30 Jun, 2023
Wilmores Bluff wool is slow fashion at it's finest. That is what Mandy and Carl Cooper strive for, having developed this product over three (3) years. From paddock to store, these woollen products are ethically sourced, Tamar Valley grown and made with precision, care and Tasmanian love.
Wilmore's Bluff boasts picturesque Tasmanian sunsets that span 500 acres along the Tamar Valley River. It is home to Mandy and Carl Cooper, both of who returned to their island home of Tasmania in 2015 with a new professional trajectory - to create homegrown, Tasmanian wool products. This was a far cry from the Cooper's lives on the mainland, where they devoted their professional time to their local area as community pharmacists. Perhaps fitting, it was a similar retirement plan for the mob of Cormo sheep that made
their way from family, Jamie and Jessica Downie's property of "Dungrove" to the milder weather of the north coast. This original mob of Cormo sheep, purchased in 2019, was the start of the journey to make your woollen product. In 2021 Carl signed up to improve his farm management skills with a Healthy Livestock skillset from RuralBiz Training (This training was subsidised by the Department of State Growth, Tasmania) and has continued his studies towards a Diploma of Agriculture.
Cormo sheep have a history in Tasmania. These sheep were first developed in the Tasmanian Central Highlands; back in 1959, the first flock of lambs were born onto lan Downie's property, located near Bothwell. Cormo sheep are the perfect cross of fine woollen, Saxon merino and the stockier, dual purpose, meat and wool breed known as Corriedale. Having first been developed in Tasmania, the breed is now found all around Australia and in at least, nine (9) different overseas countries.
Cormo sheep have a history in Tasmania and we hope a long history at Wilmore's Bluff. From the Cooper's original flock, crossbred lambs were born and their wool makes up our woollen products available to you. Equipped with a course in wool classing, learned at TAFE Tasmania, Mandy Cooper classed the wool herself. The two (2) bales, totalling 390kg, were taken via the Spirit of Tasmania to EP Robinson Pty Ltd in Geelong for scouring, then to Cashmere Connections in Bacchus Marsh in Melbourne for further processing. Not long
after, the wool made it's return trip back to Rowella, Tasmania.
The vision of slow, ethical and fine products was not lost at Waverley Woollen Mills where the wool was turned into product. Waverley Woollen Mill is Australia's oldest working textile mill, having been established in 1874. As you will notice, each item retains its natural wool colour, something important to the Coopers, in that the fine Tasmanian wool is the star of the show.View the Cooper Cormo range here: https://waverleymills.com/collections/coopers-cormo
Congratulations Carl & Mandy, what a product to grow!
