Herdy in the News

Herdy® is packing his bags and heading to London this weekend to take part in this year’s Sheep Drive and Livery Fair. This time Herdy Co-Founder Spencer Hannah, returns as a fully-fledged Liveryman, having joined the Worshipful Company of Woolmen earlier this year. The Sheep Drive is organised by the Worshipful Company of Woolmen which is one of the oldest Livery Companies of the City of London, tracing its roots back to 1180. The Lord Mayor will be leading the Freemen of the City in this ewe-nique charity event, re-enacting a Freeman’s ancient right to herd sheep to market over London Bridge, toll-free. The Sheep Drive and Livery Fair demonstrates the enduring link and dependency between the City of London and farming.  Spencer, along with Herdy’s Trade Manager, Giovanna Gagliazzo will be at this year's event, held at The Monument & London Bridge on Sunday 25th September. They’re looking forward to meeting visitors and high profile guests to introduce them to Herdy and HerdySleep® and the exciting reveal of Herdy’s new range of recycled wool and cotton throws.  The Livery Fair will bring together a collection of specialist stall holders, displaying and selling their unique wool-based products and textiles. There will be interactive displays of traditional livery company crafts and skills from the Basket Makers to the Wood Turners and many more between, along with sheep shearing and rare breed sheep displays. The Lord Mayor of London Giovanna Gagliazzo and Spencer Hannah.   Earlier this year Herdy Co-Founders, Diane and Spencer Hannah were enrolled into the Worshipful Company of Woolmen - their purpose to champion the Herdwick and its birthplace, the Lake District. The invitation to become Woolmen was in recognition of their work, supporting and raising awareness of the Herdwick sheep breed, since they created Herdy back in 2007.  Particular recognition has been how that increased awareness has added commercial value to the use of the Herdwick wool, used in the company’s award-winning Herdysleep mattress. A value that also provides a greater return to the Lake District’s Upland Fell Farmers. Whilst Herdy® cannot claim to have been solely responsible for the increased market demand, the brand, with its friendly face, lovable products and strong social purpose was recognised by British Wool’s CEO Andrew Hogley:  “British Wool has seen strong demand for Herdwick wool over recent months with auction prices this season well above £1 per kilo. Higher auction prices will in turn lead to better returns for the farmers who sell their Herdwick wool through British Wool’s collective marketing scheme. Demand for Herdwick wool has been driven by a number of manufacturers, predominantly in the carpet and mattress sectors, which specify Herdwick wool, sourced through the British Wool auctions, in their products. The industry has also benefitted from the greater awareness and visibility of the iconic Herdwick breed. Brands such as Herdy have made an important contribution to building this consumer awareness.”  Herdy® and British Wool® are continually in dialogue to explore new collaboration opportunities to support and champion Britain and its wool heritage. Left to right - Graham Clark - British Wool, Spencer Hannah - Herdy, Andrew Hogley – British Wool.   The History Of The Sheep Drive  In medieval times farmers drove their sheep across London Bridge to sell them at market in the City of London. Freemen of the City were excused from the bridge toll that had to be paid by others crossing the bridge. This was in recognition of their status as local traders.  It’s not entirely clear when the last sheep were driven across London Bridge but it’s likely that the introduction of motorised vehicles in the early 20th century would have signalled the end of the practice.   The tradition of driving sheep across London Bridge has regained interest in recent years due to the uniqueness of event. First organised in 2013, to uphold the tradition of Freemen’s rights, the Worshipful Company of Woolmen arranged their first official Sheep Drive for Freemen of the City and their guests to once again ‘drive’ sheep across London Bridge. The event has been so successful that it’s gone from strength to strength and is now celebrating its 10th year.   Peter Hullah, Master of The Worshipful Company of Woolmen announced, “We look forward to a very special 10th anniversary Sheep Drive and will celebrate with what is sure to be a vibrant and fun Livery Fair taking place at the monument. It is a chance to delve into the fascinating history of the livery trades, alongside wonderful wool stalls and even a few sheep. It’s a fantastic family day out” About London’s Livery Companies and Freemen of the City of London:  London's Livery Companies originate from the medieval guilds, which were responsible for the regulation of their given trade. Guilds controlled wages and labour conditions, as well as setting standards, and had effective monopolies on trade within the city of London until Victorian times. To join a guild a prospective member had first to be “free” of a feudal overlord. From 1237, tradesmen could buy the right to their freedom - effectively gaining a licence to make money as a trader. The Victorians abolished many of the guilds’ trading monopolies, which meant people lost interest in the freedom; it was no longer a necessity. Many of the Livery Companies became charitable organisations and focused on promoting standards. Wool played a vital role in the English economy in the Middle Ages, providing a healthy tax income. Today, Livery Companies raise over £71M for charities annually.

Herdy is delighted to have supported the Grasmere Brass Summer School 2022.   A new event for young (and old) learner brass players. Dreamed up by the ever-creative course leader, Dave Higson. As both teacher and band leader, Dave has inspired countless new brass players over the years, many of whom are parents or pupils of Grasmere Primary, where he teaches and leads a children’s brass band. The ever-enthusiastic engagement of all the young children in the Grasmere School Band is where Dave’s inspiration for the Grasmere Summer School first took shape.  The Summer School brought together sixteen brass learners for two full days of music and fun. On the first day, all the students were presented with their band-new Herdy t-shirts. Together they learnt how to play better as a group, to work in sections alongside other learners and gained experience from more accomplished players. Even though the music was quite tricky for some of the younger players, the atmosphere was relaxed with no pressure to do anything other than enjoy themselves and give the music a try! All the hard work over the weekend concluded with a grand finale concert performed at the end of the day.  The setting of the Summer School added greatly to the overall atmosphere of the two days course. The outdoor concert was held on the glorious grounds of a beautiful manor house in Grasmere. It was a marvellous celebration of all the joy and hard work that had taken place over the course of the two days. Everyone was amazed at the progress and confidence of all the players, some of whom were just 7 years old. They truly showcased their ability to learn and perform new music quickly. It was a remarkable event, one we hope will have inspired all the players to continue in the future.

In this unique commemorative Jubilee mug Her ‘Herdy’ Majesty is depicted in the gown the Queen wore at the Coronation ceremony, Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. The outfit is completed with a silk velvet robe, ceremonial orb and sceptre, and the St Edward’s Crown. The opulent satin gown was designed by the celebrated royal dressmaker, Sir Norman Hartnell. The cropped sleeve gown was delicately hand embroidered with both gold and silver threads, encrusted with pearls, sequins and crystals. Hartwell famously submitted nine different designs to the Queen before the final gown was chosen. A floral tribute to the Commonwealth In early discussions with Sir Norman, the Queen requested floral emblems of each of the four UK nations to be included. The English Rose, Scottish Thistle, Irish clover and the Welsh Leek were all intricately incorporated into the design. It’s reported that Sir Norman had requested the daffodil to represent Wales, however, he was overruled. Sir Norman wrote about the decision “In the end, by using lovely silks and sprinkling it with the dew of diamonds, we were able to transform the earthy Leek into a vision of Cinderella charm”. The Queen was also keen that nations of the commonwealth were represented. Emblems such as the lotus flower from Pakistan and the maple leaf from Canada were added to the design. The Robe of Estate This grand ceremonial robe was only worn once Princess Elizabeth had officially been crowned sovereign. The rich deep purple colour has great significance. Historically, the colour was reserved solely for Kings and Queens, due to its expense and rarity. The robe measured 6.5 metres in length and took 3500 hours to complete. Diamonds are a Queen’s best friend Known as the Coronation Regalia, the Queen wore a collection of the nation’s most precious treasures for the ceremony. These include the Sovereign Sceptre and Orb, which have been used at every coronation since Charles II. The Sceptre contains the Cullinan Diamond, which remains the largest, gem-quality, cut diamond ever found. Its estimated worth ranges from 40 million pounds to over 1.6 Billion. The crowning glory of the collection is St Edward’s Crown. Dating back to 1661, the crown is symbolic of coronations, as it’s only used during the ceremony. It weighs an impressive 2.23kg and it is adorned with an abundance of precious jewels. Herdy is immensely proud to have played a part in the celebrations of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year. The commemorative items we have produced stand as a memento to this very special occasion and to a remarkable woman. We hope they made ewe smile. Photo Credits Queen Elizabeth in her iconic Coronation portrait by Cecil Beaton | CREDIT: COURTESY ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST Embroidery detail | Royal Collection Trust 2022 Norman Hartnell's sketch for the design chosen to be Queen Elizabeth II's coronation dress. Photo: The Royal Collections Robe of Estate detailing | The Crown Chronicles St Edward 11 Crown, Royal Collection Trust | HM Queen Elizabeth 11, 2022 | Prudence Cuming Associate The Queen's Coronation Dress and Robe on display at Buckingham Palace.Credit: Lewis Whyld/PA Wire

