The Wonder of Wool by Justine Lee & Jess Morency
Where did you grow up? Was there anyone that influenced your interest in wool, sheep and knitting?
I grew up in Birmingham city centre and volunteered at my local city farm, Cannon Hill Nature Centre, where I looked after a couple of Soay and Jacob sheep. This inspired me to understand more about sheep. My Gran was a good knitter and taught me how to knit when I was about 8 years old, and I started knitting my own designs when I reached 16 years old.
What was your route within the fashion industry and where did that take you?
After Levels, I took a foundation course in art and design. Textiles and fashion were the two subjects that I enjoyed the most. When I started to visit Universities for my degree course, I stumbled on a knitwear degree at Nottingham that was a 4-year course with a year in industry, it also boasted 100% employment, which at that time in the late 80’s was an attractive plus. Luckily, I was offered a place and subsequently ended up in the fashion knitwear industry, starting in the Scotland working for Ballantyne Knitwear, Pure Cashmere, and Hodgsons of Scotland. Later, I worked in fast fashion for Yumi, which took me to China, India, and Nepal, this was followed by stints designing ranges for White Stuff, Austin Reed and Laura Ashley.
Tell us more about why you decided to change direction?
While working for Laura Ashley, a friend gave me a book called Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas, which I read while on a work trip. This really opened my eyes to the devastation the textile industry has caused by the planet, and I felt I could not continue turning a blind eye.
I decided to return to Uni and study sustainable textiles, taking a 1-year MA at UAL – Chelsea. Here I researched our local fibre, Wool, as we have just over 20 million sheep. Each year, their fleece is sheared and is available as a great fibre. I discovered by setting myself a challenge of knitting each breed, that some sheep have softer fleeces than others, and was rather disheartened to find that the wool board blended the fleece, so there was no outlet I could find the fleece or yarn. This is when I have to learn how to spin!
Wool …what is it that you love about it?
Well is it a wonder fibre, I love the natural colours of the many breeds, I love the diversity of textures within these breeds, and I have a few favourite wool sweaters that just keep looking good, year after year, unlike the synthetic versions that look baggy and pilled in less than a year.
Share with us a special back story behind the book?
The book came about at a craft show, called Handmade, where I show my knitwear range each year. A lady came on the stand and placed an order for a commission knit in a grey Cheviot yarn. Part of my service is to offer a fitting to make sure the customer is happy with the length, etc. So Jess Morency came to my studio. After seeing all my research, she declared I should write a book. Due to being dyslexic, I said this was not really possible, so she offered to help me and we decided to become co-authors. I designed the knitting patterns, created the illustrations and designed the layout. My husband, Tom Lee, took all the fabulous photographs and Jess was responsible for the writing. Jess pitched this to some publishers and I think that David and Charles were among the third publishers we tried so we were both delighted when they agreed to publish it. One year later, the book, The Wonder of Wool was finished.
Your favourite breed and why?
Castlemilk Moorit – They are the prettiest sheep, they have lovely soft fleece which is a beautiful nutmeg colour. I also like the Portland that has an exceptional fleece, a warm cream colour.
What do you hope the readers of The Wonder of Wool will take from the book?
That the 60+ pure breeds of sheep are all worth saving and by doing so we can help support the farmers and also give the fashion knitwear industry a new lease of life with these ancient breeds, all with a unique story of survival.
What’s next?
I will continue to show case the beauty of these wools by producing unique designs of garments and home accessories, also run a second year of the London City Farm Yarn project which has been a huge success, and maybe another book in the pipeline?
