MEMBER PROFILE
Paula Topping
Paula Topping joined The Wool Clip in 2025. She also trades as The Felted Fleece from her smallholding up in the North Pennines at Alston where she has a flock of Teeswater sheep, a breed known for its soft and curly fleece.
An engineer by training, Paula and her husband bought Low Park in January 2019 with the aim of creating a sustainable home and small business. The Felted Fleece is the result of her love of Teeswater wool (and sheep) and her determination to use this gorgeous “curly” fleece to create something saleable and special with minimum environmental and animal impacts.
Felting a clipped fleece creates a woollen felt backing that shapes and shows off the fleece’s natural properties. As well as her own Teeswater fleeces, Paula also felts fleeces from other farmers and native breeds, making the most of the wool of about 40 fleeces each year.
Described as rugs, Paula’s fleeces are also great for outdoor seating or as throws over sofas, and she is exploring other uses of her fleece, including woollen wreaths for Christmas and other items.
