Limited Edition
101 ways with Wool
expo
STORY BY CATHIE BELL
Where there’s wool, there’s a way!
INSTORE NOW
Wool has had a pretty bad rap in recent years, with synthetic fibres taking its place
and extreme animal rights groups claiming it is cruel to shear sheep - although anyone looking
at sheep in a Marlborough summer know it is cruel not to shear them!
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material: the whole approach of the ARKITEKTS is a quest for freshness.
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Wool is pretty much a wonder fibre - it’s
durable and long-lasting, keeps off water and
dirt, it breaths, it insulates, it keeps its shape.
There literally are 101 uses for this fibre.
So this month’s 101 Uses for Wool Expo
at the A&P Showgrounds for three days
at the end of March is pretty timely. An
Expo showcasing 100% natural wool, the
event has been arranged by Marlborough
Provincial Rural Women NZ with assistance
from farmers, shearers and woolclassers, the
Creative Fibre Guild and lots of others.
The three day event will display everything
from sheep to fleece, shearing to spinning
and weaving down to the finished garments.
Entertainment includes a bouncy castle for
the children, competitions to do with wool
and food stalls will keep everyone fed.
Amongst the display of sheep breeds will be
Valois and rare Pitt Island sheep, as well as
the more usual breeds.
Glenda and Melva Robb, stalwarts of
Marlborough’s rural community, had led the
event, and they are pleased with the support
they have received from other groups which
had got in behind the Rural Women NZ
initiative. They say the expo came about
because they had been talking about farming
issues, and felt wool was being left behind.
“We had to do something,” Glenda says,
“there is so much talk about plastics ruining
the environment, well, why aren’t people
using wool?”
They decided to organise the expo to show
people just how many different ways wool
could be used. The expo will be attended by
Rural Women NZ’s national president Fiona
Gower and Agriculture Minister Damien
O’Connor. Melva says they did write to the
world ambassador for wool Prince Charles
to invite him, and they got a letter back, but
unfortunately he won’t be attending.
The expo is set to be a festive event people
will enjoy coming along to, “Some people
are already talking about another one next
year,” Melva says. The Royal A&P Society
has invited Melva to speak at their national
conference about organising the event.
Among the displays at the expo will be one
by Simone Hill from Cinnamon House which
will show people how to accessorise their
home with wool, using wool throws and
blankets. Wool carpets are fantastic, she
says, and she’ll be talking to urban residents
about their benefits.
“When I’m talking to rural people about their
homes, I don’t even bother mentioning nylon
carpets - they’re just not interested. They
know how good wool is,” says Simone. The
wool throws and blankets will be available
for people to buy as well.
Also on display at the event will be Natural
Legacy’s woollen caskets, described as ‛a
beautiful and comforting alternative to a
traditional casket’. Suitable for both burial
and cremation, the non-traditional casket
shape combined with the soft strokeable
finish are gentle on the eye and soft to the
touch. Natural Legacy wool caskets are a
beautiful and comforting alternative to
a traditional casket. Natural Legacy wool
caskets and ash urns are both completed
with a delicately stitched personalised
nameplate, that can be neatly attached
to the casket using two wooden toggles.
A smaller more personalised plate can be
supplied for the head of the casket which
many families keep and find consoling
following the service.
The wool ash urn from Natural Legacy is a
soft and multifunctional piece, the ashes are
supplied back to the bereaved family with a
secondary internal box, which can then be
removed for scattering or burial, leaving the
tactile outer to be used as a memory box
holding precious moments and treasures
belonging to the deceased.
Other innovative uses for wool include the
merino wool-based ‛Woolight’ surfboard, set
to be available to purchase in New Zealand
this May. Kiwi entrepreneur Paul Barron
partnered with The New Zealand Merino
Company to develop a new wool composite
technology that could change the global
market for New Zealand wool. They hope the
technology will have the potential to replace
fibreglass in many other products such as
boats, aircraft and furniture as the new
product is lighter and more flexible, while
maintaining its strength. Pāmu Farms of
New Zealand, the trading name of Landcorp
Farming, will supply the bulk of the wool
fibre that's used in the ‘Woolight’ surf board.
Landcorp operate New Zealand’s largest
farm, Marlborough’s Molesworth Station.
101 Ways with Wool Expo
A&P Park, setup and workshops on March
21, and public entry on March 22-23 2019,
between 10am and 4.30pm. Entry is free.
For full details contact the secretary,
phone 03 572 9149 or email
[email protected]
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