The flock from Herdy HQ joined over sixty family businesses from across the region at The North West Family Business Awards on Friday 13th May. The Awards were held at Liverpool’s iconic Titanic Hotel and celebrated family businesses of all sizes and sectors covering Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.  A capacity crowd of over 400 gathered on the night to see the winners of the region’s best family businesses revealed. Hosting the evening were Awards founders, Sue Howorth and Dave Clarkson and food writer and presenter, Nigel Barden. Herdy was named as an awards finalist earlier in the year and was nominated in both retailer and best social impact categories. On the night, the team were delighted to take home the award for Best Social Impact, which celebrated achievement in corporate social responsibility and the company’s impact on their local community, highlighting the amazing work driven by The Herdy Fund. The fund was set up in 2007, it contributes a percentage of the company’s profits to supporting upland fell farming, Cumbria’s rural communities, and, of course, the lovable Herdwick sheep. On accepting the award, Herdy Co-founder Diane Hannah said “We are absolutely delighted to win this award. Herdy is a brand that prides itself on being a positive force in the world, aiming to spread smiles and happiness. We are extremely proud to have won Best Social Impact, especially as we got to celebrate as a team, and as sustainability is woven into the very fabric of everything the company does”. Sue Howorth, Awards Co-Founder said, “This year the standard of entries was incredibly high and we know that our judges had their work cut out to choose the winners! Each one of our winners are truly outstanding family businesses, leading the way in their sectors with strong family business values. They should be very proud of their achievements!” Dave Clarkson, Awards Co-Founder commented, “We wanted this year’s awards to be something really special and we’re delighted with how it came together on the night. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate the family business sector across the North West.” Herdy has also been nominated for this year’s “Pride of Cumbria Awards” taking place in Whitehaven later this month. Watch this space!!

Herdy is immensely proud to have produced this very special, limited edition of 1800 mugs to mark Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee, celebrating 70 glorious years on the throne; a remarkable achievement by a remarkable woman.   The Inspiration Behind The Design The London Olympics Her ‘Herdy’ Majesty is portrayed wearing the dress made famous in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, when the Queen appeared beside Daniel Craig in Danny Boyle’s short film ‘Happy & Glorious’ and, with a twinkle in her eye, uttered the iconic line “Good evening Mr Bond”. The pair famously strolled the hallways of Buckingham palace accompanied by The Queen's corgis, before boarding a helicopter and parachuting into the Olympic stadium to a rapture of applause. The Queen's dress was designed by her personal dressmaker Angela Kelly, otherwise known as Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty the Queen (Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe). The dress was made from fine silk and hand-embroidered, beaded lace. A second identical outfit was also made for the Queen's stunt double, Gary Connery. The seamstresses creating the dresses had no idea why they were asked to make two identical garments, as plans for the helicopter stunt were kept a complete secret. Mr Connery who has worked as a stunt double on movies such as Harry Potter said that he "thoroughly enjoyed getting dressed up" as Her Majesty. Life’s A Peach During the opening ceremony, the Queen was to be seen on an international stage, therefore, the colour choice of her outfit could not show favouritism towards any nation competing. That is why the ‘peachy-pink’ colour, a shade rarely worn by the Queen, was chosen, making this dress even more unique. Everything about the design had to be carefully considered, from the colour to the cut. Not only did the colour have to be non-biased, but it also had to be bright enough to stand out against the dark backdrop of the stadium. The striking pleated skirt was chosen to ensure that the dress was recognisable to the spectators when it emerged from the helicopter. Diamonds Are A ‘Queen’s’ Best Friend The Queen’s diamond jewels were shining brightly at the Olympics opening ceremony. One of which was the spectacular King William IV Brooch. It’s one of the oldest brooches in the Royal collection and has been worn by British monarchs for nearly two centuries. As the name suggests, it was originally created for Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV in 1831, in the year of their coronation. Queen Adelaide passed on the jewel to her niece, Queen Victoria, who later designated the piece as an ‘heirloom of the crown’, meaning that the brooch is only to be worn by those currently sitting on the throne Puppy Love  The ‘Herdy Queen’ design depicts the monarch with one of her most loyal servants, her beloved corgi Monty. Monty shared the screen with Her Majesty at the Olympics opening ceremony, at one point stealing the limelight with a perfectly performed roly-poly! We felt it was only right that Monty accompanied Her Herdy Majesty on the mug too. Buckingham Palace's four-legged residents are said to lead a VERY lavish lifestyle. Their ‘dog house’ is apparently referred to as ‘the corgi room’, where they sleep in elevated baskets and are attended to by the Queen herself. The Queen was bought her first corgi at the age of 7, by her father King George. She named it Dookie. To date the Queen has had over 30 corgis and is an expert breeder. Princess Diana once said that the corgis offer the Queen comfort, companionship, amusement and diversion. Photo Credit / Cole Keister Finishing Touches The quotation placed on the back of the mug is a famous quote from Her Majesty, “If I wore beige, no-one would know who I am.” The monarch is well known for her bright and vibrant wardrobe and, at only 5ft 3”, she needs a little helping hand to stand out in the crowd!

Spencer and Diane Hannah have been inducted into the Worshipful Company Of Woolmen and admitted to the Freedom of the City of London by Redemption in recognition of their work championing the Herdwick sheep. Spencer and Diane Hannah have been inducted into the Worshipful Company Of Woolmen and admitted to the Freedom of the City of London by Redemption in recognition of their work championing the Herdwick sheep. “We are extremely proud to have been recognised by the historic and ancient City Guilds” explains Spencer, “It has been a privilege of ours to work closely with Lake District fell farmers over the last fifteen years, helping to promote the Herdwick. By becoming Woolmen, our ambition is not only to continue championing the Herdwick and its birthplace, The Lake District, but to also help promote British wool to a global audience.” Diane and Spencer were inducted into the Woolmen in the official Clothing Ceremony which took place at The Cutlers Hall in Sheffield in March. Under Warden of The Woolmen, Peter Hullah, said “Herdy’s smiling face has helped bring national attention to the Herdwick breed. We are delighted that Spencer and Diane have joined us as Woolmen and we look forward to Herdy making a unique contribution to our Livery. They continue to focus on raising awareness through their iconic brand, whilst increasing the value of Herdwick wool through the sale of Herdysleep Mattresses” Diane explained that “The Herdysleep mattress contains Herdwick wool because it’s a superb body temperature regulator. We source our Herdwick wool at fair trade rates from our co-operative of Lake District farmers. When people buy a Herdysleep mattress they can be reassured that they are helping to support our upland fell farming community.” The demand for and value of Herdwick wool is on a high. British Wool (formerly The Wool Board) have recognised the Herdy brand’s contribution towards this. CEO Andrew Hogley said “British Wool has seen strong demand for Herdwick wool over recent months with auction prices this season well above £1 per kilo. Higher auction prices will in turn lead to better returns for the farmers who sell their Herdwick wool through British Wool’s collective marketing scheme. Demand for Herdwick wool has been driven by a number of manufacturers, predominantly in the carpet and mattress sectors. The industry has also benefitted from the greater awareness and visibility of the iconic Herdwick breed. Brands such as Herdy have made an important contribution to building this consumer awareness.“ The Worshipful Company of Woolmen is one of the oldest Guilds (or Liveries) in the City of London, tracing its roots back to 1180.

Herdy has created a very special limited edition of only 1500 Tea Towels and 1200 Mugs (Sorry - sold out) to commemorate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee, celebrating 70 glorious years on the throne. The Inspiration Behind The Design The Queen's Outfit - a closer look Her ‘Herdy’ Majesty’s spectacular outfit was taken from a visit to Royal Ascot in 2015, where The Queen attended with her late husband Prince Phillip. It is a snapshot of the monarch at her happiest, enjoying a day at the races!  The Crown Jewels The Queen is pictured above, with one of her most treasured jewels, the Prince Albert brooch. The brooch was presented to Queen Victoria in 1840 by her husband-to-be, Prince Albert, the night before their wedding. It’s suggested that the design influenced Princess Diana's famous engagement ring, now worn by the Duchess of Cambridge. The jewel which is made up of 12 individually set diamonds encircling a 40ct sapphire is reportedly worth a staggering £9million. However, it is not the most valuable jewel in The Queen's collection. That title goes to the ‘Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace’, which is estimated to be worth over 66 million pounds. The Queen is very rarely spotted without one of her pearl necklaces. The tradition of monarchs wearing pearls goes back nearly a thousand years, due to their rarity at the time. It is also etiquette in high society for a lady to wear pearls in the daytime and diamonds after 6pm.  Iconic Accessories Her ‘Herdy’ Majesty is depicted sporting her signature black handbag. The classic Launer leather bag is one of the Queen’s most beloved and called-upon accessories and she reportedly owns more than 200 of them! It has remained a mystery as to what The Queen carries with her in her handbag. As she certainly doesn’t require a set of keys or some spare change! Reports suggest that The Queen likes to keep tasty treats for her corgis, a crossword puzzle from the daily paper, her personal diary, and a penknife (of all things). The Queen has worn the same style of shoe for more than 50 years, made by the same shoemaker, Anello and Davide of Kensington. Each pair of shoes are made on a wooden last shaped to the exact measurements of the monarch’s foot. The Queen reportedly has a member of the royal household whose job it is to break in the shoes and reportedly has 10 pairs on rotation at any one time. Royal Blue Not one to shy away from making a statement, Her ‘Herdy’ Majesty is depicted in Royal Blue, reputed to be the Queen’s favourite colour. Royal Blue is believed to have originated from Somerset, where a team of textile workers invented the colour, having won a countrywide competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte. It has been a favourite of the Royal Family ever since.  To finish the outfit the classic royal blue coat has been teamed with a statement hat in the same eye-catching shade. Decorated with ornate white flowers and blue leaves, the hat was reportedly made by British milliner Rachel Trevor-Morgan, who creates the majority of The Queen’s hats.  Finishing Touches The quotation placed on the back of the mug is a famous quote from Queen Elizabeth II and is taken from her 1991 Christmas broadcast. At the time, the country was in the midst of a global financial crisis and was definitely in need of a few words of wisdom from Her Majesty!  The emblem placed on the inside of the mug sees Herdy sporting some spectacular headwear. The design is based on the Coronation Crown, also known as the St Edward's Crown. It’s the centrepiece of the crown jewels collection and was made for Charles II in 1661, as a replacement for the medieval crown, melted down in 1649 by the Parliamentarians. Decorated with precious and semi-precious stones, the original is thought to date back to the eleventh-century -------------- Herdy is immensely proud to produce this very special momento to mark Queen Elizabeth II 70 years on the throne, a remarkable achievement by a remarkable woman.

