 After visiting Helena and her flock of Herdwick's I came back to the studio to look through all the photographs I had taken. The Hardwick's have so much character and are extremely distinctive with the small white faces and large, thick fleeces. Tormund the Ram is particularly eye-catching with his impressive set of horns and tufty beard.  The Herwick's have a distinctive contrast between the colour of their faces and fleeces.
These are two pencil sketches which I have completed of 'Tormund' the ram.  A pencil sketch of Arya, one of Helena's favourite ewes.    These are my final hand stamped prints which I created from my pencil drawings. I take all the 'main' shapes from my drawings to create simple stamps from, which I then use to build up and create the coloured prints. I then work back into the stamped prints, putting in all the characteristics and detail. I am really pleased with how these prints have turned out, I think it is mostly because of the character and distinctiveness of the Hardwick breed. They also have such variety of texture and colour within their fleeces which really compliments the hand stamped technique.  I would like to say another BIG thank you to Helena for taking the time to introduce me to her Stark Herdwicks. It was so interesting to learn so much about another one of our countries native breeds.
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 Welcome back to 'Over The Farm Gate', following the Christmas/Winter break I am really looking forward to starting the blog up again and begin visiting local farmers to share their stories and gather inspiration for my prints and designs. Last week I had my first farm visit of 2019 to local Shepherdess, Helena Wright. Helena keeps native Herdwick sheep which originate from central and western Lake District and would usually live on the highest of England’s mountains. I was lucky enough that I could find these beautiful sheep in the local village of Wood Norton. I went to see Helena and her Stark flock of Herdwicks to find out more about the Native breed and why she chose them.  Helena feeding her flock.  Helena's flock is called Stark Herdwicks, named after Game of Thrones which she loves! How long have you been interested in sheep and how did you become so involved with them? I have always been interested in “Livestock” in general with my family since I was born, but my own flock of sheep I have had since December 2017 What made you choose the Herdwick breed? By chance on social media I saw a picture one day of a Herdwick (Herdy!) and I instantly fell in love with the breed and said these are my sheep! Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the breed? The are native to the area of central and western Lake District and live on one of England’s highest mountains. The breed dates back to the 12th century with local folklore linking the breed to the Vikings. The name Herdwyck dates back to the 6th century and refers to “Sheep Pasture”. There is a lot of references to the Herdwick breed throughout the years along with Beatrix Potter being so passionate of her Herdwick sheep that upon her death left the National Trust all her 4000 acres, 21 farms and it was stipulated that her Herdwick flock must remain on these farms. Her Legacy remains one of the largest and most significant bequests ever made.  The Herdwick is distinctive looking with its small white head and large heavy fleece of dense wool. How many Herdwick sheep do you now have in your flock? I have 6 shearling ewes and 1 shearling tup. You have just bought a ram, what specific qualities were you looking for? The boys OR Rams must be masculine in character. Broad and full. Horns smooth and round, rising out well from the back of the head. Their face, jaw and top of head must be covered with strong, bristly hair and free from wool. Legs must be straight and clean with big knees. Bristly hair and free from wool again. And both face and legs must be clear “hoar-frosted” (White) in colour. Their wool should be heavy and dense with and undercoat of fine wool which is even in colour. Good quality all over their body. A strong ruffle or mane around the neck and top of shoulders. And a good strong tail. No spots, brown or yellow in any part.  Helena's Ram Tormund with a Herwick ewe. This year will be your first year lambing, how excited do you feel? Nervous and Excited! I’m use to calving, but sheep are smaller scale. But I can’t wait to grow my own flock. And the lambs are completely black when they are first born! They then change colour as they get older, so I’m interested to see that for myself. Will you lamb them outside or inside? Herdwicks have good mothering instinct and I have been given advice that they are very much the independent type, so they will be outside but if they need help they have a nice new “maternity” pen to come into. Will you be selling your lambs on or retaining some for breeding stock? The plan is to keep my ewe lambs for breeding stock and I’m not sure on the ram lambs. Depending on how many I get, to sell on as breeding tups or for meat (But that’s another plan of mine 😊)  Arya, one of Helena's ewes due to lamb in March.  Helena took her Herdwick's to a handful of local agricultural shows in 2018. Last year was your first attempt at showing, how did you find it? I did get very nervous as again I have shown cattle, but sheep is a different thing again. However, I have met some great friendly people along the way. And that is the main thing. To enjoy what you do. What do you look for in a good Quality Herdwick sheep? Strong body, clean legs and face. Females must not have horns and have that “feminine” look to them. Then the Tups being “manly” as I call it. Good even colour of wool. What is your favourite thing about owning sheep? With my herdy’s it’s got to be the face! They always look like they are smiling. So, no matter what time of the day or night. Whatever sort of day I’m having they always make me smile. And they all have names which I’m sure they know it! As they all seem to live up to their character.
