Milestones

Lesley and Roger outside their first unit under the famous Harlech Castle

"Time goes by so fast....where did all the years go....it’s May already, almost half way through the year and before you know it, it will be Christmas;  the older we get the faster time seems to go by."

It doesn’t of course; it just seems like that........doesn’t it just.

And I suppose we create milestones along the way to record that passage of time, like so called, big birthdays, 40, 50, 60 and so on.  Well, Baavet has reached another milestone.

It’s hard to remember how we managed to work in three small factory units in Harlech for all those years before moving our main operation to bigger premises in Porthmadog.  Then with the help of a government grant we were able to buy the machinery we needed to make the whole process from wool to duvets right here.  It actually feels like we have always been in Porthmadog, although we still make our pillows and pet beds a few miles away in Harlech.

It’s also hard to believe it’s been four years since Covid hit.  Turning the world upside down and having us question whether we could keep afloat.  We had to tell our team we could only survive and pay them for a month if the business stopped.  But everyone was great and decided they would somehow soldier on; and we did.  And thanks to the general public continuing to shop on the internet, plus the couriers who turned up to ferry your Baavets, we managed to survive those difficult times.

And so you shouldn’t be surprised when I say it’s now been 15 years since Lesley uttered the immortal words, mainly in jest I would add.
 “You can’t call it a wool duvet, it sounds heavy, itchy and old fashioned, we need to call it something else.... let’s call it ........a Baavet.”

With that, not only was the concept born, and by giving this inanimate object a name, we almost created a personality. Then when our, now famous, sheepy logo came along a few months later (thanks to Richard Mackney), it really did take on a personality of its own.  In case you wondered; and some do ask,  she's a ewe.

Lesley, Roger, their two Border Collies Gwen & Moss with the very first Baavets.

So here we are 15 years later, having achieved a significant milestone.  I really can’t believe it’s been this long, until I think back on the roller coaster journey from an initial idea to a manufactured item.

And without any manufacturing experience on our part!  Talk about a huge learning curve.  But we did get a lot of help along the way, especially when people realised we were trying to create a genuine British product, using local wool.

Roger and Lesley building the first work tables.

So did we plan all this, did we have any idea where this would lead?  Of course not.  We just wanted to diversify into a small enterprise as another source of income for the farm, as well as to use our wool.

It may come as a surprise but in those early days we didn’t even understand just how amazing wool is. That’s farmers for you, just enough time keep the sheep, shear the wool in the summer, then send it to someone else to process it.  But now we are here to help tell the story.

We thought, as a very 'natural product', we could use that to market a ‘natural duvet’.  In fact on our very first website we emphasised that point not realising the other amazing qualities of wool. Natural for sure, but also sustainable, breathable, temperature regulating, hypoallergenic and so on.

We are still on the farm, although we only do the maintenance work now.  Things like fencing, clearing bracken, brambles and occasional stone walling.  It’s amazing how much there is to do on nearly 100 acres.  We still have sheep and the wool still goes to Baavet. Plus we have cattle too, it’s just we no longer have to worry about the responsibility of them.

In fact we now have more time to get everything done on the farm because we have a great team at Baavet. Josh heads the production; Ellie is in charge of the office; and we have my son Christian helping out with content, podcasting and videoing. Leaving Lesley running the finances while I concentrate on advertising, and of course writing things like this... Mainly story telling!

Some of the Baavet team

So what of the future for Baavet?  Obviously we want to stay in business. So we would like to offer more British made, natural bedding and products.  But we are having great difficulty in finding products that match our values. But we keep searching.

Our next project is to trial blade shearing with some of our local farmers. That’s using century’s old hand shears instead of electric shears. It’s slower but looks better for the sheep. We are also keen to keep these heritage crafts alive. This can preserve cultural identity and traditional knowledge, support local economies and promote sustainability.

Here is friend of Baavet, farmer and amazing blade shearer Gareth Owen.

We are in the process of sponsoring a Welsh blade shearing competition up here in North Wales.  It's on a mountain farm not far from Snowdon itself, or as it should now be called by its Welsh name of Yr Wyddfa. Pronounced "air WITH-vah".

[Digressing slightly into history, the name Snowdon, for the mountain, and subsequently the name of the national park, Snowdonia, was the creation of the early Victorian visitors to the area. They even called Snowdonia, ‘Britain’s Alps.’ They obviously didn’t go north of the border very much. Most of the great houses here, (which have often become hotels and guest houses in modern times), were all built around this period when the nuevo riche industrialists used the new rail network to quickly access, what had been before, a previously isolated, wild and desolate land. One of these people even built a horse drawn tramway from the railway station to his rural retreat.]

So that’s the first 15 years of ups and downs.....but mostly ups!

On a personal note I was beginning to suffer from the ravages of old age with knees so damaged I could hardly go for a dog walk at times; mainly due to old sport injuries.  But now, thanks to a successful knee replacement operation on the worst knee, I'm back out in the mountains and even rock climbing again.  Plus having had cataracts removed from my eyes, I no longer need glasses. I feel positively bionic!  It’s certainly given me a new zest for life. 

In the hills - Me, Josh, Lesley, Ellie, plus Gem, the new Baavet mascot & part time sheep dog.

Thank you again for reading and supporting the Baavet Team and our farmers.

Here’s to the next 15 years!

Roger

(Co-Founder of Baavet.co.uk)

& Christian (Son of Roger who added some media and hit send)