During our stay in Wales we were told that there was a historical woollen mill within walking distance of our cottage, in the village of Dre-fach Felindre (don't ask I don't know how you say it) in the beautiful Teifi Valley, which was once the centre of a thriving woollen industry, earning the nickname 'The Huddersfield of Wales'.
As a child I vaugley remember being taken to a ribbon mill in Stoke-on-Trent were my Auntie worked. I was mesmerised by the old wooden looms clattering and banging and producing the most exquisite ribbon. I still have some of that ribbon to this day, whenever I look at it I think that there is probably nowhere in this country that makes this sort of ribbon anymore.
So off we went to discover the mill, it bought back memories I didn't even know I had. The beautiful wooden machines and the smell that goes with something so industrial but makes something so beautiful. I now think that this my reason for liking wood and metal together so much in industrial style furniture. Isn't it strange how things stay with you from a very early age without you even knowing?
Here are just a few of the amazing things we found inside the Wollen Mill, the noise and smell of the place was fantastic but you will have to imagine that I'm afraid.
Worth a look in if you are ever in that area.
Did I buy one of the beautiful blankets? No I didn't, as beautiful as they are they are too itchy for me, I'll stick to my quilts.