First event: what a load of rubbish! Throughout 2020, The Herdy Company will be hosting free talks at their headquarters, 13–15 Stramongate, Kendal, and local businesses are invited to come along, meet, greet, join in, and network over an informal lunchtime gathering.  The first talk, presented by Mark Wilson of Cumbria Waste Recycling Ltd. and Andrew Vickers of South Lakeland District Council, will be about daily business waste, what actually happens to it after collection day, what we can all do to help reduce our environmental impact. The events are intended to be fun, informal, and an open forum, with all attending encouraged to interact and be part of the gathering.  Spencer Hannah, Co-founder and Director of The Herdy Company, said: “We bag our waste, we put it outside, job done! But what actually happens to it after that? Where does it go? How does the recycling journey really end for our waste? It’s a complex and often confusing subject, and if we’re being honest most of us don’t know and probably don’t have time to find out. In the modern-day consumer world we are all increasingly conscious of the impact we have on our environment—from sourcing and manufacturing to packaging—and businesses are facing a stronger demand for more environmentally friendly solutions.” Local businesses in and around Kendal are invited to attend this first free talk on Tuesday 28th January from 12:00pm at The Herdy Company’s headquarters on 13–15 Stramongate, Kendal, LA9 4BH. Free hot drinks and snacks will be provided. If it’s possible to confirm your attendance, ideally by email before 20 Jan, that would be appreciated. Elsewhere in the news Cumbria Crack - Herdy organises Lunchtime Talks & Business Network Get Together’s CWB Magazine - Herdy introduces lunchtime talks and networking for local businesses In-Cumbria Magazine - Herdy to host series of business networking events The Westmorland Gazette - Herdy to host series of business networking events

Here are a few of the things that made us smile in 2021. January 5th | Early in the month saw the relaunch of Herdysleep with a brand new website and an improved, 3rd Generation Herdysleep mattress. During 2021 were proud to add three more farms to the initiative to buy Herdwick wool direct from farms here in the Lake District. 8th | As we entered a 3rd National Lockdown, it was more important than ever to help raise funds for charities that so desperately needed it, and to honour those heroes who'd played such a huge part in the battle against Covid-19. By the end of last year, ewe magnificent bunch helped us raise £22,620 for charity via the Herdy Heroes tea towel! Our final total, reached in March 2021, was an amazing £30,000! Faye Knight of NHS Charities Together said “We are delighted to hear that you have been fundraising for us as part of your “Herdy Heroes” campaign. To have raised £7,500 for NHS Charities together and £30,000 overall is phenomenal and we are so grateful for your kind support.   February 2nd | Herdy donated £3,000 for CAD equipment and a new ‘Community Maker Space’ at Settlebeck School, Cumbria. 17th | To celebrate ‘Random Acts of Kindness Day’ we gave away 30 adorable Little Herdys to some very deserving nominees; individuals who had gone above and beyond for their community during the pandemic. We received over 800 nominations and it was the challenge of the year to whittle it down to thirty. Ewe certainly are a kind,caring, and compassionate bunch.   March 8th | International Women Day saw us celebrate 5 remarkable women, nominated by ewe. They included heroic home-schoolers, superhero mums, soul singers and domestic goddesses! 10th | The art of Herdy baking reached dizzy heights in 2021! This Happy Herdy Birthday cake was sent in by talented home baker Ali, from Mooncakes online. 16th | In the Herdsters Facebook group, Sue shared her very first Felted Herdy. Isn't it amazing! 24th | We were happy to announce the winner of our World Poetry Day competition. The very talented Paula Connelly! 25th | Herdy won the High Sheriff of Cumbria's Small and Medium Enterprise Business Innovation Award, in recognition of Herdy’s outstanding business innovation during the Covid-19 crisis. Julie Barton, High Sheriff said, “Congratulations on all you have achieved. It is absolutely fantastic! It was a privilege to able to recognise and celebrate Herdy's achievements at the awards event on Wednesday, and thank you for your generosity in donating your £250 prize money to The Cumbria Community Foundation” April 1st | Easter bakes were coming in thick and fast! Alison made this B-EWE-TIFUL Herdy themed Simnel cake using the Herdy cookie cutter. Wow, what a talent! 7th | Herdwick lambing season was upon us and we were inundated with super cute pictures of baby Herdwicks springing about the Lake District. It’s official, you can never have too many photos of lambs! 12th | After a very, VERY long wait, we were finally able to open our shop doors once again and welcome back all our lovely customers. 13th | April saw the launch of our brand new Baby range, which looked absolutely adorable on all the gorgeous babies featured on our social media. 27th | Introducing the Hodgson’s, a farming family who are part of our Ullswater farming cooperative, supplying us with Herdwick fleece for the Herdysleep Mattresses. Our co-founder Spencer had a (socially distanced) chat with the Hodgson's about Herdwick Farming in Glencoyne, the future of farming, working with the changing environment and diversification. Conservation, The Environment & Farming In The Lake District May 9th | Our home and inspiration, The Lake District, celebrated its 70th Birthday! We marked the occasion with cake (obviously). 13th | The winner of our Roam Free Limerick Competition was Alice Legge who was selected from some incredible entries. June 21st | June welcomed a new team member to Herdy, newly appointed C.O.D (Chief Office Dog) Raff! He was rescued from kennels by Herdy co-founders, Diane and Spence. A little nervous at first, he soon made friends with everyone; rapidly acquiring a reputation for stealing food and frisking any unattended bag in stealth like fashion! 24th | Little Herdy went on the adventure of a lifetime when he accompanied Cumbrian climbers Paul Etheridge and Pete Brittleton, to take on one of the hardest feats in climbing; the ascent of K2 and Broad Peak (2 of the 14 peaks in the world over 8000mtrs). Herdy were one of the sponsors of the expedition. Sadly, the guys didn’t conquer the mountains but they took part in a heroic rescue of another climber and, on their safe return, said how Little Herdy had proved to be quite a hit with the local guides! July 22nd | A brand new partnership was launched with the release of the Herdy and SIGG Travel and Meridian Bottles. For more than 100 years, the name SIGG has stood for precision-made, award-winning products with unmistakable design and outstanding quality. This ewe-nique collaboration with Herdy made a trusted companion even more lovable! 28th | Creative corner at Herdy HQ was extra busy! The new arrivals kept coming with the launch of Herdy and Sheppy’s handy refillable bottles and the cute Herdy snack box set. August 5th | What’s always certain about a British Summer? The August downpours made the perfect time to launch our new Peep Umbrellas. Who says you can't smile in the rain! 11th | Ever wondered how a Herdy mug is made? In August we took you on a guided tour of our UK factory, so you could have an exclusive peep behind the scenes. 12th | Say hello to ‘Line’ our brand new range of Tea Towels, Table Mats and Coasters, all inspired by the history of graphite mining in The Lake District. September 3rd | This fabulous photo of the gorgeous Baxter enjoying his holiday in The Lakes, shows Herdy ‘Ewe Tubes’ are not just for ‘ewe-mans’! 12th | We had a wonderful surprise at Herdy HQ when the very talented Julie Callaghan sent us in this b-ewe-tiful poem! 13th | Herdy’s Birthday! Herdy celebrated 14 fun filled years which gave everyone at Herdy HQ a great excuse to eat lots of cake and even enjoy a conga courtesy of the baby Herdy gang. 22nd | Once again we took part in the annual Sheep Drive which took place on London’s Southwark Bridge. This event sees retailers and manufacturers from across the UK gather to celebrate the wool industry and watch the world famous sheep drive, a unique event featuring a flock of sheep, casually strolling amongst the sights of London. 27th | As the UK was facing a fuel crisis this fella had no problem queuing at the pumps! October 1st | We celebrated World Smile Day the only way we knew how, by sharing a Herdy selfie of course! 14th | October saw lots of newbies being added to the range, including the new Herdy Line mug; the design inspired by historic graphite mining in the Lake District. 18th | With Halloween just around the corner, we saw lots of creativity in the kitchen using Herdy cookie cutter. Here are some of your spooktacular bakes. 28th | The launch we had all been waiting for was finally here, the Herdy Jigsaw! We challenged you to complete it in the shortest possible time. Astonishingly completed in a matter of days by Alex Palmer and his dedicated helpers……….we’re still trying to finish ours! 31st | Nothing sums up October 2021 better than Draculamb! November 10th | Brand new for Herdy - our 100% organic cotton, super comfy leisurewear hit the shelves in November. So cosy, it felt like a hug in a hoodie!  15th | We wished HUGE congrat-ewe-lations to a very special couple who tied the knot with the help of some VIS (very important sheep) guests. Everyone at Herdy was very honoured to play a part in Mr and Mrs Hails special day.   December 1st | With Christmas just around the corner we said a big hello to ‘Hetty the Holiday Herdwick’. Hetty is a pet lamb from a local farm and clearly has aspirations to spread the festive cheer. Step aside all those would be Santas – make way for the sheep! 4th | The immensely talented Susan Tholen created this incredible handbag, made from Herdwick wool fabric and lined with colourful Herdy tea towels.  14th | Christmas was well and truly in the air as we rolled out our Christmas Freebies for you all to get creative over the holidays.Thanks to all of ewe for giving us such joy on 2021. Wishing ewe a happy, healthy and fun filled New Year! Here’s to 2022!

