sinterklaas has left for spain again, so that means christmas is just around the corner! oromono has some suitable seasonal gifts. i know that egg mercantile in amsterdam sells oromono, but i'm not sure if they have the christmas range available. isn't it just a nice idea to spruce up a scarf like this?
loads of sites i come across have giftguides on now and whenever i see something nice on them made of felt it seems to be from branch! branch is all about sustainable living and of course fits right in that category. i love the felt pebbles and i think i'm going to try to make them myself. when i did my felt workshop there was a lady who said she had made felted pebbles using an actual pebble which she cleaned and then covered in wool roving. the rest of the felting process was pretty much as usual: use warm water and a fatty (olive) soap and rub till all the fibers merge.
i was hunting the internet for christmas and hanukkah gifts this evening, since i'm always panicking at the last moment and i thought i'd get a head start this year. i decided to start with etsy, because it's a wonderful place for unique presents. anyway, it was there that i came across the seriously cool products by working class heroes. they make pouches made of felt and leather for laptops, ipods, sun glasses and more. and they'll even do custom sleeves if you send them the dimensions of your laptop.
it took me a while, but after a long absense i'm back again! i've not been sitting still, i've been sewing and i've done a felt workshop a couple of weeks ago. i can really recommend making your own felt, it's as much a therapeutic as creative thing to do. in februari there will be a follow up where we'll be making a seamless bag. i'll keep you posted on it. for other people who live in the rotterdam area: you might want to check out atelier het narrenschip yourself.
ok, back to the actual post: these poufs by flocks have done the rounds on the blog circuit, but i found them to good to pass up on. they're the brainchild of christien meindertsma and made from hand felted yarn from kyrgyzstan. together with a knitter, spinners and a graphic designer she uses these beautiful yarns to create poufs, knitted rugs and cute cardigans.
as i was browsing through the archives of one of my new favourite blogs six and a half stitches i came across a link for praha, a japanese company who make hand-made felt products. lovely designed flower corsages, hair pins, bookmarks, bags, purses and they even make a cute little mini bowling set. fuck it dude, let's go bowling...
another wonderful example of designers doing cool things with felt are these products from studio nynker based in soest in the netherlands. all the products (cap, bottle cooler, bag and tea cozy) are made from flat pieces of felt and by clever pattern making and sewing it together it gets its shape. speaking of sewing: i finished my skirt! it will make its premiere this thursday when i'll be wearing it to my sewing class. i'm really pleased with how it turned out, i'll post some pictures soon. next project will be a jacket which i bought a black quilted fabric for with stitched circles in green and for the lining the same colour green as the stitching. get on a sewing machine, it's so much fun!
it's not often you are truly impressed with a new company. once in a while you'll see some that make cool stuff, sometimes they'll have a special philosophy, but bholu seems to have it all. the company was started by australian designer jodie fried who designs all the products herself, but she employs ladies from the western gujarat region in india to hand embroider them. not for cheap labor, but to support these women so they can gain (financial) independence. what is also quite cool is that the children's products were made with drawings gujarati children made. cute idea to begin with, but even more when you realise that these kids would normally be working and have little time for things like drawing. the result is beautiful things made out of wool felt and silk embroidery that have a soul. it doesn't get much better than that!
i have been looking for a little pouch to keep papers in since i've had my wonderful leather mammoet bag. the only problem with the mammoet bag is that it's huge and hasn't got a lot of separate spaces. then, a few months ago i saw a seller called etceteramedia on etsy, who makes pouches, cases and bags out of industrial felt. i decided to order the olive file filer and an olive ipod case, they were both so nice! after the first package went missing in the post the lovely kelly of etceteramedia was kind enough to send me another one and it arrived at the beginning of the week. i have to say it's even better than i expected, the quality is amazing and the olive colour gorgeous. while surfing i now found out that they have a website/webstore. and now i've seen that they make really nice handbags too. what's a girl to do?
danielle gori-montanelli is an artist who used to make metal jewellery, using a blowtorch, a handsaw and a hammer. after having two children she wanted to use safer materials and began experimenting. she wound up making felt jewellery for children and grown ups, from simple dot necklaces to complicated collars. they're not necessarily my cup of tea, but i do like how she uses felt in quite a new way. i saw this link on do something pretty, a very worthwhile read!
ok, some more felt then! bits and bobbins had a picture of the colourful felt jewellery on her blog, so i read up on the french artist who made it, virginie bois. apart from these pieces, she also makes other jewellery, but she also does installations and sculptures. i came across a really good tutorial to make felt beads at instructables a while ago, so this is your chance to do something fun and save some money!
if you've been reading my older posts, you might have noticed i have this thing about felt. on the re:makeables blog i came across a post about josh jakus. i've seen his bags in shops before and was impressed with the original approach to the material. what kept me from buying one was that they just didn't strike me as very practical. open the zip a bit to far and everything comes falling out... that doesn't take away from the fact that the design is very cool!
i got this months' elle decoration today and came across these lovely cuddly animals made by the portuguese duo la maison de lola. the toys are all handmade of wool and felt and go by cute names like mr grizzly and ms oink. they cost around £32 each at twentytwentyone (about €48 / $65), so i suppose getting the whole series would be out of the question... they've also do some nice handmade cross pillows in 4 different colours that would look great on my couch!
i received an email this afternoon by lisa, who had seen a tutorial to make your own felt donuts on craftster. it looks pretty straight forward and fun. i bet one would make a great pin cushion and you can make any flavour you like... thanks lisa!
het andere bedrijf is red maloo. ook hier weer mooie strakke vormgeving en felle kleuren, alleen niet zoveel verschillende producten. de laptop hoezen zijn inmiddels overbekend, maar de tassen en ipodhoesjes zijn nog niet zo lang verkrijgbaar.
