Badger (the artist, Howard Hardiman) and Vole (Tim Morrison, writer and facilitator) are a couple who have spent lockdown spinning and weaving at their home in Burness, Sanday.

The windows display features some of Howard’s art and their collective carding, spinning and weaving. Work featured including a fine cow portrait and scarves featuring home produced wool in the Orkney colours. Work can be purchased from their website and etsy shop – badgerandvole.scot. 

They are able to carry out the whole wool working produce from rolling the fleece post shearing to cutting the finished piece from the loom.

Howard said,

‘There is something wonderful about using the oldest technology we have. I love the drop sipindle.  It feels like an antithesis to the waste culture that just churns out an ever increasing volume of identical items that are made from oil.

Tim said, 

‘Wool is a waste product these days and it is thrilling to take a fleece from sheep we know well and turn it into a beautiful and useful item. Most of the fleece we card, spin and blend originates in Sanday although we do some get some from North Ronaldsay and south in  Scotland.

The display runs from the 24th April – 7th May 2021 in the windows of NorthLight gallery, Stromness.