PRESS RELEASE For immediate release Herdy Donates £7,500 to Great North Air Ambulance Service for Pride of Cumbria II Launch Herdy has donated £7,500 to the Great North Air Ambulance Service for the launch of the new Price Of Cumbria II helicopter. The funds were raised from sales of the “Herdy Heroes” Tea Towel fundraiser campaign, a tea towel designed by Herdy and made in the UK, which honoured and celebrated all the local heroes and key workers who kept people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Herdy presented the cheque to the Great North Air Ambulance Service as part of the charity’s flyover celebration of their new Pride of Cumbria II helicopter, now based in Langwathby near Penrith. The charity’s chief executive, David Stockton, said: “It goes without saying that the last year has been a real struggle for GNAAS with estimated losses due to COVID of around £100,000 per month. “Last summer, the Guardian of the North II arrived at the charity and now, with the addition of the Pride of Cumbria II, we have completely revamped our aircraft and it’s time to look forward, not back.” Mr Stockton added: “The ongoing support of the people of Cumbria has been phenomenal and this new helicopter is our way of repaying that loyalty, which in turn, will allow us to save many more lives and keep families together.”  Diane Hannah, Co-Founder & Co-Director of Herdy, said: “The Great North Air Ambulance provides a critical service for the people of Cumbria and the many tourists who visit the county. “We are delighted to help support such an important cause with this donation.” Photos shot and provided by Jo Greenfield Herdy Heroes Tea Towel Fundraiser Elsewhere in the media Lake District brand donates £7,500 to Great North Air Ambulance helicopter appeal - Cumbria Crack

PRESS RELEASE Herdy Wins The High Sheriff of Cumbria's Small & Medium Enterprise Business Innovation Award Lake District brand Herdy has won the High Sheriff of Cumbria’s Small & Medium Enterprise Innovation Award, in recognition of Outstanding Business Innovation during the Covid-19 Crisis. Herdy was recognised for the many ways in which they demonstrated outstanding performance in innovatively adapting their business during the pandemic, whilst also supporting others in the community. The company received a Special Award Certificate and £250, which Herdy will be donating to the Herdy Fund, managed by Cumbria Community Foundation.  A virtual ceremony was hosted on Zoom by departing High Sheriff of Cumbria, Julie Barton, with technical support provided by Andrew Armitage of A-Digital. Alongside Herdy were two other business award winners: Chinty’s of Keswick won the Micro Business Award, and Story Construction won the Community-Spirited Business Award.  In addition, 14 charities were recognised for their outstanding achievements and innovations during the pandemic. 11 of the charities received a Special Award certificate and a grant of £500, whilst the final three charities received an additional Special Award Shield and a grant of £1,000.  In particular, Herdy was praised for their “Herdy Heroes” campaign and subsequent fundraiser tea towel, which was created to celebrate all the local heroes and key workers who kept people safe during the UK lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic. The tea towel design features not just NHS workers and nurses, but also delivery drivers, teachers, local celebrities, volunteer rescue workers and more.  Diane Hannah, Co-Founder & Co-Director of Herdy, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to win this award. When lockdown was announced last March, our income dropped 80% overnight. With our shops forced to close we immediately refocused our business online to our ecommerce website. We’re a brand that makes people smile so we put a huge amount of resource into bringing a bit of light relief to every day with fun posts across our social media platforms, free downloads on our website such as colouring competitions, ‘thank ewe’ posters for key workers, and free COVID 19 signage.” One social media post alone was seen by over 900,000 people; a meme involving a pretty sheep and a dishevelled sheep, imploring readers to cherish their hairdressers once quarantine was over.  “Our customers have shown amazing support throughout the last year, as have our team. There have been some incredibly positive outcomes from such a negative situation and to be recognised with this award is very special to everyone at Herdy.”

