This woman’s name is Laurence Ferrara. She is from Lucéram, a village where she set up her wool spinning workshop. With Laurence, an ancient craft comes back to life. To learn more, she opened the doors of her workshop to us.
Nice-Premium: Good morning, Laurence. But tell us, what are you doing right now?
Laurence Ferrara: Well, I am spinning wool on my spinning wheel, and for that, I use sheep’s fleece or other fiber-producing animals, either already prepared like here in the form of roving or from raw fleeces that I wash and then card. Carding consists of laying the fibers next to each other using a carding machine.
N-P: It’s very rare today to see a spinning wheel in operation, isn’t it?
L.F.: Yes, it’s a process that our grandmothers used when industrial spinning mills did not yet exist. It was the only way to transform sheep’s fleece into yarn for then knitting clothes.
Nowadays, the enthusiasm for handicrafts and the return to basics has brought back these wonderful little machines. There are only a handful of us today, passionate like me and determined to revive these ancient gestures.
N-P: How did you learn the craft of “spinning”?
L.F.: The magic of the internet allowed me to get started with spinning. My research led me to discover a French forum on spinning, called TRICOFLOK, hosted by Sandrine. It offers all the advice from experienced spinners, everyone’s methods. One starts as best one can because we are not always close enough to meet. So, I continued my research to find a spinning course. The TIRELAINE Association helped me fulfill my dream. Catherine, the instructor, was wonderful during the three days of the course and, funnily enough, after she instructed me schematically on how a spinning wheel works, I moved on to practice. Fiber in hand, the wheel spinning, the yarn appeared magically at my fingertips. That’s when Catherine asked, “How long have you been spinning, Laurence?” I replied, “About 30 seconds.” Catherine burst out laughing, astonished by the consistency of my yarn. I then realized that spinning had always been in me, like a second nature.
N-P: And then spinning became your passion… Specifically, what excites you about this artisanal craft?
L.F.: It’s difficult and easy at the same time to tell you why I’m passionate. I am completely myself when I spin. But I believe I also express my alignment with nature when I spin. This close link that brings us closer to our nurturing earth. Too much modernity kills our roots and the story of our existence. We pass by sheep seeing only the carcasses of meat that will fill our plates, but forget they warm our winters with their beautiful fleece. If we paused for a moment and looked around, we would realize that Mother Nature gives us everything we need.
N-P: Did particular encounters lead you toward wool?
L.F.: Wool came to me on its own. From the age of 10, I was knitting my first sweater. Years later and dozens of knits later, I felt I had to delve deeper. A calling, I don’t know how to describe it; your fingers want more than just a ready-made ball of yarn.
N-P: Speaking of encounters, has there been one that particularly marked you? For instance, at a fair.
L.F.: As I said, encounters among spinners are rare because on the forum we are often spread far apart. But sometimes life decides otherwise, and it was at a fair, specifically at the Fête de la laine in GUILLAUME (06), that I met Sandrine, a forum member, whose face I immediately recognized from the forum. A wonderful meeting. She lives in the 04 not far from the 06 border. We exchanged so much that day and since then we have maintained regular weekly contact. She’s a generous, vibrant, no-frills person, a friend as I love them.
N-P: As a child, it seems that you were already playing with needles while others played with marbles, right? A “family initiation”?
L.F.: Yes, I must say that my family environment contributed a lot to this passion. Two grandmothers who were knitters, how could I not catch the virus. Each initiated me in her way. To tell you with which of the two I progressed most, I’;m unsure; my memories take me back to Sundays or school holidays, sitting studiously, knitting stitch by stitch, correcting mistake after mistake. A doll’s scarf here, a doll’s scarf there, and I was already learning to increase stitches. I must have held my first needles around the age of six or seven.
N-P: But was “knitting” the career you imagined as a child?
L.F.: Yes and no. Knitting in particular, no, but I wanted to be a fashion designer, so creating clothing was already a must. I imagined myself at the top of the marquee with my own creations. I guess I would have created also in the world of knitting.
N-P: You followed “the thread” of university studies?
L.F.: Not at all. My parents didn’t believe in my passion for fashion design and encouraged me to pursue the baccalaureate. A frustrated enthusiast, I failed my bac. As the years passed, I had to make a living and I entered the public service. Seventeen years of active service later and three lovely daughters, I retired and immersed myself in manual work, especially knitting.
N-P: So today, not only do you knit, but you knit your own wool. Has the dream been realized?
L.F.: Yes, the dream is finally coming true, I make it more and more concrete every day.
N-P: And in 2009, a company was also established!
L.F.: That’s right, it’s like a second birth. CAPE’LAINE was founded last January 7th. An artisan spinner listed as “Textile Fiber Preparation and Spinning.” What pride!
N-P: Not to mention a workshop at home?
L.F.: Yes, renovation work is underway and it should finally be ready in February. A space exclusively dedicated to the art of spinning. Demonstrations and courses are on the schedule.
N-P: And by the way, how is the wool market doing?
L.F.: Some would tell you it’s bad. Normal, in times of crisis, everything goes wrong. But the wool market is doing quite well. But I want to clarify the market for real wool, not synthetic fibers. Regardless of budgets, people are returning to natural products. Even if hand-spun wool seems more expensive than an industrial production yarn, customers are not mistaken. This clientele, the one that seeks the true, the natural, has always been there but has been accustomed to something else for decades. It’s up to us to win them back and tell them that we are back, that they can count on us.
N-P: And to finish, to all those who say that wool “itches,” what do you respond?
L.F.: True and false. But I will keep a bit of a secret by simply telling you to come see me at my studio and I will share all the secrets of wool with you.
