This October, we’re bringing together farmers, makers, designers, manufacturers, brands and wool lovers to celebrate one of the world’s most remarkable natural fibres. Wool.
Throughout Wool Month, the Campaign for Wool will be shining a light on the people, places, skills and products behind this extraordinary natural fibre, from the land and the farmers who care for their sheep, through to the mills, makers, designers and brands creating with wool today.
Our message this October is simple:
Wool has been part of our lives for generations, yet its natural qualities feel more relevant today than ever.
It is natural and renewable. It is biodegradable under the right conditions. It is durable, breathable and versatile, with unique properties that allow it to be used across fashion, interiors, insulation, performance clothing and countless other applications.
But Wool Month isn’t just about the fibre itself. It is about the entire community behind it.
It is about the farmers caring for their land and animals. The skills and knowledge passed between generations. The mills and manufacturers keeping specialist crafts alive. The designers finding new ways to work with wool. And the brands creating products designed to be valued, worn, used and enjoyed.
“I’ve always been drawn to people who live and work on the land. Growing up, many of our friends and family were graziers. When I would listen to the conversations my parents had with their friends, it always centred around the weather, the wool market and the price of sheep and cattle.
Now, I too am one of those people who has regular conversations about farming. I’m married to a grazier, and together we run a sheep grazing enterprise consisting of merinos and composite ewes. We’re passionate about our land and care deeply about maintaining healthy soils, having plenty of groundcover and giving paddocks a rest from livestock grazing it. This love and way of life for all things farming is what drew me to documenting it as a photographer and writer.
Wool has been used for clothing for centuries. Here in Australia, the merino is synonymous with Australian farming. Some of the finest, and softest wool is grown by farmers which I have had the opportunity to meet and photograph. Growing such an exceptional and environmentally friendly product means maintaining and caring for the merinos that grow it. You can see the pride they have for their flock. They’re committed to breeding healthy well-cared for merinos that thrive because a healthy merino is what grows beautiful wool.
I’m forever inspired by the people I meet when capturing farming operations. Many of the farming businesses I document are family run. Dad, mum, the kids, grandparents, they’re all involved in the operation. Because for many of us, farming is not just a job, it’s a way of life. It’s a love for being outdoors, for caring for the land and the livestock that we run on it. It’s waking early and finishing late. Working in the blistering summer heat and when it’s frosty and bitterly cold. This love for what they do, what we do, is why I love to photograph it. “
Image and text kindly provided by Alexandra MacAlpine www.thesocialherd.com.au. Captured at Richmond Merino https://www.richmondmerinos.com.au/
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