Sally Jackson has shared her love for wool through her public Instagram account, ‘All About Wool’, which reached over one thousand followers last month.
Ms Jackson created the account two years ago when she attended an International Wool Textile Organisation conference in Sydney.
She said it was her “lightbulb moment” to share her passion for wool which started from a young age as the daughter of a farmer.
“After hearing some of the speakers at the conference, I was inspired to try and use my digital media and advertising skills to promote woollen products,” Ms Jackson said.
“As a farmer’s daughter, you appreciate it.”
She said her Instagram helps people understand the benefits of wool.
“The way wool is processed now is incredible,” she said.
While woollen clothes used to have a reputation for being scratchy, she said this is a thing of the past.
“No more scratchy jumpers,” she said.
Having always had an interest in wool, Ms Jackson said when she was studying at university she would save money from her part-time job to buy woollen products because of the quality.
“Some of those jumpers I still have today,” she said.
The account has enabled her to pass on her appreciation for the product in the digital age.
She said she struggled to find woollen products for her children, so she created her Instagram to promote “brands that are out there that didn’t have a voice”.
What started as a hobby has now turned into a business opportunity as Ms Jackson has teamed up with two other women to create United by Wool, a company which sources and sells woollen products.
The three best friends joined forces because of their shared passion for wool.
Having used her digital media skills to find woollen products for her own children, she has been able to apply this knowledge to her new online business.
The model is to make access to quality woollen products easily accessible so that more people are able to enjoy the benefits of wool.
After a year of planning, the business has now been running for a month.
Ms Jackson’s appreciation for wool was “built into [her] at a young age”, as she remembers her grandma often said, “make sure you’ve got your wool on” when winter rolled around.
Having grown up on a sheep and cattle farm in South Australia, she remembers helping her dad on the school holidays.
Her Instagram often features her children in their woollen products as well as her husband who is an exporter in the industry.