Meet and Greet: Trunk Show and British Wool/WYS

A unique experience for you! May 8, 2024 from 6- 9 p.m.

Sarah and Danielle will be bringing a special trunk show collection of garments including:
• Bo Peep collection
• Sarah’s new accessories collection (6 pieces in Croft DK and Aran)
• The Way of Life collection (in Croft DK)
• Select garments in Fleece BFL DK and a “sneak peek” new design.

Danielle presents the British Wool story (https://www.britishwool.org.uk) which is fascinating as well as a look behind the scenes at West Yorkshire Spinners. British Wool is a cooperative owned by 35,000 sheep farmers in the UK. British Wool collects, grades, markets and sells British wool on behalf of the farmers to the international wool textile industry, including the wool tops that WYS uses to spin their beautiful yarns. This is truly a farm to spinner story.

Attendees will receive a 15% discount for any West Yorkshire Spinner yarns made available at the Trunk Show.

About Sarah:
Sarah was born in St. Albans, England and spent the early part of her life based in Hertfordshire. Taught to knit at the age of five, Sarah has always had a love of textiles and had a passion for dressing up as a child.

Having completed an art foundation course close to home she moved to Yorkshire to complete a degree in Fashion Design at Bretton Hall College, part of the University of Leeds.

Immediately after graduating, Sarah was offered her first job as a designer with a hand knit company. It was here she got to develop her skills in knitting, pattern writing and design. Sarah prides herself on the fact that since graduating she has always worked in the hand knitting industry.

Sarah’s inspiration has a tendency to be around garment shapes and she rarely works in more than one colour yet produces amazing wearable garments that explore and push the boundaries of shape and texture. Sarah is well known for her wearable garment designs with the innovative use of shape and texture.

Sarah has produced many collections for West Yorkshire Spinners including her most recent “The Croft – A Way of Life”, “Fleece – Family Collection”, “Fleece Bluefaced Leiceister DK – Riverside Collection” and “The Croft Aran – Shetland Colours”. You can find her on Instagram as “hattonknits”

About Danielle:
Danielle was born and bred in England but has Irish ancestry and has enjoyed a creative career for the past 30 years. First as a dancer, Danielle spent 11 years touring the US, Asia, and Europe as the lead dancer in an International Irish dance show. When it was time to hang up the dancing shoes, she decided to train as a costume designer and was honored to be offered a place at the prestigious University of the Arts (UAL) London
where she honed her skills in tailoring and pattern cutting.

Specializing in hand embroidery and specifically goldwork, Danielle produced historical garments for exhibitions such as The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace as well as designs for many theatres, TV and film productions including The Lion King and Peaky Blinders.

Danielle’s passion for knitting and crochet started early as she was taught to knit by her mum at a very young age. She designed knitwear for television and film using both hand knit and machine knitting. Having always admired the fact that WYS is one of the last few remaining worsted spinning mills in the UK, Danielle joined the creative team at West Yorkshire Spinners in 2018. As part of her role, she enjoys helping to develop new yarns
and colorways, researching new trends, creating exciting designs and working with the British Wool Board to ensure selection of the finest quality fibers for WYS yarns.

Valuing the preservation of heritage skillsets such as spinning, hand knitting and crochet, Danielle is an advocate for sustainability and the use of natural fibers in the craft industry.