The World Wool Forum: From Bonnytoun to Rome
This October, we swapped mucky boots for olive groves, travelling from our farm in Linlithgow to the hills outside Rome for the World Wool Forum — a global gathering celebrating wool, craft, and sustainability. Hosted by the World Hope Forum, the international platform founded by trend forecaster Li Edelkoort and curator Phillip Fimmano, and held at the organic farm of Ilaria Venturini Fendi with Isabella Rossellini as co-host, it was an unforgettable few days of conversation, connection, and shared passion for the fibre we love most.
Funny how things turn out. One minute we’re out on the fields at Bonnytoun, helping with this year’s haylage, boots muddy, collies at our heels. The next, we’re standing on the olive-lined paths of Casali del Pino, the organic farm of Ilaria Venturini Fendi, just outside Rome, for the World Wool Forum.
It’s amazing how wool and craftsmanship can blur worlds and connect them, how the same fibre that keeps us warm here in Scotland can bring people together from every corner of the globe.
The three-day event, part of the World Hope Forum founded by Li Edelkoort and Phillip Fimmano, was hosted alongside activist, farmer, and actress Isabella Rossellini, and Ilaria Venturini Fendi of the Fendi fashion house, with Elettra Wiedemann — Isabella’s daughter — bringing her creative energy as the force behind the regenerative Mama Farm.
From Mongolia to Ireland, designers and makers came together to share their stories of wool’s place in culture, ecology, and craft. What magic, to be in a space where the focus was simply to pause and marvel at how this one humble material can be shaped into so many beautiful things, by so many brilliant minds, spanning continents.
We (Ben and I) were invited to share our story from Bonnytoun Farm, how regenerative farming and traditional making live side by side, and how our Shetland flock, the soil beneath them, and the old Dubied knitting machines in our stone cottage studio are all part of one continuous circle. Ben spoke about the rhythm of the land: rebuilding the soil, nurturing biodiversity, and caring for the flock that makes it all possible. I spoke about the beginnings of Future Vintage, and why bringing value back to wool — to the fibre itself, to the people who work with it, and to the animals who grow it — still feels so vital today.
Then on Sunday 19 October, we joined the online World Hope Forum session to continue the conversation (recording above!) — hearing from other speakers and makers from across the world, all connected by the same thread: a deep respect for the natural world and the materials it gives us.
It was a true privilege to be in the company of so many kindred spirits — designers, makers, and thinkers who share the same respect for natural materials and slow careful production. Each brought something remarkable to the conversation: Oyuna, Reina Ovinge, Bláthnaid Gallagher, Sabrina Stadlober, Pascale Gatzen, Cynthia Hathaway, Anna Zegna, Daniel Harris, Frances van Hasselt, Manteco, and many others whose work continues to inspire us. To spend time among people who see wool not just as a material, but as a living connection between land, craft, and culture, was a reminder of why we do what we do.
Since returning home, I’ve been honoured to take on a new role as Scottish Ambassador for the World Hope Forum — representing Scotland’s wool community within an international network of designers, farmers, and innovators who believe in circular design, heritage, and the future of natural fibres. It’s a role that feels both humbling and hopeful; a chance to share the beauty and depth of Scottish wool on a wider stage, while learning from others who are equally committed to making change from the ground up.
Back at Bonnytoun, the sheep are grazing quietly again, the Woolery is humming, and we’ve settled back into our everyday rhythm — but with hearts full and minds buzzing from the experience. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing a few snaps from the event, and perhaps taking a moment to watch the recordings from all of the makers — they capture the spirit of those days far better than words ever could.
To have carried our small Scottish story to Rome, and to have it met with such warmth and understanding, feels like another stitch in a much larger tapestry, one that connects all of us who believe in the enduring power of wool.
With warmth and wool,
Lindsay x