Well... what a year 2020 has been, eh? 2020 has been, in an effort to find the right words, the year that the world changed. There's all kinds of things we could write to try and summarise what 2020 has been like for us all, but we figured the animation below might sum up it best. Let's instead recap, celebrate, and highlight the good that came out of 2020, which by and large is all down to EWE, the Herdsters. We are always so grateful to Herdy customers and fans, new and old-school, but we are increasingly thankful for your support in 2020. To put it simply, if it weren't for you, Herdy wouldn't exist. Thank ewe. Most popular content by a Herdster  Ruth Childs' custom Herdy face mask By April 2020 it was becoming increasingly apparent that face masks were efficacious in reducing the spread of the Coronavirus. We at Herdy had already started the preliminary design for our own Herdy Face Mask, but ewe Herdsters already beat us to it! Ruth's homemade Herdy mask reached 26,480 people, saw 2,020 reactions, received 124 comments, and inspired 57 reshares around Facebook.  The Herdy content ewe loved the most in 2020 As the UK entered National Lockdown in March 2020, alongside other countries such as Italy and Spain, it didn't take long for that famous British sense of humour and "keep calm" attitude to emerge. Jokes, memes, and funny images were created and reshared thousands of times around the internet, bonding people together in camaraderie and lifting spirits during unprecedented times. We've always been about positivity at Herdy, our mission after all is to "spread smiles and happiness". So we joined in with a few memes of our own. One in particular, above, was posted towards the end of April 2020 and completely went viral. The meme eventually reached 907,621 people, seeing 41,491 reactions, received 510 comments, and was reshared 7,391 times!    2020: A Recap   January  In January 2020 we launched v2 of our supremely comfortable Herdysleep mattress.  Working alongside Harrison Spinks, we were able to remove the foam in the mattress and upgrade the spring system to Harrison Spinks' new Cortec™ system. This means that the new Herdysleep is now foam free, glue free, and 100% recyclable at end of life. Good for ewe, the farmer, and the environment.   February  In February 2020 we unveiled a new venture: Herdy Campervans. We were approached Martyn and Sara Merckel, a local couple who have a love for the Lake District, a sense of adventure, and a passion to get people camping. Having brought up their own two boys on the campsite they owned at Eskdale, Martyn and Sara know the benefits of shared family time in the great outdoors and were keen to get others enjoying holidays packed with fun and adventure. Uninspired by the world of “beige” motorhomes, Sara contacted Spencer and Diane Hannah, founders of Herdy, and asked if this cute and lovable brand from the Lake District would like to go camping. And to her surprise the answer came back as a resounding “Yes”! Our Herdysleep mattress was in the news again! We were thrilled that the Herdysleep mattress received the London Evening Standard's "ES Best Top Pick" seal of approval! You can read their recommendation here. We also said farewell to Simon, Herdy’s dedicated warehouseman since 2009. Simon had been with us since the days where the entirety of our product range fitted in a secondhand filling cabinet! Oh how times have moved on. March On the 18th March we made an announcement regarding the increasing severity of the Coronavirus Pandemic. By the 4th March, worldwide cases of COVID-19—the disease caused by the novel Coronavirus—had reached 93,000 cases. We immediately reviewed and made changes to our hygiene and cleaning practises and monitored our team on a daily basis to check if they had been exposed to the virus or were showing symptoms similar to COVID-19. Herdy is spotted in an official NHS Recruitment video! You can see the video here.  With the Coronavirus Pandemic growing evermore serious, and cases in the UK rising at an alarming rate, we took the sad decision on Saturday 21st March to close our Herdy Shops and Herdy HQ immediately. Two days later, on Monday 23rd March 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a UK-wide national lockdown with immediate effect. On the same day, the UK alone reported 6,650 cases with 335 deaths. Shopping was only allowed for essential items, such as food and medication, and people were only allowed to go outside for 1-hour's worth of exercise in their immediate environment, maintaining social distancing and regularly washing their hands. Video calls quickly became the norm as a way of staying in touch with friends, families, and loved ones. The world had suddenly changed. As the Coronavirus Pandemic intensified, nationwide appreciation developed towards NHS workers, and other key workers, who supported the population during this time. A weekly show of appreciation developed, and so Clap for Our Carers as a campaign was born, largely credited to Annemarie Plas, a Dutch expatriate living in London. We, of course, were more than happy to join in. April We felt a keen responsibility to help keep people's spirits up during an unprecedented pandemic. And what better way to do that than with a video of a newborn Herdwick lamb?! James Read, our Herdwick farmer friend in the Lincolnshire Wolds, shared this tender video with us; a rare glimpse at the life of a Herdwick farmer with a 5-minute old lamb. On the 3rd April we announced the launch of Herdy Freebies. We wanted to help us all keep smiling, keep the kids amused, keep fit, keep calm, and carry on as best we can, so we provided (and regularly added) free to download fun wallpapers, printables, and more. Herdy Freebies would turn out to be one of the best things we did in all of 2020. By the 6th April we launched the "Herdy Heroes" campaign. Every Monday, we asked ewe Herdsters on social media to nominate a "Herdy Hero"; someone who has gone above and beyond in your local community. They didn’t have to work in the NHS; perhaps your Herdy Hero was a neighbour who gets your shopping and checks on you, or maybe a postie who lifts your spirits with a daily chat? We then selected a "winner" every Friday and designed a customised eCard to be sent to the chosen nominee. On Friday 10th April we announced our 1st Herdy Heroes "winner": Nigel at Windermere Post Office. He was nominated by Sue Hazlehurst, who added: Nigel at Windermere Post Office has gone above and beyond the call of duty, even saying if anyone has an emergency when he’s closed, as he lives above, will open and sort it. A well deserving Herdy Hero. Nigel would become one of many Herdy Heroes that were celebrated. Back at "Herdy HQ" (or in other words, our homes as we were all working from home), a plan started to form in our minds... On the 25th April we posted on our social media a cute little "lockdown meme", a little something to chuckle at and then little more of it. A couple of days later the meme went viral and ultimately reached 907,621 people, seeing 41,491 reactions, received 510 comments, and was reshared 7,391 times! May In early May, Joel Pennington contacted us. He was raising funds for the North Lakes Foodbank, who provide 3 days worth of emergency food supplies to people in need in Allerdale and Copeland. And he was doing this by having his wonderful "fleece" of hair shaved off! And if he raised over £1,000 his gorgeous "sheepyhead" mop would be cut with garden shears! We were delighted to help amplify his cause. We started to amass quite the collection of Herdy Heroes... In early May, Tim Jones was selected as the week's Herdy Hero. He became known as "Tim Jones the Singing Policeman", and was nominated by Carol Capper who said: Tim Jones, a policeman who is keeping thousands entertained with his (mainly) daily songs. He has been amazing lifting everyone’s spirits with the the songs & smiles plus he is a key worker too. You can read about him on Gloucestershire Live here. Towards the end of May we gave a sneak peek (or a sneak Peep) of our upcoming Herdy Heroes Tea Towel. Thankfully, ewe lovely lot seemed to really like the look of it! We also asked for your feedback; we wanted to use a chunk of the proceeds from the sale of the tea towels to help raise funds for a charity, or indeed charities. Ewe Herdsters were not short of ideas! June Proof, if any were ever needed, that ewe Herdsters are the loveliest (and most insane) fans anyone could ask for! Caroline and Lindsey, of Girlguiding Cumbria South, put together this Herdy 100m Dash, where each Herdy represents a different area within Cumbria. Who will win?! On the 9th June we launched something of a surprise for everyone: the "Lake District Edition" Monopoly board game, complete with exclusive Herdy Game Token! We sold out of our initial stock in perhaps just an hour so, and scrambled to urgently order more! We introduced Safety Herdy on the 10th June. We wanted to create a friendly and welcoming face whilst we made preparations for re-opening our Herdy shops. We've also designed some Safety Sign Sets, free to download and print regardless of whether you're a shop/community hall/info centre or whatever. On the 12th June we were thrilled and so relieved to announce that our Herdy Shops would be reopening from Monday 15th June. We're revised our opening times, too. Bowness/Grasmere/Keswick would be open 7 days a week from 10:30am–5:30pm, and Kendal will be open Wednesday–Saturday 10:30am–5:30pm. The later opening time allowed us to thoroughly deep clean the shops every day. We also provided hand sanitiser for customers to use when entering the shops, requested a maximum number of customers at any one time and, of course, adhered to social distancing measures. It was so nice to see ewe all again! Back in the world of camper vans, we further announced on 18th June that Herdy Campervans were once again taking bookings. Where would you take your Herdy Campervan? We introduced Guide Herdy on 23rd June; who provided some tips for when people started visiting the Lake District once again, as more businesses and accommodation were reopening. July As we entered the peak of a sweltering, if wet, Lake District summer, we announced which four charities the proceeds of the upcoming Herdy Heroes tea towel would raise funds for. The charities chosen, based on all the Herdsters feedback we received, were: NHS Charities Together, #1186569 Great North Air Ambulance Charity, #1092204 Cumbria Community Foundation, #1075120 The Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association, #506349 The Herdy Heroes tea towel launched on Sunday 5th July, to coincide with the NHS' 72nd birthday, and we set a goal of raising £20,000 by Christmas 2020. On the 9th July we announced what became the biggest product launch of the year: the new Herdy Smile Face Masks. Our entire initial website stock of face masks sold out in 30 minutes, which was understandably frustrating! Thankfully we have the loveliest customers and ewe were happy to wait whilst we got more on order. The Horse & Farrier Inn took advantage of our Safety Herdy Freebies and printed out the signage for the reopening of their beautiful Inn. We have a strong tradition in our Herdy comm-ewe-nity of celebrating some rather talented home bakers. Ruth Evans showed us her efforts in July by sharing some photos of her Super Herdy outfit she made for her Little Herdy, plus a Herdy cake!  With more businesses in the Lake District reopening post-lockdown, GB Herdy decided that a cruise around Windermere with Windermere Lake Cruises was a well-deserved treat. It was fantastic to see that Molly-Mae from Love Island fame had excellent taste in mugs! We were alerted to this in Molly's Evening Skincare Routine Youtube Video. In less than a month ewe had already raised over £5,000 for charity via the sales of the new Herdy Heroes tea towel! More talented Herdy bakers! Kay from New Zealand emailed us these photos; she baked lemon shortbread Herdy biscuits for a departing work colleague, using our cookie cutters. A Herdy farm scene! August  In August we had the lovely Helen visit our Grasmere shop with her own Herdy mask, made from the Hiker tea towel! Isn't it baa-rilliant? On the 4th August Rachel Gage shared with us some of the best #HerdySmileSelfies ever, complete with a Herdy Campervan!  Long-time Herdy fan and Herdy shop visitor, Susan, finally realises a dream by moving to Cumbria in August. To say farewell to her former co-workers, Susan crafted her own custom pencil cases and key fobs as parting gifts, all made from our range of tea towels!  We announced an August update on the Herdy Heroes tea towel fundraiser; ewe had raised over £11,000 already! Even more Herdy baking! But of a different kind this time. Julie emailed us a photo of her beautiful Herdy naan breads, made with the help of our Cookie Cutters! Definitely the first time we've ever seen this. September As Summer slowly cooled into Autumn, Josh, Clare, and family had a fab-ewe-lous time exploring Dumfries & Galloway in their Herdy Campervans.  Also in September, Angela sent us possibly one of the greatest #HerdySmileSelfies we've ever seen. Still gives us a chuckle looking at it now! We got a September update about our Herdy Heroes tea towel fundraiser, and were thrilled to learn that ewe had all raised over £13,500 for charity! In September we also learned that our designer's dog, Saszka, really likes her Herdy Hot Water Bottle. Awww... By the end of September 2020 we expanded and launched our Herdy Country bag range! It now includes a beautifully constructed backpack, a handy travel wash bag, and a seek mini tote. All made to a very high spec, using Lake District Herdwick wool, and completely artisan handmade in England. We started making plans for our upcoming Christmas products in September, one of which would be some new Christmas card designs. We opened up part of the development process to ewe Herdsters, by running a little competition: whoever provided the best Christmas/Herdy-related verse would have it featured in our Christmas cards; the winner would also be "Herdyfied" and featured on the back of all our Christmas cards! October Once in October, we announced the winner of our Christmas Card competition: and it was Kathryn Sharples, a unanimous victory! Her verse is as follows: Twas the night before Christmas, and Santa did weep... "I've lost all my reindeer; I'll need to use sheep!" The Herdys were willing, and off they all flew, saying "Season's Best Bleatings: Happy Christmas to EWE!" It was great to meet the High Sheriff of Cumbria and Mayor Alvin Finch on their visit to Herdy HQ. Everyone was looking splendid in their Herdy face masks! On the back of our Herdy Heroes tea towels, we were approached by Kerry of "Max Out In The Lakes" fame to collaborate on a Herdy/Max mug design. So we created this special mug featuring Max, Paddy & Harry (& Herdy of course!) It sold out in 6 minutes! It was rainy, drizzly, and misty, but that didn't stop Herdy from making friends with Rich Uncle Pennybags, aka Mr. Monopoly! November In early November, with signs indicating that a second wave of COVID-19 cases was occurring, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a 2nd England-wide lockdown from the 5th November, lasting for one month.  This meant that we had to close our Herdy Shops once again, during a crucial period in the retail calendar year. Despite our Herdy Shops closing our website was still fully rocking the Christmas spirit! With winter fast approaching we launched a new range of winter woolly hats, for both kids and adults, in a variety of styles and designs. We were so grateful that ewe all really loved them! It was a late October update but we were still floored with the news that our Herdy Heroes tea towel had raised over £17,000 for charity! We were fast gaining on our £20,000 goal to reach before Christmas 2020. Would we reach it? Speaking of tea towels, it was also in November that we announced the availability of our new 2020 Christmas Tea Towel! The magnificent talent of the Herdster baking comm-ewe-nity was in full flow once again! Sarah made this wonderful Herdy cake for her friend, Katherine, who turned 50. Isn't it baaa-rilliant? We were looking for a "gorgeous blonde" to model our upcoming Herdy Country hat range. Saszka, one of the Herdy HQ dogs, wasn't quite what we had in mind. Still beautiful, though! After Sarah's Herdy cake for her friend, Becky sent us this photo of her incredible Herdwick cake. Becky's other half is the grandson of the renowned Jean Wilson, the "Queen of Herdwicks", who farm Herdwick sheep at Dockray, near Ullswater. That's why this Herdy cake has a flock mark cut out from ear, to match the Dockray flock lug mark.  By the end of November our Herdy Heroes tea towel was closing in on the £20,000 goal by raising over £19,500 for charity! So close... December Before we knew it December rolled around and the Christmas season was well and truly thriving! The England-wide Lockdown ended Wednesday 2nd December and we were overjoyed to get our Christmas-decorated Herdy Shops back open and welcoming everyone once again. We also got our first snow of the season!   On the 8th December, the big news arrived: ewe had all hit the £20,000 goal for charity funds raised via the Herdy Heroes tea towel! Let's see if we can reach £25,000 raised before the end of 2020 and the finish this difficult year on a high. More talented bakery! Evana tagged us in this frankly incredible Little Hiker Herdy cake she made for her 4-year old's birthday... and it's just amazing. We did another mug collaboration! To mark the launch of the newly restored waterwheel in the Coppermines Valley, Coppermines & Lakes Cottages teamed up with Herdy to produce a commemorative, limited edition mug that features a unique, copper Herdy and friends getting up to mischief in Coppermines Valley! You can win a Limited Edition Herdy Coppermines Mug and a holiday in one of their Mountain Cottages. You can purchase a Limited Edition Herdy Coppermines Mug (only 1,000 made) right here. Even more talented bakery! Jodie Texeira shared with us this photo of her daughter's Herdy Birthday Cake, made by the talented Abigail Lily Cakes.  We were tagged by Charlotte Logie (@girlscanrun) who posted her wonderful Herdy Gingerbread she made! You can do so, too, by following our Yan Gingerbread tutorial.   Here's to a MUCH better 2021

