‘Our dryer balls are soft and natural’

Sarah Turner, 43, lives in Ilkley, West Yorkshire with her husband Mat, 42, and children Isabella, 11, and Sienna, nine. She launched Little Beau Sheep in 2015, offering handcrafted, eco-friendly laundry products, including her bestselling dryer balls, made with British wool and lanolin.

THE IDEA

I was living in a top-floor flat while our home was undergoing restructuring. Getting the washing dry without a garden meant I was forced to use a tumble dryer. The dryer balls I bought to speed things up were unbearably noisy and just added to the world’s unwanted plastic problem. As a crafting enthusiast, I put my skills to work making a softer, natural alternative using wool from different breeds of sheep.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

Little Beau Sheep was launched on the online marketplace Etsy with a supporting Facebook page in October 2015. I was soon getting requests to make soaps and laundry balls that looked like particular breeds of sheep. I also started doing markets and agricultural shows, which was a great way to meet customers and gain feedback.

BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT

I won the Wool Innovation Prize in 2019. It was amazing and connected me to a whole network of experts. It came just after I had been featured on BBC’S Countryfile for our collaboration with Crowkeld Rare Breed Farm, raising funds for the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

STEEPEST LEARNING CURVE

Scaling the business at different stages was hard work. I went from sole trader to limited company, from sole director to employer with premises. There’s a new challenge at every stage – very much like watching your children grow up!

WHERE I AM NOW

We sell around 500 packs of laundry balls per month, online and through a growing network of independent retailers nationwide. This year, I took on a full-time employee on an apprenticeship, and we have a workspace in the old Wool Secretariat building in Ilkley. My goal is for the brand to become synonymous with eco-care and environmental awareness.