Agnete Samdahl, a textile designer based on a remote sheep farm in the Scottish Borders, is revitalizing the traditional craft of wool felt through her business, Unspun. Her studio, housed in an 18th-century mill, is equipped with custom-designed machinery where she produces large-scale wool felt rugs and tapestries that combine artistic design with functional benefits such as insulation and soundproofing.
Inspired by natural elements like quartz veins, sunsets, and heather hills, Samdahl’s creations serve both aesthetic and practical purposes. In her own stone-floored home, she found that installing her wool felt pieces significantly reduced echo and reverberation, improving the acoustics in spaces that had previously felt noisy with multiple occupants. The felt hangings also provide thermal insulation. Currently, she is developing sliding wool felt panels to cover single-glazed windows, which improve heat retention while doubling as abstract artworks when open.
Originally from Oslo, Norway, where knitting is a common tradition, Samdahl discovered hand felt-making through her godmother. After moving to the UK 30 years ago for a communications career, she maintained her passion for felt-making on the side. What began as a small enterprise in Oxfordshire before the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into a significant revival of pressed wool felt with integrated design elements.
Wool felt is valued for its durability, flame resistance, and insulating properties. The technique has ancient origins in Mongolia and Siberia, where felt was used to create a variety of items including clothing and horse blankets. In the West, the Industrial Revolution saw the development of a commercial felt industry for applications such as machinery gaskets, filters, insulation, and piano hammers. However, the last dedicated wool felt production facility in the UK closed in the 1980s, presenting challenges for Samdahl in sourcing both machinery and manufacturing capacity.
Her solution came when she discovered a 1901 patent for a wool milling machine. Partnering with a local engineering firm, she had an adapted version installed in her barn studio. The production process involves carding wool fibers into an even wool batt, onto which Samdahl hand-lays colored designs. The wool batt is then treated with water, heat, friction, and pressure to felt the fibers together. Subsequent steps include beating the felt to increase density and stretching and steam-pressing it on tenterhooks. Samdahl describes making felt as akin to painting, where corrections are not possible and the material naturally avoids straight lines, resulting in dynamic, organic forms.
She uses only natural fibers such as cashmere, silk, alpaca, lamb’s wool, and the rougher Cheviot wool native to her local landscape. Her clientele mainly consists of private individuals from the UK, Norway, and the United States who commission bespoke pieces tailored to their taste—ranging from bold focal points to subtle background accents.
Lead times for commissioned work typically span four to eight weeks, with ready-made collections priced starting at around £500 per meter. Samdahl’s blend of artistic creativity and functional craftsmanship underscores a contemporary resurgence of an ancient textile tradition adapted to modern interior needs.