FELT SOFT

With the textile industry being responsible for so much of the world’s pollution, poverty and – on quite a superficial level – poorly thought-out design, it feels rather magical hearing about Beatrice Waander’s woollen operation. Her label ‘The Soft World’ uses wool sourced from hobby farmers and old heritage sheep flocks throughout The Netherlands, meaning that even before the making process has begun she has sourced wool with inherent variety and attributes not always found in commercially farmed wools. Furthermore, by buying into these lesser-known wool traders, she is also helping to sustain rare breeds, such as English Wensleydale Longwool, Blue Faced Leicester, and Swedish Gotland Pels. That is one thing. Waanders has also come up with the truly innovative process of felting raw, undyed wool with other fibres, including angora, alpaca, silk and cashmere. The end result is a lovely haze of colours ranging from white, to grey to brown. Ecologically, socially (perhaps not pocket) friendly, The Soft World is a rather wonderful one, whose collection ranges from cushions to specialist project collaborations with architects and interior designers. Her pieces are tightly felted on the reverse, but retain the loose texture of the fleece on the front. www.thesoftworld.com

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