“What’s Herdy doing designing a mug with dogs on?!” we hear you cry. Read on to find out why. Earlier this year, during lockdown, we launched a campaign across our social media, asking you to nominate your “Herdy Hero”. They didn’t have to work in the NHS, it could have been a neighbour who did your shopping, or maybe a postie who lifted your spirits with a daily chat. At the end of each week we picked our favourite Herdy Hero nomination and designed a customised eCard with their ewenique Herdy character, to thank them for everything they were doing for their local community. One of the nominations was Max, Paddy and Harry; three adorable spaniels from Keswick who, like Herdy, help to spread smiles, positivity, and fun. How could we resist? At the end of lockdown we started thinking how we could use all the wonderful characters created during the campaign, to raise money for charity. The result was the launch of a special edition fundraiser tea towel, to honour the key workers who had kept our spirits going during lockdown. Of course the tea towel features Max, Paddy, and Harry, one of the favourite nominations of the campaign, plus their humans, Kerry and Angela! When Kerry Irving, owner of Max, Paddy and Harry, saw this lovable design he asked us if we would create a special “Max, Paddy, and Harry” Herdy mug in our “ewe-nique” style; all to be sold to raise money for charity. We thought that this was a great idea and a wonderful cause too, so we said yes! Whilst the first delivery of the “Max, Paddy, and Harry” mug was just a few hundred mugs, launch day arrived and only six minutes later the entire stock of shiny new mugs was sold out! Don’t worry if you missed out though, more will be available before Christmas. If you want to find out more go to the Max Out In The Lake District blog post.

2019 Most Popular Content By A Herdster Sue "Suzie Coo" Graham's Christening cake, 17th October. The Herdy post ewe loved the most Farmer James Read's Herdwick lamb, posted for International Day of Happiness, 20th March The Herdy post ewe talked with your friends about the most Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visit a Herdysleep farm in the Lake District for afternoon tea, 12th June February 2019 Rory and his Herdwick tup friend, Mario, get sent a load of Herdy goodies (4th February) In late January 2019, we learned about the story of Rory, a very shy 4-year old who was learning to overcome his shyness courtesy of his best friend, Mario the Herdwick tup. We asked ewe, the awesome Herdsters, to help us get in touch with Rory and family so we could send them some Herdy goodies. We were so thrilled to help Rory fulfil his wish of having a Herdwick live in the house! Herdy announces "Hunt The Herdy" for the 2nd year in a row, for Random Acts Of Kindness Day, 17th February For our random act of kindness, we hid 30 “Super Herdys” throughout Cumbria for ewe to find and take home. When people found a Super Herdy all we asked is that you perform a Random Act of Kindness yourself. And so you did! From leaving behind biscuits for others to discover, and inviting elderly neighbours round for lunch. Heart warming tales of kindness for others.   March 2019 Helen makes her own custom Herdy Hoody, 2nd March Helen visited our Grasmere Herdy shop and showed off her custom hoody, complete with Herdy labels and tassels! We sent her a Badge Money Can't Buy.   April 2019 Susan and Eithne make their own custom Herdy bags, 2nd April More creative customers came into our Grasmere shop; this time Susan and Eithne showed us their incredible bags they made out of our tea-towels and aprons! Interestingly, we received lots of requests from ewe Herdsters to make similar vanity/makeup/toiletry bags... we listened and eventually launched a new range of Cosmetic Bags. Emma shares photos of the first Herdwick lambs of the season, 29th April In our Herdsters Facebook Group, Emma kept us regularly updated about the work she does with Spitalfields City Farm in London. They look after a flock of Herdwick sheep for conservation grazing in the North Downs. And then, April came around, and boom! New cute Herdwicks lambs.   May 2019 Seb Swallow wins a "Lady Baa-Baa" Herdy Every year we tend to run a little Eurovision competition on our social media. In 2019 we invited ewe Herdsters to suggest a sheep pun-based Eurovision contestant. The entry we found the funniest would then be made into an actual Herdy and given to the winner as a prize. Seb Swallow suggested "Lady Baa-Baa", which we loved. So we created a Lady Baa-Baa Herdy, just for him.   June 2019 Then THIS happened on 12th June, 2019 In June 2019, Prince William and Kate visited the Lake District, meeting with members of various charitable organisations, going on guided walks, and visiting fell farmers and shepherds. One visit they made was to a farm in the Patterdale valley, which is part of a co-operative we helped set up for purchasing the Herdwick fleece they clip so we can make Herdysleep mattresses. We had no idea the Royal Couple would be visiting this particular farm we knew of, and especially didn't know that the farm was prepared with tens of Herdy mugs, ready for afternoon tea! Herdwicks in a Honda, 22nd June Friend of Herdy, Michael Bauer, sent us some photos of these Herdwicks he looks after on his small holding. Don't really need to say anything more, do we?   July 2019 A goodbye cake with no peer, 15th July Over on Twitter, Ros let us know about a cake her colleague made for her as a goodbye gift. And we thought it was fantastic. Turns out that a lots of Herdsters are very talented bakers!   August 2019 The summer country show season heats up, 3rd August Herdy won 1st prize for Best Small Trade Stand at the Cockermouth Show. 2019 would also see us take the "Herdymobile" across the UK to attend a record number of country shows. Where's Roger with that cider? 29th August After attending our regular Summer spot at the Patterdale Dog Day show, we managed to capture a few more photos of those wonderful freshly clipped Herdwick sheep. We decided to use one for a fun caption competition. Matthew Jackson ended up being the winner with this funny back-and-forth between the Herdwicks.   September 2019 The "Copper (in our) Veins" trail & exhibition, 4th September In Coniston, the talented arty pair at Miles-Moore Ceramics, Siobhan and Martin, were creating an exhibition and trail celebrating Coniston copper, its historic mines, and the importance of copper not just to the Lake District but to mankind in general. We were invited to collaborate with Miles-Moore, as it was seen that copper was as fundamental to the Lake District as Herdwick sheep were. How could we refuse? We donated two Herdybanks, which were expertly copper gilded by Siobhan and local artist Jessica Elleray. The two Herdybanks then went on an adventure, all around the Coniston Coppermine trail and beyond, even making it to Anglesey, North Wales! Herdy helps raise awareness and funds for the rebuilding of the Borrowdale Institute, 12th September The Borrowdale Institute, the 100-year old Village Hall in the middle of the famous Borrowdale valley, is in dire need of repairs and upgrading. They're in the middle of running a crowdfunding campaign, and we wanted to help boost awareness of this crucial project and, hopefully, raise some more funds. Thankfully we helped raise an additional £1,000 for the fundraiser. You can contribute to the project here. Herdy launches the new Herdy Adventures range, 14th September Expanding on the massively popular Hiker Herdy concept, unveiled in late 2018, we launched the Herdy Adventures range in September 2019, accompanied by full-size adventurous Herdys scaling the walls, cycling around, and touring in our Herdy shop windows.   October 2019 Herdy meets Michael Portillio, 3rd October We attended the London Sheep Drive, one of the last Herdymobile shows of the year, and had the pleasure of introducing former MP Michael Portillo to Herdy and our wonderful world of colour and sheep. Sue "Suzie Coo Cakes" Graham makes THAT Christening cake, 17th October And promptly goes viral in the Herdy world.   November 2019 Herdy gets the Christmas decorations up, 1st November We introduced Santa Herdy and his best bud Sheppy the red-nosed "rain-deer"; well, they are from the Lake District after all! Along with a completely fitted out Christmas window display in all our Herdy shops, we also launched our 2019 range of Herdy Christmas goodies: the Christmas mug, coasters, tablemats, and cards. Herdy & inov-8 are announced as headline sponsors of the 2020 International U18 Mountain Running Cup, 14th November The occasion marks the first time the event has ever been hosted in the UK. “inov-8 are the technical specialists who are synonymous with fell running, and Herdy is the welcoming face of a character that symbolises the Lakes,” said Event Director Duncan Richards. “One enables runners to tackle all levels of fell terrain, while Herdy, inspired by the Lakes' native Herdwick sheep, knows the fells even better than the best runners!” More gorgeous CAKE is made, 25th November This time from Jane Muir, who emailed us this photo of her amazing Herdy Christmas cake she made, inspired by our Herdy Christmas 2019 designs.   December 2019 The copper Herdys are raffled off to raise funds for the Brathay Trust, 2nd December The lucky winner was announced as Sue Wilkinson, from Portinscale near Keswick, Cumbria. Sue is a retired professor of psychology specialising in health communication, and has a lifelong interest in mental health. Returning back to Herdy silliness... 4th December In our Herdsters Facebook Group, Diane Hillyer's Herdys were celebrating the end of Movember, and the terrific moustaches they've grown, the only way they knew: with CAKE. Talented bakers ahoy! 17th December Elaine sent us these photos of her daughter's Birthday Cake, baked by grandma Jeanette. Again, incredible attention to detail. There does seem to be an awful lot of extremely talented bakers in the Herdster community.

