FROM TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
How needle felter Louise Worthington overcame an attack on her cat to work with an international brand.
Despite being a cat lover, when Louise Worthington set up a needle felting business making animals, she decided she would stay away from making cats. Using the craft which involves repeatedly stabbing a needle into wool to shape it, she instead focused on making wildlife animals.
“A lot of people were needle felting cats so I stayed away from doing that,” says Louise, from Kelsall, Cheshire, who set up her business Wulyder my five years ago. However, an awful incident with her own moggy Hugh inspired her on a new path and she is now working with one of the biggest feline stars in the world: ‘Simon’s Cat.’
When it comes to cartoon felines, ‘Simon’s Cat’ is one of the biggest stars of the 21st century.The star is the charming yet mischievous cat who lives with long-suffering owner Simon, and is simply known as Simon’s Cat. Beyond the animated series, Simon’s Cat enjoys international success across gaming, publishing, apparel, and more.
In partnership with the brand, Louise is now producing a ‘Simon’s Cat’ needle felt kit so those with passion for crafts can needle felt their very own version of the cartoon cat.The kits launched this month and are available to buy from £20. With her business just starting as a hobby, it’s an incredible achievement for Louise, but none of it would have been possible if it wasn’t for her own feline friend.
HUGH’S STORY
“I would not have gone down this path if it wasn’t for what happened to my cat Hugh,” explains Louise. “It was March 2020, when we were about to go into lockdown. I came home and Hugh was screwed up on the doorstep; I thought he had been
run over. I got him to the vet’s and realised he had been shot. I could see the hole in his leg.
“Hugh was sent to a vet hospital and he ended up having a metal plate in his leg and was in a cage in my living room for 12 weeks. This was a cat who was used to going outdoors. This cost me £5,000
— I didn’t care about the cost in that sense but it was a lot of money.The staff at the vet’s would ask if I was insured and I would reply ‘No.’ So we joked that I wouldn’t be going on holiday any time soon!
“Eighteen months on, Hugh has still got his leg and he still runs and jumps. He hasn’t got full grip or stretch but you wouldn’t know that there is anything wrong with him now.The only thing is I can’t let him out anymore as someone shot him.
“It’s really upsetting that someone has done that to him. He’s a lovely cat though and the vets said being able to handle him really helped with his recovery and being able to plaster his leg. Eventually, I managed to harness train him and I take him out. We give him the best life we can and he has the run of the house. Luckily, we can run about with him in the house. We play games, including hide and seek, a lot! He’s a beautiful cat and is very easy going — he’s happy.”
NEEDLE FELT CATS
After all the tragedy and with Hugh being a rescue from Cats Protection, Louise wanted to help other cats who had endured tough times. So she used her needle felting talents to help.
“With my needle felting, I’d not done cats but I did a fundraiser for Cosy Cats Rescue in Northwich and put a cat needle felt kit out with a donation from sales going to the local shelter. Hugh also helps them; they have a weekly draw and he has a number in that.”
With the success of the cat needle felt kits, Louise decided to approach ‘Simon’s Cat’ about a collaboration.
“I approached ‘Simon’s Cat’ — not quite realising how vast an empire it was — and asked if they would like to collaborate to make needle felt kits and they said ‘Yes’. The team at the brand have been really helpful. It’s taken six months to get there but we have now launched a full range of all the characters from ‘Simon’s Cat.’
Needle felting is a craft hobby that is really starting to boom with the number of people taking it up growing rapidly. For Louise, it was never her intention to make it a business.
“About five years ago, I came across needle felting and taught myself,” says Louise. “I never expected it to become a business but it has snowballed — it has a life of its own! I started a Facebook page just to share photographs of my needle felting.”
Several years later, Wulydermy, which prides itself on using
100 per cent British wool and rare breed British wool, is now working with ‘Simon’s Cat.’ While Louise is hugely excited about the new range, the real highlight of the story is Hugh.
She said:“The point about this all is that something good came out of what happened to Hugh.You’ve got to make the most of what happens in life and without what happened to Hugh I wouldn’t have gone down this path. It’s a happy ending.”