Helena with one of her favourite ewe's Arya. What advice would you give someone looking to get sheep? Speak to other’s who have the same breed as you. As each breed is different. Some need more prep than others. Always contact your breed association, as they are very helpful in pointing you in the right direction. And you got to like being cold and wet! No matter what the weather or time of day. So long as you don’t mind getting your hands dirty then your fine! A BIG thank you to Helena for taking the time to show me around her flock of Herdwick sheep. It was great to be back visiting a local farmer, I never get bored of hearing about peoples passions and stories. I am even more excited to go back and visit in March when Helena starts lambing!   After visiting Phoebe at her family farm in Eye and meeting her flock of Norfolk horn sheep I came back to the studio to have a look through all the photographs which I had taken. There were a lot of photos! I had enjoyed spending my afternoon with the Norfolk Horn sheep so much, I had really been looking forward to it. They are a breed with such distinctive characteristics which I was really looking forward to drawing,  A bit of a stare off between a Norfolk Horn ewe and Nellie the sheepdog.
Phoebe's sheepdog Nellie.  This is a pencil sketch that I did from one of the photographs I took of Phoebe's Norfolk Horn ewes, I was really pleased with how distinctive it looks. The dark face contrasting with the staturesque horns.  This is the final print which I have created from my pencil sketch, I have taken all the basic shapes out of my drawing and then worked back into the print to get the detail and features of the ewe.  I would like to say another BIG thank you to Phoebe and her family for taking the time to show me around their farm. I had a brilliant time and if you would like to see more about Phoebe's family business 'Woolly Comforts' creating beautiful lambskins from their flock of sheep then please take a look at their website >>> www.woollycomforts.co.uk.
If you would like to find out more about Norfolk Horn sheep the Rare Breeds Survival Trust have lots of information on their website >>> www.rbst.org.uk.   Last weekend I went to visit 16 year old shepherdess, Phoebe with her flock of Norfolk Horns. I was very excited to travel to Eye in Suffolk to meet Phoebe's sheep as I have wanted to draw Norfolk Horns for a while now. They are so majestic and striking with there dark faces and handsome horns. It is also really important to raise awareness of the Norfolk Horn as they are also a rare breed on the Rare Breed Survival Trusts minority list.  How long have you been interested in sheep and how did you become so involved with them? I have been interested and involved with sheep from an early age, having grown up on a farm and working alongside Mum and Dad. What made you choose the Norfolk Horn? They are practical but a different and characterisitc breed, with their horns making them look nice. How many Norfolk Horns do you have now in your flock? I now have 17 ewes, all to lamb this coming season.  Phoebe's 17 ewes enjoying the summer grass. What is the temperament of Norfolk Horns? Are they easy to handle with their horns? They can be quite naturally unsettled if they are not looked over regularly enough, but once they know you they are calmer and easier to work with.
