Wool House

We spent this past weekend in London, enjoying all kinds of capital city fun. The main reason for us venturing down to London was because Grimsby Town had somehow managed to get into the FA Trophy Final and were playing Wrexham at Wembley (Spoiler alert: they lost). However, as excited as Steve was to go and see the football, I couldn't find it in me to go and sit in the cold and snow for 90 minutes. 

I made my own plans instead, which meant that I got to spend the whole of Sunday with two of my favourite people, Sarah and Toby, who live in that London. We decided to go and see the Wool House exhibition at Somerset House. The Wool House is part of the Campaign for Wool, which aims to promote real wool as the superior natural and sustainable fibre for fashion, interior and the environment. 

The exhibition was set out as a collection of very different themed rooms from a house, with the common aspect of using as much wool as possible. Different designers had been allocated their own room and brief. My favourite room in the exhibition would have to be the Nursery by Donna Wilson, but that was to be expected as I am completely in love with all of her work and would love to have a house full of Donna Wilson products! My favourite pieces in the room would have to be the large knitted cloud and rain drops hanging from the ceiling in the centre of the room because I am into all things cloud related at the moment. 

My close second favourite room would have to be the Natural Room by Josephine Ryan, who is an antique dealer, interior designer and writer. This room had shelves full of the most beautiful woollen throws and blankets made from all different kinds of wool. There was an awful lot detail to see and she had clearly showcased a wide range of woollen products that normal people could own! It was all very inspiring.

Along with the interiors of the rooms, there was also an area in the exhibition to highlight the use of wool in fashion, showcasing the Savile Row Bespoke Association, who aim to protect and develop Savile Row's reputation for being the home of the best bespoke tailoring. In this area there was work from Dashing Tweeds, one of my favourite weave companies, who use a whole range of British mills and workshops to produce high quality woven stuff.

The whole exhibition was fantastic and it really showcased the brilliance of wool and how it can be used in so many ways. I am a firm believer that you can’t beat good quality woollen products and I hope everyone else who visited the exhibition left feeling the same way.

L

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