Graduate weaves passion for wool into curating career

5 November 2025

Deborah Mercer, who graduated from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) in 2023 with a BA in Liberal Arts (with Foundation Year), has secured a role that couldn’t be more fitting.

Now Senior Curator at the National Wool Museum in Drefach Felindre, one of seven Amgueddfa Cymru sites, Deborah is combining her academic insights and practical skills in a role that celebrates the very subject she explored throughout her degree - the cultural and historical significance of wool.

Finding her place at UWTSD

Originally from Southampton, Deborah moved to Ceredigion in Wales in 2015 after spending ten years living off-grid. With roots finally settled, she decided it was time to pursue higher education and found UWTSD right on her doorstep.

It wasn’t just the locality that drew her to the University, it was the people.

“From my first open day, I felt welcomed and encouraged,” she says. “The lecturers answered all my questions with a smile, and they supported my curiosity. Once I discovered that one of the lecturers had a background in textile research, I knew I had found my people.”

Freedom to follow her interests

Deborah’s fascination with textiles began in her early twenties when she taught herself to knit. That hobby quickly grew into a deep and evolving interest in wool - from crochet and needle felting to spinning.

While she initially considered an art degree, drawn to its creative possibilities, she discovered Liberal Arts, a course that allowed her to explore her interests in textiles, history, and storytelling through a broad, interdisciplinary lens.

She says: “There’s no degree in the history of sheep and wool, but Liberal Arts let me study exactly that - from archaeological evidence of sheep evolution to literary references in Latin and Greek, and even how textiles are represented and taught in museums and exhibitions.”

The flexibility of the Liberal Arts course was key to Deborah’s experience. With the freedom to choose modules across disciplines, she was able to explore her interest in wool from multiple angles - historical, literary, archaeological, and practical.

“The best thing was easily the freedom of choice,” she says. “Liberal Arts gives you the opportunity to explore a specific passion subject from multiple perspectives that you may not have considered before.”

Among her favourite modules was Museum Studies where she explored how museums communicate stories and engage the public. One particular creative assignment, which asked students to design a fictional exhibition, gave her the chance to apply her interests in a new way and sparked ideas that would later shape her curatorial approach.

“It was a turning-point for me,” she says. “It tapped into everything I’d been thinking about - how to communicate the value of wool to the public. I even got to present my work at Posters in Parliament!”

A role that brings everything together

Now, as Senior Curator at the National Wool Museum, a role that feels tailor-made for her interests and expertise, Deborah is responsible for looking after the museum’s textile collection and paper archive, helping to preserve the heritage of a working mill where traditional craft practices continue to thrive.

“I get to do museum excavation and find amazing things in the collection,” she says. “I recently discovered a wool twist tester from the early 1900s!”

She also works closely with colleagues to design exhibitions and support public events, engaging with different audiences and sharing her knowledge in creative, accessible ways, ensuring that the skills and stories are preserved and passed on.

From teaching herself to knit to curating a national collection, Deborah’s story highlights how a personal passion, when nurtured through the right academic environment, can lead to a dream career.