Phoebe regularly handles her Norfolk Horns, checking teeth, feet and ear tags. This also means the ewes are used to being handled. How many lambs have you had this year? This year, I had 12 lambs for the 7 ewes that lambed. What do you plan to do with this years lambs? As this years lambs were Norfolk Horn x Charollais hopefully they will all be sold as freezer lambs in about two months time.  2018 lambs - Norfolk Horn x Charollais. What are you looking for in a 'good' Norfolk Horn? I always look for nicely shaped horns personally, but they should have a good conformation all round too. Do you have Norfolk Horn Sheepskins made? Yes, we have them back from the lambs.  Phoebe's family run a business called 'Woolly Comforts' creating beautiful lambskins from their own flock of sheep reared in the Suffolk Countryside.  One of 'Woolly Comforts' lambskins on my sofa at home! Do the Norfolk Horns make a good sheepskin? Their sheepskins are very similar to the Suffolks and the Charollais sheepskins, being thick and varying colours from cream to more speckled and some darker brown, but they are slightly smoother usually.  Phoebe with one of her favourite Norfolk Horn ewes. What is your favourite thing about owning sheep? The satisfaction and pride at lambing time, especially seeing new borns. What advice would you give someone looking to get sheep? Choose a practice and relatively calm breed, to make handling them easier.  I would like to say a big thank you to Phoebe for taking the time to show me around her farm and introduce me to her flock of sheep. It is always so inspiring to meet someone so young with so much passion and knowledge for farming. Take a look at 'Woolly Comforts' website to see what a great farm diversification business they have created as a family >>> www.woollycomforts.co.uk. If you would like to find out more about Norfolk Horn sheep the Rare Breeds Survival Trust have lots of information on their website >>> www.rbst.org.uk.    Emma's flock of Beltex is called 'St Theobalds'. After visiting Emma and meeting her flock of Beltex sheep, I returned to the studio to look through all the photographs I had taken. I had never really taken much notice or come across Beltex sheep before. The Beltex sheep arrived in the UK from Belgium in 1989, and with their double muscle traits they have brought a new dimension to British lamb production. They are extremely distinctive to look at with a very short, thick face which is square in shape.   The Beltex face is short and thick.
Pencil sketches of a Beltex ewe.   These are the hand stamped prints of the beltex sheep which I created from the pencil sketches that I did to begin with. It is always difficult doing an animal that doesn't have a bold colour, especially when it is white/cream and making it stand out. However, the Beltex is so distinctive and striking looking that I think that the portrait is really effective.
I would like to say another BIG thank you to Emma for taking the time to introduce me to her flock of sheep me and showing me around her farm yard!
  This week I spent the afternoon with Emma and her two flocks of sheep. Emma keeps both commercial and pedigree Beltex sheep which she runs separately on her family farm in Coltishall. With the help of her 11 month old sheep dog, Tink, Emma runs her sheep enterprise single handedly with an emphasis on homebred, grass reared lambs which are then sold on at local farmers markets. It was really interesting to meet such a young farmer who has already found an outlet at local markets for her product which is selling successfully, with all her stock selling out at last weeks farmers market!  Emma with some of her commercial mule ewe's with Beltex cross lambs. How long have you been interested in sheep and how did you become so involved with them? I had always wanted sheep and kept asking my Dad if I could have some lambs but on a particular day in March 2014 he said ‘yes!’. I started with five orphan lambs, I then sold the two male lambs to a local vendor and kept the three ewe lambs for breeding. This was the beginning my commercial flock. I bought cross beltex ewes and a beltex cross tup and I liked the lambs and this was when I decided I liked the breed. I then went on to buy three pedigree Beltex shearlings and two ewe lambs in 2017. As well running my pedigree flock of Beltex which MV accredited, I run separate commercial flock alongside. Why did you choose the Beltex breed? I was first attracted to the Beltex because of their conformation and pretty heads. As well as this they are popular for the meat trade with their muscle conformation, producing lean meat which grades well. They do take a little longer to finish but there is more taste in the meat for the customer. I have found that using a Beltex tup on my commercial flock has been successful and produce better shaped lambs. The Beltex ewe produces a small lamb, which is strong and fast growing, they have good maternal instinct and make extremely good mothers.  A few of Emma's Beltex from her 'St. Theobalds' flock. How many Beltex sheep do you now have in your flock? In my Beltex flock In total I have 6 ewes, 5 ewe lambs and 2 ram lambs, 2 tups and 10 shearlings to breed with this year. In my commercial flock I have 80 ewes, 4 tups and 170 lambs (I have already sold quite a few of the early lambs). What do you plan to do with this year’s lambs; will you be selling them on or retaining some for breeding stock? I will keep all my Beltex ewe lambs to go to the tup in september 2019, I plan to sell the ram lambs as shearlings for other flocks. With my commercial lambs, I sell them all to a combination of local butchers and private customers as meat boxes. I started doing farmers markets in August 2017, I was approached by Hickling Farmers Market who were interested in having home reared lamb. Since then I have started attending more farmers markets including Stalham and Aldborough. Farmers Markets has been a great place for me to promote my stock and the home reared lamb I produce and has lead to a lot of repeat custom.
