In praise of hand shearing for that extra special touch

David Cummins-Egan meets a sheep keeper, blade shearer and spinner

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In 2019, Bec Briar from The Woven Briar based in Taunton, started with a small flock of Portlands and Shetlands. Since then, she has grown her flock to over 60 animals that include Icelandic, Exmoor Horn and other cross breeds all of which possess excellent fleece quality and colours. As well as using fleeces from her own flock, Bec also buys in blade shorn fleeces from the South West. This allows smallholders and breeders who choose to blade shear their sheep to obtain the best quality fleece from their sheep, which subsequently, enables them to make a profit from the wool. This end result allows Bec to use the wool for her own spinning and weaving as well as providing the opportunity of selling it to people who want to know the provenance and welfare of the wool that they are purchasing. As we are fortunate to have so many breeds to choose from here in the UK, the choice of end product fleece is vast. Bec took the time out of her day to share her reasoning on how she chooses specific breeds for her own individual choices.