Wonderwool Wales is the premier wool and natural fibre festival in Wales. It was set up in 2006 in order to promote wool and natural fibre production and its use in Wales. This festival is held every April at The Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells and will be held on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 April 2013, 10am – 5.30pm Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm Sunday.
The Wonderwool Wales festival is a ‘must’ for wool and yarn enthusiasts as well as those keen to learn and develop their skills or simply shoppers with a keen eye for quality crafts and innovative design.
This weekend is such a treat for anyone who loves colour, texture and natural fibres. For those of us who do, this is like an outing to the sweetie shop for us! A sumptuous choice to inspire and feed our creative impulses!
It is so exciting not only to pick and choose from the vast range of yarns on offer, but there are books galore on every aspect of felting, knitting, weaving, spinning and crochet to offer inspiration. This show just makes me want to try my hand at everything! Fortunately… there IS the opportunity to have a go!
There are many workshops on offer so I can have a taster of new skills and techniques. Recently Wonderwool held a fantastic two day felting workshop, run by tutors from JAO, Finland. (JAO provides education for future Artisans and Professionals in Visual Expression. Previously the College was known as the Central Finland Handicraft and Industrial Art School). We really hope to see them again in 2013! Even if not, we can be assured of some fascinating sessions from talented crafts people.
Wonderwool houses a huge number of Exhibitors and Trade Stands displaying equipment, materials and finished products and demonstrations, along with a selection of ‘fibre animals’ on display such as sheep, alpacas and angora rabbits.
An enriching day for beginner and expert alike; however, a day out would not be complete without something delicious to eat and you will be spoilt for choice amongst the various catering stalls, including vegetarian and vegan, home cooked Indian food, homemade ice cream, wonderful sweet pastries, Florentines, meringues and chocolate brownies and handmade Scotch eggs from the Handmade Scotch Egg Company who offer a massive 40 different types – how can there be 40 different Scotch eggs? (I hear you ask!) Well, only one way to find out – get along to the festival and sample them for yourself!
Wonderwool aims to expand the show each year with new ideas, but still maintain the standards, ethos and enthusiasm of the Festival.
All photos by John Teale Photography