Emma with some of her 2018 Beltex lambs. You have recently sheared your sheep, why is this important to do at this time of year? I started to shear in February but this was purely just for my show shearlings, so that by the time the agricultural shows come about their fleece has come back. Otherwise I shear in May and this is important to prevent them from getting fly strike in the warmer weather. When a sheep sweats they can’t release the heat through their wool this is when the flies start hanging around and lay their eggs in the fleece, which turns into maggots which then begins to eat the sheep alive. This is a big problem with sheep in the Summer months and the main reason we have to shear them. You show your Beltex sheep, what do you look for in a prize-winning Beltex? When I am looking for a good animal I want good muscle conformation, an animal that stands nice and square and walks well, an animal that catches your eye with presence in the field. Straight back and good width between the loin. Specific traits within a Beltex you would definitely want is a small head.  What is involved in your show preparation? To start my show preparation I have to halter train the sheep so I know that the can walk and get in and out of the ring with out too much embarrassment! When they are in the ring they are shown off the halter so you want to be able to catch them reasonably easily. Bathing is the main preparation to get the grease out their fleece and also trim their fleece so that they look shapely and well presented. Why do you feel showing is important for you and your sheep? I feel showing is important as it is a chance to show my stock off to potential buyers, especially as I am hoping to sell my ram lambs onto breeders. It is also a chance to promote my meat as people get the chance to see the animals I am producing.  Emma with one of her Beltex's which she is taking to the Norfolk Show. What advice would you give someone looking to get sheep? Have patience, they can make you very stressed! Sheep are idol, they always want to do the opposite of what you want. You have got to love sheep! If you want to get into them on a larger scale get a dog as this will make your life easier.  Tink, Emma's 11 month old sheepdog. What are your plans for your flock over the next few years? I hope to expand my pedigree Beltex flock to 100 and to be able to take my stock to the larger sales to help promote my flock (St.Theobalds) and get my name out there. With my commercials I plan to get up to 500 breeding ewes, continuing to cross them with Beltex tups and continue to sell the meat both to butchers, markets and farmers markets.  A big thank you to Emma for taking the time to show me around her farm and telling me all about her sheep!
 I am really excited to announce the launch of my first collection of cards which have been inspired by my farm visits as part of 'Over The Farm Gate'. I started this blog in January with the aim to combine both my passions, design and farming. I wanted to visit other peoples farms, hear their stories and meet their livestock. I have had a fantastic time visiting other peoples farm yards and learning so much about all the different breeds. Having looked through all my drawings and designs Lara and I have picked 12 prints which make up the first 'Over The Farm Gate' card collection. Each card has been personalised on the back with the farmers name, the animals breed and a little quote from the farmer.  Each card has been personalised to every farmer. 
My first blog all the way back in February was about chicken breeder, my sister Cecily with her Buff Orpingtons and Light Sussex. Cecily has had chickens throughout our childhood and I as my first blog I was so happy that she agreed to be my first farmer/breeder!  
My next visit was with pig breeder, Hayley who has British Lop and British Saddleback pigs which are both on the RBST rare breeds list. These pigs have to be some of the best looked after pigs I have ever come across! Hayley attended South Suffolk show yesterday and won Champion with Jilly, her British Lop and Reserve Champion with Minty her British Saddleback. Hayley and I are attending lots of similar agricultural shows this summer and I am looking forward to seeing her winning streak continue!   At the end of February I visited cattle farmer, Annabelle who has Charolais cattle. Annabelle has grown up on a cattle farm but at only 16 years old the Charolais are her own venture. Annabelle is so passionate and knowledgeable about the breed, I am looking forward to following her progress through the show season.   At the beginning of march I visited young sheep farmers, Archie and Oscar with their flock of Suffolk sheep. I was amazed at the knowledge the brothers both had about their sheep. The boys will be busy this summer at local shows, I will be keeping my eyes peeled to see how they get on! 
