At Showcase 2024 in January, the Irish Grown Wool Council (IGWC) presented a series of three panels about the past, present, and future of Irish wool. Presented by Rebecca Marsden
Designer, Materials Researcher & Educator The Wool Hub and Forge Design Factory.
Day One
The first panel covered ‘Wool Chronicles: Heritage & Horizon’ and included –
- Claire McGovern, Creative Director, Rhyme Studio
- Alison Gault, Senior Lecturer, Fashion & Knit, Belfast School of Art, Ulster University
- Fergal Byrne, Organic Farmer & Primary Producer Representative
- Jayne Harkness-Bones, Ulster Wool, Wool Collection, Grading & Trading
- Ngaire Takano, Next Life advisor fashion & products, Wool Circular Scourer
A recorded video of this first talk can be found on Showcase Ireland’s YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN0d3W2c6sc
Day Two
On the second day, the theme of the panel was ‘Wool Yarns; From Ewe to SKU’ and included –
- Chris Weiniger, General Manager, Donegal Yarns
- Carol Feller, Hand Knit Designer, Stolen Stitches Ltd
- Rosy Temple, CEO, Magee
- Alison Gault, Senior Lecturer, Fashion & Knit, Belfast School of Art, Ulster University
- Michael Burke, Sheep Farmer & Creator of Woolow
A recorded video of this talk can be found here on Showcase Ireland’s YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ0zbaOyf1k
Day Three
The panel’s theme on the third day was ‘Wool Wonders; Different Strands of Innovation’ –
- Zoe Daly; Ériu
- Don O’Neil; Don O’Neill Design
- Dr Tim Yeomans; Centre Manager, Shannon ABC, Biotech Research Focused on Wool Scouring
- Eve Savage; Educational Designer, Ireland’s Knowledge Centre for Carbon, Climate & Community Action (IKC3)
- Ngaire Takano, Next Life advisor fashion & products, Wool Circular Scourer
A recording from this day can be found here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=badXx22BpEo
Feltmakers Ireland guild member Annika Berglund shared our book ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’ with the audience.
Lastly, as part of the annual Showcase awards, the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland awarded the knitwear company Ériu, which focuses on using sustainable and circular Irish-raised wool, as the ‘Overall Winner’.
Feltmakers Ireland 