The Worshipful Company of Woolmen and the Company of the Merchants of the Staple of England are pleased to announce that the 2019 annual Wool Innovation Prize has been awarded to Sarah Turner, founder of Little Beau Sheep Ltd.

Little Beau Sheep Ltd was launched in 2015. The brand celebrates the best of British wool through a unique range of hand-made laundry and body care products. From signature wool laundry dryer balls to felted wool soaps and laundry fragrance, the collection offers an innovative eco-friendly take on everyday cleaning tasks. 

Products are sold through mainly its website www.littlebeausheep.com and via partners.  Since its launch, the business has grown from strength to strength but is now facing a huge capacity challenge as Sarah’s laundry balls are all hand made.  The £10,000 award from both livery Companies will fund her the design

and manufacture of her own unique Wool Ball Making and Lint Removal Machine, which will allow her to develop business growth with increased demand for her products.

Robert Hall, Chairman of the of the Staple’s charitable trust commented: “We  are delighted to award Little Beau Sheep our 2019 Wool Innovation Award, which we hope can help Sarah drive further growth in the business. She has exciting plans in the pipeline for her business and we are immensely proud to support her.”

Peter Hullah, Chairman of the Worshipful Company of Woolmen Charity Committee, added: “The Woolmen are delighted to be working in partnership with the Staple to award this significant prize. Sarah is a worthy winner and we look forward to supporting her as she takes her innovative business, which focusses on putting wool to good use, to the next level commercially.

“The Wool Innovation Prize is an annual award available to the individual who shows the most innovative use of wool in any commercially viable application. As an institution, we aim to drive wool innovation in the UK and support British craft. Sarah’s business really impressed us. It combines the use of wool in every day products whilst allowing consumers to be more eco-friendly”, noted Peter Ackroyd, member of the Woolmen and COO of HRH The Prince of Wales’ Campaign for Wool. 

Accepting the award Sarah said, ” At Little Beau Sheep, we are at the start of an exciting journey. This prestigious prize will allow me to develop the work I have begun using British Wools and to help me develop machinery to automate the production of my laundry products.”