At the end of March I was lucky enough to meet Esme with her Original Population Dairy Shorthorn which are on the RBST critical list. This means that there are only 150 or less of these left, Esme and her father Granger are doing a fantastic job at preserving this historic breed.  
At the beginning of April I visited Zara, it was one of her busiest times of the year because as well as having to lamb her own Ewes she was contract lambing through the nights for other farmers. I spent a morning with Zara and her sheep learning about both her breeds, the Southdown and the Texel Mule and the attributes which attract Zara to these breeds. I am already looking forward to continuing to visiting more farmers with their livestock and creating more prints for future design ideas! These 12 cards will be available to purchase on the website individually and in a pack of 12, take a look at the 'CARDS' section in the 'SHOP'.   Doug, Fern and Skye. After visiting Zara's farm and meeting her Southdown and Texel Mule sheep, as well as her beautiful dogs I was really looking forward to getting back to the studio and looking through all the pictures I had taken. I haven't done any prints of dogs before, so this is a complete first since starting 'IzziRainey'. I really wanted the dogs to be part of my design's as they are an essential part of Zara's work, she shares such a close relationship with them, especially Doug,
 
These are the pencil sketches that I did of the ewe's and Doug and Fern. It was actually more difficult than I thought, drawing the dogs, I think I tried to draw them too small. There is so much detail, expression and personality in a dogs face.
 These are the hand stamped prints that I created from taking the most simple shapes from my pencil drawings. I am really pleased with how they have turned out. Especially this print of Doug, Zara's 'main man' I feel that it really portrays Doug's loyal nature as he never takes his eyes of her. I like the way in the print he is looking away as I know when I took the photo he was looking at her, always waiting for his next job or instruction.  Another BIG thank you to Zara for taking the time to show me round her farm at probably one of the busiest times of the year!
  Last week I got the chance to have a quick catch up with my friend, Zara with her Southdown and Texel Mule sheep. This is an extremely busy time of the year for Zara so I was very grateful that she could take the time to show me her latest lambs and tell me a little more about her sheep. As well as having her own sheep, Zara contract lambs at this time of year, often covering the night shifts. Then when the shearing season arrives she will be out and about contract shearing for whoever requires her. Never a dull moment with Zara!  Twin Southdown lambs with their mother keeping a close eye. How long have you been interested in sheep and how did you become so involved with them? I always loved being outside, around animals. From an early age I knew I would either work with animals or in sport…. animals it was. My family always had sheep, enjoyed working with the sheep and the partnership with the dog, there’s always something new to learn and a challenge to overcome.  Zara with the expectant Ewes, both Southdown and Textel Mules. What made you choose Southdown sheep? They are easy to handle, very good meat and good wool which excellent for knitting as it has a short staple which is converted into a light arran wool which makes a very warm soft garment, perfect for the British winters!!!! What you looking for in a good Southdown Sheep? Good conformation, alertness, wool needs to be fine and dense, even in colour. Bright in the eye, good mouth and must not be lame!  The Southdown wool makes excellent knitting wool. What you do with the wool? Once I’ve sheared them, we send the Southdown wool off to The Natural Fibre Company, Launceston, Cornwall to get made into knitting wool which we sell at local craft markets across North Norfolk, or from our home address. We have a small team of Knitters that make anything from socks, gloves, hats, scarfs and jumpers. For the house the wool is made into pillows and throws for the sofas making it extra cosy in front of the fire during the winter months, it’s a rewarding feeling to know that the produce has come from the animals you have breed on your own farm and is being used in its natural form. The rest of the wool is sent to the British Wool Board where it is graded and depending on its quality is either used for carpets, loft insulation, packaging and many other useful products, all being environmentally friendly.  This is a cushion and throw, created from Zara's Southdown wool and made by her mother, Ann.   Cecily wearing a couple of jumpers handmade my Zara's amazingly clever mother, Ann. The Southdown wool creates a light arran wool which makes a very warm soft garment. Zara and her mother sell their clothing and homeware and products at local fairs. You also have Texel Mules, what made you choose these? The Texel Mule is a commercial breed, it’s a North Country Mule crossed a Texel Tup. They are good strong ewes, don’t need as much food pre-lambing, plenty of milk, strong maternal instinct and the lambs are fast growers.  