Isobel Davies is no Little Bo Peep, yet, this longstanding vegetarian businesswoman rescued 420 sheep from slaughter in order to start her own cruelty free wool collection in 2006. A British lady through and through, Davies knows her classics but has a modern eye and a taste for comfort. What that means for us is alluring coats, feminine suits and everything you need to stay warm in style: elegant wrap cardigans, tailored box jackets, long V-neck sweaters and cozy oversized scarves. Davies’ latest creation is a range of desirable animal free handmade shoes.

 

The company’s flock of Wensleydale and Shetland sheep comprise mainly of animals that would have been sent to slaughter for being male, missing a pregnancy, being a little lame, being too small, too old or simply having imperfections such as a black spot in a white fleece. Izzy ends up paying equal, if not more to save them as she aims to prove an economic model whereby sheep can live and be valuable without becoming meat and there is a counter on the website to show how many sheep are saved - currently over 500.  The knitwear is made with the lustrous, kemp-free fleece of the Wensleydale sheep, an endangered breed, numbering only around 1800 in the world. Meanwhile the dresses, skirts and jackets are made from the super-fine fleece of the rare and primitive Shetland sheep, used undyed in their beautiful natural colours. The cashmere garments are made from the fibre of only Scottish cashmere goats rather than imported Asian fibres.Izzy lane’s wool is woven and dyed using the last of 51 Victorian worsted spinners, that have been operating for over 100 years and one of the last dyers in the nearby Bradford area. Buttons come from the last mother of pearl button maker in England and the items are each cut and hand-assembled by a traditional tailor in the Welsh valleys. Meanwhile the knit items are created by a team of Yorkshire based knitters.