Claire Powell is the founder of Woolplay, a business based on the Suffolk/Norfolk border, specialising in high-quality yarns and fibres. Here, Claire share her story, from journey from working in financial services in London to becoming a textile creative
What has led you to starting Woolplay?
Woolplay has come out of keeping sheep. We have a flock of rare breed Leicester Longwools which I chose because I love their long curly fleeces. Every year, though, they need to be sheared, so then I had fleeces I had no idea what to do with. With about 30kg of fleece, it’s too much to process all by hand so most of it goes to be commercially spun at a couple of small mills that serve small sheep farmers like me. But I kept some back to wash myself and then I started dyeing it. I use both acid dyes and natural dyes depending on the purpose of the wool. The dyed locks are gorgeous, and I use them in my woven items.
While I do knit, I have fallen in love with weaving in all its guises as an expression of my creativity. I love the textures and playing with colour that weaving offers.
Last year, realising that I was likely to be buried under skeins of yarn, I started selling it online. I’ve expanded the sheep breeds by buying in fleeces from two local hobby sheep farmers and getting them processed as well. I also stock yarn from two mills in the West country who, like me, specialise in making yarn from British sheep breeds with traceability.
Before my move into keeping sheep, which was a lifelong dream after growing up in the Peak District, I worked in Financial Services in London. I originally trained as a lawyer and then worked for a number of financial institutions helping them stay compliant with financial regulations.
Are you East Anglian born and raised? What do you love about living on the Norfolk/Suffolk border?
No, I was born in Liverpool but am a country girl at heart having spent my childhood in Rutland, French Canada and the Peak District. I moved to East Anglia back in 1998 and lived in north Essex until 2015 when we moved up to Mendham and our five-acre smallholding. What I love about living here is the wonderful landscape and its variety from rolling countryside to the magical Brecklands, being close to the Broads and the coast, lovely traditional market towns and of course the slower pace of life.
What makes your wool special for crafters to work with, do you think?
So much wool that is available in the UK comes from overseas – mainly merino from Australia and New Zealand. While it’s lovely wool, the carbon footprint is huge. And that’s a real shame when we have amazing wool in this country with a much smaller carbon footprint. There are over 60 different sheep breeds in the UK, and many are now classed as rare breeds because the markets for their wool were lost in the last century. By focussing on wool from British sheep, I am giving customers the chance to reconnect with the wool we produce here in the UK which will help these breeds to survive.
How can people find out more about Woolplay yarns and fibres?
Take a look at the website – woolplay.co.uk or check out woolplaywithlongwools on Instagram. I am also doing a number of craft fairs this year and will be opening my studio as part of the Suffolk Open Studios in June.
What are your hopes and dreams for 2025?
Completing the studio on the smallholding so I have a dedicated space to weave and process wool as well as enabling customers to come and squish and talk about the sheep and the wool they produce. This will also enable me to start holding social knitting, weaving and spinning groups and workshops about fleece preparation and various woolly crafts
Visit Woolplay.
Featured images supplied by Four Agency
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