WOOL thREADY gathering

The recording of the event is available to watch here.

The WOOLthREADY gathering will bring together selected individuals from Greece, Poland, and Slovenia. Although they come from different environments and generations, they are united by a shared desire to revive and preserve traditional wool production - from researching archives and reviving forgotten knowledge through writing manuals, building communities and empowering local artisans, establishing small-scale production lines, founding a foundation, to developing a project focused on creating products from endangered breeds. Their inspiring stories prove that, despite numerous challenges, the changes necessary to preserve the knowledge of our ancestors are possible.

The speakers will focus on local wool and the disappearing production space. They will highlight the decline of local wool production, the lack of infrastructure at the European level, the undervaluation of raw wool, and the challenges breeders face in their work. The meeting will emphasize the urgent need to re-establish individual phases of wool production, while also creating space to acknowledge the contributions of everyone involved in the process. In the concluding discussion following the presentations, we will explore how the cultivation and use of local indigenous wool can be strengthened through collaboration between shepherds, artisans, artists, designers, and local industry.

Speakers Introduction:

Kati Sekirnik is the co-author of the handbook From Fleece to Wool Yarn: An Overview of the Development of Sheep Farming and Spinning in the Škofja Loka Area, which was published in cooperation with the Loški Museum Škofja Loka. She is the head of the Arts & Crafts Centre DUO Škofja Loka (Development Agency Sora), which provides a supportive environment for the preservation and development of crafts in the Škofja Loka region. The Craft Centre fulfills its mission through various fields of activity, from networking and building a community of artisans, ensuring the sustainable development of crafts, producing exhibitions and events, to documenting craft knowledge and skills. Within this framework, the centre has developed craft manuals that focus on individual craft branches or materials and serve as learning tools. The content of each manual is placed within an ethnological-historical context, and through text, photography, and video, the processes of material treatment and the production of final products are thoroughly documented. At the same time, they represent an important documentary source.

Handbook From Fleece to Wool Yarn: An Overview of the Development of Sheep Farming and Spinning in the Škofja Loka Area:
https://www.centerduo.eu/3d-flip-book/prirocnik-volna/

In 2002, driven by the desire to learn weaving, Lena Katarina Gerothanasi visited Zagori in Epirus in northwestern Greece. Her visit is still ongoing, and since then her mission has been working with sheep’s wool. The village women of the older generation became her teachers, passing on to her the knowledge of the entire wool-processing cycle — from fleece to the finished product. In her work, she weaves with local mountain wool and conducts practical demonstrations of weaving and felting for schools and visitors. With the aim of connecting tourism with craftsmanship and wool, she opened a boutique guesthouse with a studio in 2015. A year later, she collected a ton of wool for the production of Greek yarn. A particularly important milestone came in 2021, when together with like-minded farmers, artisans, and scientists, she co-founded The Pokari Project. The project is dedicated to restoring the identity of Greek wool. By establishing a small-scale production line, they aim to once again produce sustainable Greek yarn from endangered indigenous sheep breeds. In 2025, as part of the project, they purchased a spinning mill dating back to the 1970s. Among their favorite activities is the traditional gathering of wool enthusiasts, organized each July. https://thepokariproject.gr/en/

Kresna Dara Valečič is a conservation biology student working at the intersection of biodiversity and traditional knowledge, particularly in crafts and wool. Her thesis examines the current state of wool in Slovenia and explores how farmers, artisans, and legislation influence its use, marginalization, and neglect. Beyond academic research, she develops hands-on craft projects using locally sourced wool, closely connected to indigenous sheep breeds and shepherds who maintain grassland ecosystems. Her work investigates how rooted local craft practices support cultural landscapes, with a focus on preserving traditional wool-related knowledge.

The Kashubian Wool Manufacture Foundation, founded in 2018 by Marta Sznajder and Sebastian Gręplarz, preserves traditional wool crafts through spinning and carding. They process sheep and alpaca wool from animals raised in Poland, creating combed wool ready for spinning. Their approach is entirely natural — from cleaning fleece to carding - with no industrial processes. They focus on traditional techniques and conscious craftsmanship, producing high-quality yarn, combed wool, and small handmade items from ethically sourced local fleece. Beyond production, they breed alpacas for both their valuable fleece and for therapy, and actively participate in fairs and craft markets, showcasing their products and offering hands-on workshops in wool processing. https://www.manufaktura-welny.pl/ 

Tončka Jankovič, a craftswoman from White Carniola, creates wool products using the sheep’s wool of the native White Carniola breed. She shares her extensive knowledge and passion for working with wool through workshops and at numerous fairs both in Slovenia and abroad. She is also a co-founder of the House of Stories and Old Knowledge, where visitors are introduced interactively to the traditional lifestyle and customs of White Carniola. Among other activities, they demonstrate the cultivation of flax, hemp, and wool, and the use of these materials to produce clothing, household textiles (bedding, tablecloths, curtains, etc.), and other functional items. Through her work and dedication, Tončka spreads knowledge about wool production and its applications to a wide and diverse audience. She plays an important role in preserving and reviving traditional skills that are fading into obscurity while raising awareness of the value and many benefits of wool.

The event will be held in English.