WHO WE ARE

Hello, my name is Chloe and just under five years ago my parents left their urban life for a small farm in Mid Wales. My mum Steph is head farmer, and has built up a flock of rare and native breed sheep who we keep for their fleeces and breed conservation. We’re both vegetarian, and our sheep are part of the family – we do not sell them for meat.

We have around forty sheep now, a mix of Boreray, Hebridean, a few Kerry Hill, Speckled Face, and Herdwicks. We know the sheep as individuals and all have names and their own characters! Some were born here on the farm, and others have come to us from elsewhere – often from nearby farmers who know we take them in when they have nowhere else to go! 

All are hardy breeds well suited to our climate here in the hills of Mid Wales. The Boreray are one of the UK’s rarest native sheep breeds, and were domesticated in the 1970s, hailing from the Isle of Boreray, part of the St Kilda Archipelago in the seas above Scotland. They are relatively small sheep, horned, and come with a mix of fleece colours – we have some cream, some dark brown, and some inbetween. Double coated, their fleeces are often very soft, though some are coarser. The Hebrideans are also a Scottish breed, also with horns, and produce deep black fleeces – some with grey as they age – with long locks. These are great for both spinning and felting. The Kerry Hill and Speckled Face and Blue Leicester cross sheep we have taken in from neighbours as cade lambs. As they were raised by us, they very much consider themselves pets – as do we! Their fleeces are very soft, lustrous, with good crimp. They spin into beautiful cream yarns. The Herdwicks were looking for a home locally, so joined us as a trio a couple of years ago. When they arrived they were very wild, but have mellowed considerably and are now happy to eat out of our hands. They roo – or shed – their fleeces, meaning there isn’t usually much left for us to work with. That that is left is not suitable for spinning, but weaves up very nicely into peg loom rugs. 

Every year all the sheep are shorn – this is important as it stops them overheating in summer, and reduces risk of illness. We collect their multicolour fleeces, carefully clean them, and then send some off to a small mill for spinning into yarn, and keep the rest to make into rugs, cushions, wall hangings, and more!

I make the rugs, cushions, and wall hangings either by the ancient craft of wet felting, or by peg looming. Both are hands on, time consuming, and a great way to get stuck into a fleece. Every fleece that comes off the sheep is unique – all our sheep have slightly different colour ways and locks, and every year they grow slightly differently. This makes working with them feel really special. 

You can find more details about the making processes, the sheep, and life on the farm over on our blog page. Rugs, cushions, wall hangings, and yarn that we have in stock are available to purchase on our store, or on our Etsy.