Article written by Herdy Co-Founder & Director Spencer Hannah. There’s a cleansing and energising “mental refresh” when you spend time with young people who are relatively unaffected by trend or fad. While the farming community might not be best know as “the crowd that talks too much”, once you get beyond the rather appealing timidity young farmers say it much more clearly and honestly than an oldie like me. And the lifestyle they lead, in the place they are in, can support a much more mature, responsible viewpoint on things that should matter, in fact, to all of us. This was Herdy’s second gathering, after meeting up with the Crook Young Farmer’s Club, and Lamplugh’s Young Farmers did not disappoint; another lively, positive, and engaging session (with a bit of fun and laughs thrown in too). The format and theme was the same as with Crook Young Farmers; tell the story of Herdy to kick things off (and hopefully inspire) then straight into the challenge: “what do you think you can do to affect a positive and a prosperous future for farming?” Education, understanding and awareness; make farming and agriculture a lesson in schools floated to the top with Crook. After initial thoughts were gathered in, the focus from Lamplugh was on people understanding and appreciating how much they genuinely cared about welfare standards and food provenance… and to somehow get the message across to consumers that supporting cheap processed foods, their associated brands, poor quality imports, and “pile it high/sell it cheap” retailing wasn’t helping. As one young farmer said (probably the line of the evening): “People just aren’t hungry enough” Difficult to argue with that. So, in summary: Sell the story as well as the product in order to assure consumers of our welfare standards and choose to buy better and buy local This was Lamplugh Young Farmers’ contributory thought on our little campaign trail. Well done guys, you were brilliant. Spence

When you think of Coniston you might be reminded of: Coniston Water, Beatrix Potter, Herdwick sheep, the Bluebird, the Old Man of Coniston… but what about the copper trail? Copper is as fundamental to the story of the Lake District as Herdwick sheep are; without it, global communications and home electricity would not be possible. And yet, not many people know about this metal, its history, and the abundance of it that was discovered in Coniston. Local artists Jessica Elleray and Siobhan Miles-Moore have been on a mission to raise the visibility of copper, boost awareness of its importance to the development of Coniston and the Lake District as a whole, and tell the story of the Lake District’s industrial heritage. The result is the Copper (In Our) Veins art exhibition and sculpture trail.   The importance of copper Copper (chemical symbol Cu) is one of the oldest metals man has worked with, with evidence of man’s interaction with the metal dating back more than 10,000 years. A hand-beaten copper pendant was discovered in modern-day northern Iraq that could be dated to 8,700BC. Copper is particularly handy for humans due to its innate properties: It is the best metal electrical conductor except for silver, and a tightly-wrapped coil of copper wire with an electric current passing through it will create a magnetic field, which has all kind of modern applications; Copper is a good thermal conductor, allowing heat to pass through it quickly. This property has lots of useful applications, such as copper heat sinks in computers; It is naturally hostile to bacteria, viruses, and fungi that settle on its surface, giving copper all kinds of medical and hygiene uses; Copper is infinitely recyclable without any loss of performance and is nearly indistinguishable from freshly-mined copper. Copper in Coniston and the Lake District Copper veins were “injected” into the Lake District landscape by a series of eruptions from super volcanoes and subsequent earthquakes, roughly 460 million years ago. Fast forward until the 16th century when Queen Elizabeth I set up the Company of Mines Royal to work on the copper veins discovered in Coniston. Progress was initially very slow, with rockface openings and tunnelling all done by hand and primitive methods. The situation improved when the Queen imported expert German miners from the Tyrol and Bavaria regions of Germany, and then further accelerated when gunpowder was introduced towards the end of the 17th century. By the mid-1800s copper production in Coniston was at its peak. By 1896 Penny Rigg at Tilberthwaite, round the corner from Coniston, was producing slate, and there were no longer any workers at the Coniston mine. The Coniston Mining Syndicate was wound up in 1908, and the last waterwheels were removed for scrap during the 1930s. Celebrating the copper mining heritage of Coniston To celebrate the industrial heritage of the Lake District, as well as the story and importance of copper mining in Coniston, local artists Jessica Elleray and Siobhan Miles-Moore have teamed up. They’ve created a temporary Copper Sculpture Trail throughout the Coppermine Valley as well as an Exhibition at the Ruskin Museum in Coniston. The Gilded Sculpture Trail features a variety of natural and man-made objects relevant to copper mining, all expertly gilded in copper. Objects include a series of copper-gilded horseshoes (which honour the pack horses who carried the copper ore), a pair of copper-gilded mining clogs (honouring the men who worked underground), and even a 6ft-tall 20-tonne boulder, known as the Heart Stone, completely covered in copper of course! And there’s loads more to discover around the trail. The Ruskin Museum will also host an exhibition of painting and sculpture, which brings context to the outdoor work, expanding on the narrative and bringing insight into the artist’s underground experiences. For those who are unable to do the three-mile walk, a film and exhibition will feature in the Ruskin Museum to ensure nobody misses-out on the experience. The trail will follow existing routes and will not be fixed into the ground or impede pathways. On completion of the exhibition in the Ruskin Museum on 5 October 2019, all items except the gilded stones will be removed, leaving no evidence of having been there. In addition to these historical artefacts, Jessica and Siobhan got in touch with Herdy to see if we’d like to get involved with the Copper Trail and help raise awareness. Of course, we were delighted to take part! The result… Two Herdy Banks, gilded in copper! The Copper Herdys have been exploring Coniston, the Ruskin Museum, and the Gilded Sculpture Trail in the Coppermines Valley. And they’ve even gone as far as North Wales, exploring the mining landscape of Snowdonia and discovering what was once the largest copper mine in the world: Parys Mountain on Anglesey. You can walk the trail yourself! Start from the Ruskin Museum and continue northeast and upwards on Coppermines Road towards the fells. The path will eventually join alongside Church Beck; just keep following it up until you reach the Coniston YHA. This is the start of the Gilded Sculpture Trail. Check out the handy map below. The exhibition and trail will conclude on Sunday 6TH October, after which an online raffle will be held for the two adorable Copper Herdys! Funds raised from the auction of these Copper Herdys go directly to the Brathay Trust. The Brathay Trust is a Lake District-based charity whose aim is to improve the life chances of children, young people, and families by inspiring them to engage positively in their communities. In the beginning, the trust helped get mill-working young men into the Lakes to enjoy the land, be inspired by nature and express their creative side, and endeavour to help them become more “well-rounded” characters. This mission is still in practice today, and currently Siobhan and Martin of Miles-Moore Ceramics are Artists In Residence at the Brathay Trust, helping young people from urban areas to explore and express their creative side in a natural setting. Keep your eyes peeled here or on our social media (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) for details about the Copper Herdy raffle. Draw will be held on 24th November 2019, get your chance to win these two Copper Herdys. All photos in this blog courtesy of Robin Cooper.

