Capturing Mucks brand campaign, real-time lambing with Zoë Colville

Social media is such a powerful tool, sometimes it frightens me the influence little apps can hold over a whole generation. The new TikTok trend, careers made in an instant, millionaires from a fizzy drink that went viral or the other side to it which is dark and downright dangerous. My account ‘The Chief Shepherdess’ on Instagram was born as a joke, a way for our friends and family to see what we were up to, whether that be our triumphs or when we were fed up (and covered in mud and God knows what else). The fact that it racked up viewers in a few years blows me away and I’m thankful to say it's like the ultimate ‘girl gang’. The analytics can tell me that eighty percent of the gang I’ve accumulated are women my age, mostly city girls which is nostalgic of my previous life as a hairstylist in London.

I can hand on heart say that my life is enriched since posting online, it's like a support system, especially as I’m still learning new things about farming every day. Ten times better than Google for asking questions and twenty times better than Bumble for making friends. It's a yes from me! And, that’s how this whole friendship with Muck Boot started back in 2020, they pinged me a message for some content, and who knew that three years later we’d be invited to sit at their table at the Farming Awards!

One of the best experiences we’ve had with the Muck team (aside from the parties) was making a film, a short ‘day in the life of’ style video. It got off to a rocky start with the team arriving at 5am and me emerging out of the barn with two rather bedraggled screaming, shivering goat kids tucked under each arm. Straight away, the Muck team all got involved, helping to warm up and feed the new-borns and of course rolling the camera too. Lambing season is full-on, unpredictable, and our most important work of the entire year. I think the reason I adore the final video is that it captures that, it’s not staged scenarios it’s just Paul the photographer laying on his belly in the mud, managing to record a lamb's first breath in this world. Alongside the two of us, they all got stuck in (literally, with Milly, the marketing guru at Muck Boot delivering a lamb for us!). With the graft of the day captured, i’m absolutely buzzing for the video to be released very soon. Can’t wait for you to meet Sunny and the gang and let me know your best bits!

Zoe Colville on Sheep Shearing

The Chief Shepherdess on Lifestyle Changes