When Vancouver’s Hanahlie Beise discovered hundreds of pounds of wool sitting untouched at local farms due to the Canadian wool industry’s difficulty competing with inexpensive imports, she felt compelled to do something with the rich, home-grown material. Thus, Tierkunde was born—100 per cent wool, hand-felted animals including birds, bears and bison. Beise purchases the raw wool, which comes from Navajo-Churro sheep, and sends it over to Salt Spring Island’s Spinning Mill where it’s washed and sometimes carded. Then, Beise felts the material into these irresistible little wool beasties.