Farmers feed all of us, so the future for responsible and sustainable farming in this country should also be in their hands. Young farmers are often talked about, but not with. They should be inspired to share their thoughts, ideas, and dreams. Herdy is helping to gather and share those ideas in order to create a campaign that engages with everyone; and helps all of us understand and appreciate their world and it’s future. Spence (Spencer Hannah, Co-Founder and Co-Creator of Herdy) met with the Crook Young Farmers on Tuesday 25th September. This was the first of hopefully many Young Farmers groups who will join the flock, grow the movement, and get Young Farmers heard. The top idea from this gathering was: Education, Understanding and Awareness. Make Agriculture and Farming a lesson in our schools national education program. If you’re a Young Farmer or an interested Young Person and would like to join the campaign, Herdy would love to hear from you and your ideas. Chat with us in the comments below, or join the discussion on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. You can also email us.

This year, 2019, the Herdy Mobile will be out and about more than ever before! Check out the map below to see if we’re coming to a show near ewe; we’ve also included a handy-dandy list of each show we’re attending, its website, where it is, and when it’s running. Come and say hi to Herdy, meet the team (and maybe even the co-founders!), and grab yourself some show baaaa-gains. If ewe can’t make it any of the shows, don’t worry! Ewe can still get yourself a baaaa-gain right here. Royal Cheshire Show, Knutsford, Cheshire Tuesday 18th June - Wednesday 19th June Website: https://www.royalcheshireshow.org Location: Tabley, near Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 0JF Times: 8am–6pm Ullswater Country Fair, Patterdale, Cumbria Sunday 30th June Website: https://www.ullswatercountryfair.co.uk Location: King George V Playing Fields (near Patterdale C of E school) Times: open from 10:30am Goosnargh & Longridge Show, Longridge, Lancashire Saturday 6th July Website: https://glashow.org.uk Location: The Showfield, Lower Lane, Longridge, PR3 3SQ Times: 9am–5pm Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate, North Yorkshire Tuesday 9th July - Thursday 11th July Website: https://greatyorkshireshow.co.uk Location: Great Yorkshire Showground, Railway Road, Harrogate, HG2 8NZ Times: 7.30am–7.30pm on Tuesday & Wednesday, 7.30am–6.30pm on Thursday Coniston Country Fair, Coniston, Cumbria Sunday 21st July Website: http://conistoncountryfair.co.uk Location: Coniston Hall and fields, Coniston, Cumbria, LA21 8AS Times: from 11.30am Cockermouth & District Agricultural Show, Cockermouth, Cumbria Saturday 3rd August Website: http://www.cockermouthshow.co.uk Location: The Fitz, Fitz Park, Low Road, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 0XE Times: from 9.00am Cartmel Show, Cartmel, Cumbria Wednesday 7th August Website: http://www.cartmelagriculturalsociety.org.uk Location: Cartmel Racecourse, Cartmel, Cumbria, LA11 6QF Times: from 8.30am Ings Sheep Dog Trials, Ings, Cumbria Thursday 8th August Website: http://www.ingsvillage.org.uk/news-sheepdog.php?home Location: Hill Farm, Ings, Cumbria, LA8 9QQ Times: 10.00am–5.00pm Halifax Agricultural Show, Halifax, West Yorkshire Saturday 10th August Website: https://halifaxshow.org.uk Location: Savile Park, Savile Park Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 3EA Times: from 9.00am Hawkshead Show, Hawkshead, Cumbria || NOW CANCELLED Tuesday 20th August Website: http://www.hawksheadshow.co.uk/?VISITORS_INFORMATION Location: Hawkshead Hall Farm, Hawkshead, Cumbria, LA22 0NN Times: from 9.00am Patterdale Dog Day, Patterdale, Cumbria Saturday 24th August Website: http://www.patterdaledogday.co.uk/Attractions.html Location: King George V Playing Fields (near Patterdale C of E school) Times: from 8.30am Grasmere Lakeland Sports & Show, Grasmere, Cumbria Sunday 25th August Website: https://www.grasmeresports.com Location: The Showfield, Stock Lane, Grasmere, Cumbria, LA22 9SL Times: from 10.00am Sheep Drive & Wool Fair, London Bridge, London Sunday 29th September Website: https://sheepdrive.london Location: Monument to the Great Fire of London, Fish Street Hill, London, EC3R 8AH Times: from 10.00am Yarndale, Skipton, North Yorkshire Saturday 28th September & Sunday 29th September Website: https://yarndale.co.uk Location: Skipton Auction Mart, Gargrave Road, Skipton, BD23 1UD Times: Saturday 10.00am–5.30pm and Sunday 10.00am–4.30pm

As ewe know, herdy loves supporting our rural communities and traditions, and what could be more fun than messing about in boats? This year marks Ullswater Yacht Clubs’ 60th anniversary year. The club started in 1958 when friends Harold Couzens and Joe Harrison, who both enjoyed spending time on the lake, decided it would be a good idea for Ullswater to have its own club. They placed an advert in the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald on March 4, 1958, inviting anyone interested to write to them. They were delighted with the response and eighty people turned up at the Queen’s Head, Tirril, on April 10, 1958, to officially form the Ullswater Motor Boat and Yacht Club. To celebrate their diamond year, the club asked if our l’al (fine, enormous) herdy would be part of the celebrations at their first race, the Daffodil Regatta. How could we say no? Everyone, meet Admiral herdy! Good luck to all the competitors!

Traditional Wrestling has a special place in Cumberland and Westmorland’s culture and also has a deep heritage in various places across the UK, including Cornwall, Scotland, and Ireland. Traditional wrestling is still actively practised around the UK and has hardly changed in over two centuries. Often, bouts adhere to the same rules and traditional costumes are still worn: white long johns with dark velvet shorts and floral vests are the usual garb worn by wrestlers at traditional village sports fairs such as Grasmere Sports. The iconic image of Cumberland wrestlers fighting at the foot of our majestic fells are about as Cumbrian as you can get.  The official rules according to Black Belt Wiki are quite straightforward: “The two combatants position themselves chest to chest in a 'Backhold' position with the right arm under the others left arm, the left arm over the others right shoulder and the chin of each Wrestler is placed on the others left shoulder. With the Wrestlers in position, the referee will call 'En Guard' followed by the command to 'Wrestle'. The combatants will then begin their struggle to get the opponent to the ground using techniques such as lifting, twisting and tripping. The first wrestler to hit the ground loses.” Earliest references of wrestling in Cumbria date back to the 16th century but it is thought that our traditional ‘backhold’ Cumberland style may have been brought over with the Vikings or come from Scotland. Whilst much of the origins of the sport can only be surmised from tantalising excerpts from history, what we do know is that today the sport is very much alive in Cumbria. In fact, the Youth Wrestling World Cup is about to take place here in Cumbria next weekend!   The “European Espoirs Championships” of the IFCW (International Federation of Celtic Wrestling) will be held at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith, Cumbria, on 7th-8th April 2018. The international event takes place every two years and was last held in Austria 2016. England has its own team with an enormous sheep for a mascot! Having brought home three Gold Medals and three Silvers at the last event in Austria they are hoping for great things. The event involves teams from England, Scotland, Iceland, Hungary, Brittany, Leon in northern Spain, Sardinia, Austria, Sweden and USA, which are all regions or countries with their own enduring traditions of indigenous wrestling. The two-day competition consists of two styles of wrestling: Gouren, a jacket style from Brittany, and Backhold (akin to our own Cumberland and Westmorland style). As the event is taking place in Cumbria our very own giant GB herdy is going to be the England mascot (there has been talk of some ENORMOUS velvet shorts and vest for him!)  We're sure you’ll join us in wishing all the competitors the very best of luck, but secretly hope ewe’ll be rooting for our England team, which has a strong contingent of local lads and lasses. You can find out more information about the event here.