A Texel Mule Ewe. You are in the middle of lambing as we speak, how come you are lambing your flock later? Usually... apart from this year! It is warmer and the grass is starting to grow, the lambs get more of a kick start from the better weather. The ewes milk well and keep their condition up on the fresh new grass. As I don’t have much barn space it also means I don’t have to worry about the bad weather taking its toll on the sheep. How many lambs are you hoping to have by the end of the years lambing. Always try to get the best from the flock as I can, be happy with 1.8% upwards. What do you plan to do with this year’s lambs? Will you be selling them on or retaining some for breeding stock? I will keep back the best ewe lambs for the flock, the rest will be sold on in the meat trade.  A Texel Mule ewe with her twin lambs. Do you find the Southdown’s easy to lamb or do you have to help out a lot? We don't tend to have too many problems for lambing they are easy lambers most of the time. They’re very good mothers, they look after the lambs very well and a majority of the time the lambs will get up and suck, but sometimes they need some help finding their way onto the ewe’s teats. The lambs are born with a very thin coat so on very cold days or nights they tend to need a bit more attention, but soon pick up and grow very well, makes a good carcass.  A Southdown ewe with her twin lambs. How many dogs do you have? How important are the dogs to your work? I have 3 dogs, Doug being my right-hand man, He’s the main man really, he is a strong dog, listens, works well on the sheep, makes my work a lot easier with a good dog and they make good company as well. Doug gets the sheep where I want them, so I can’t complain. When I contract out, lambing, shearing, etc its good to have a dog you know that will be well behaved and quiet and do the job.  Zara with her three dogs Doug, Sky and Fern. Doug is her 'right hand man'. What’s your favourite thing about owning sheep? Seeing them do well, that all the hard work, time and money you have put into them has paid off, going to the field and being proud of what you have got. What advice would you give someone looking to get sheep? Sheep can look like it’s a walk in the park, they are very enjoyable and rewarding at times, but you need to know what you are doing, so do your research. If you can, get some experience with them, make sure you are well equipped and have good fencing as they will find the smallest of holes and escape but not be able to find their way back! Make sure you have time for them… helps if you know someone who already has sheep. Let the fun begin! One of my favourite quotes…. Piss poor preparation leads to piss poor performance!  I would like to say the biggest thank you to Zara for taking part in this blog. I know she has been up most nights for many weeks now and will continue to do so in the weeks to come, until lambing finishes. I just wanted to take the opportunity to share Zara's story and her work, she is so talented in everything that she does and I really admire her skill and determination. I am really excited to get back in the studio with all the photographs I have taken, especially of the dogs as this will be the first dog print I have done. Watch this space!
  Oscar and Archie with two of their January born lambs. After meeting Archie and Oscar along with their prize winning Suffolk sheep, I was looking forward to going through all the imagery I had collected from my visit to their farmyard, back in the studio. The Suffolk sheep are a handsome looking animal with their distiguished black heads and I was really excited to start sketching them. 
These are some of the pencil sketches that I did from the boy's prize winning ewe. I really enjoyed doing these drawings as there are so many different textures and marks within the ewe's fleece.
I created some handmade stamps from the simple shapes within my pencil drawings. With the stamps I have produced these prints, I think that the Suffolk's distinctive black face has created a really bold print which I am really please with and I hope will create an effective design in the future.  A big thank you to Archie and Oscar for taking time out of their half term to tell me all about their Suffolk sheep, I will keep a look out to see how they do at the shows this year!
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HelloI am Izzi, farmer’s daughter and textile designer at IzziRainey. If I am not designing or sewing you will find me out in the farmyard with my cattle. I am constantly seeking inspiration for my prints, not that I have to look very far. Growing up on the farm, I have always been influenced by my surroundings and this combined with my passion for farming is what inspires my designs. I love spending time on the farm but I also enjoy learning about other people’s animals, passions and stories, which are also influential to my design process. I hope you enjoy reading ‘Over the Farm Gate’ 
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