of (often iconic) woven or knitted textiles.
In it’s seventh year, Wool Week 2016 is the annual “Feast of Fleece” organised by The Campaign for Wool to celebrate and promote the natural benefits of wool. It runs from 10 -16 October, and you can find a list of some of the events and activities here, ranging from craft installations to retail events on the high street
As the name suggests, Wool Week is about all things woolly, encompassing fashion, craft and interiors, but it’s the latter I’m focussing on today, so here are some of my favourite contemporary, colourful woolly interiors inspirations to celebrate Wool Week 2016:
Fan Pendant (above) and Nipped Pendant (below) by Janie Knitted Textiles for Heal’s. I’ve been lucky enough to meet the incredibly friendly Jane Withers at various design/craft events and also seen her at work creating these striking lights. Thick knitted threads have been dip dyed in a choice of Indigo or Cerulean Blue before being hand threaded through the metal geometric frames.
It’s just over 2 years since I first wrote (here) about Angie Parker’s stunning woven textiles and in the meantime she’s been busy producing these amazing contemporary wool rugs (above and below) in her trademark, joyful blend of traditional rug patterns and bright, bold colours. I just couldn’t love them more.
Eleanor Pritchard designs and samples her woven wool upholstery cloth collection, Aerial, at her London studio, after which it’s woven in Scotland on the Isle of Bute. Recent projects by UK design studios using the Aerial collection include the Long Eaton Bench by Assembly Room, above, and the Marcel Breuer Sofa and Armchair by Isokon Plus, below.
Melin Tregwynt Knot Garden Throw, Blue. Pembrokeshire-based Melin Tregwynt products are created in a whitewashed mill in a remote wooded valley – there’s been a mill on the site since the 17th century, when local farmers would bring their fleeces to be spun into yarn and woven into blankets. The Melin Tregwynt business has been based there since 1912 and their products are inspired by traditional Welsh designs and motifs.
100% Lambswool Bronte by Moon Herringbone Throw in Honey. Bronte is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of woollen blankets and throws and one of the longest established mills in Britain – fine wools have been manufactured in Guiseley, Leeds, since 1837. The Bronte mill is also one of the few ‘vertical’ mills left in Britain, with dyeing, blending, carding, spinning, weaving and finishing taking place on one site.
Nerys Sheepskin Footstool by Baa Stool. Hardwearing and versatile, Baa Stools are also quirky and fun – especially if you choose the legs “ending in little black painted hoofs for extra ‘sheepiness’ “. Available in a range of styles and colours including the Rare Breed Sheepskin shown above, a gorgeous mix of cream, brown and grey, and also dyed fashion colours – for example Cerise, Cornflower Blue and Slate Grey.
Later this week, I’m off to the intriguing and fabulous looking Wool BnB, specially created in Islington, north London, for Wool Week 2016. Just about everything in the house has been knitted, or crafted from wool, and once Wool Week is over you can book in to stay there overnight.
Do you have any woolly adventures or creative projects planned this week to celebrate Wool Week and its feast of fleece?