Featured Artisan - Felt Fusion

This weeks' featured artisan is Shadow of Felt Fusion.  She is truly an artist in more ways than one!  Her works are breathtakingly beautiful and one-of-a-kind.  Here is a little bit about Shadow in her own words:


I'm Shadow, WAHM behind Felt Fusion.  Felting is the craft that, basically, takes wool fibres before they have been spun, and pretty much does what you would do if you put a wool sweater in your washing machine and turned it on hot!  I take fibres and create items to order - my favorite way to work.  I work with both specialized barbed needles (needle felting) and warm, soapy water (wet felting) and really love to combine the two!

I see that you are in UK. I would love to know a bit about where you live. Are you a Waldorf (Steiner) family? Do you keep a blog of your own?

I live in the middle of England, in a town called Kettering, in the county of Northamptonshire.  We are quite rural, but being the centre of the country we also have a lot of hubs for major businesses.  We live in a Victorian town house, about 120yrs old and terraced and we live close to the centre of the town.  

We're not a Waldorf/Steiner family, but we do try to keep fairly natural and ethical in most things, toys, food, toiletries, clothing and cleaning products, etc.  We homeschool our 3 children.

No blog at all, I wouldn't know what to write!

What got you interested in felting? 

I'm not quite sure to be honest.  I've always loved the look of felted items, they look strong and sturdy, yet soft and cosy.  I seed grew in my head for a while before I started.  I planned to try out felting once all 3 of our boys started school, but once our youngest started playschool and I had a little time on my hands I took the plunge.  Then when we decided to take the boys out of school I just got on with it.  


What is the most interesting thing you've made using fiber? 

Tricky question, I'm not sure.  I've had a fair few disastrous items that could have turned out interesting.  I don't have much patience and once I've tried something I don't tend to want to work on it again.  I guess one of my favorites has been the leaf blanket which I'm feeling an urge to repeat soon.  Some of my wall hangings have been favorites too.  I'm intrigued by wool dryer balls as I don't have a dryer and have embellished many, many balls for children.  I like the simplicity of some of the crowns I've made. Christmas stockings and bags are great to make too.  I can't choose! 

How long have you been felting?

I started about 18months - 2yrs ago.  I made a few little items that I gave away while I got my confidence and style going. 

Are felted garments easy to care for?  
Yes!  Anything that needs washing can generally be gently hand washed in lukewarm water. Or sponge cleaned.

Where do you come up with your ideas for designs and embellishments?  
I prefer to work to order so my customers come up with most ideas.  For those I make to stock I tend to focus on nature, myths and legends or sometimes I'll see a fibre and buy it with a project in mind, or the name of the fibre give me the vision.
 

What is your favorite fiber to work with?  
I love to work with merino and merino blends.  Angora is a lovely fibre to work with too and Optim merino.  
 

What is the favorite item of yours you've made?   
I'm not sure I can answer with a single item.  My fairy bag is near the top, I still use the original I made and it's going strong over a year on.  I love the leaf blanket mentioned above and really enjoy making scarves and wraps.  The wizard hat I made would be quite high on my favorite list too.

How long does a typical project take? I have always been curious about that. It seems like it would be a long time.   
It depends on the project.  A simple scarf might take an hour, a wall hanging weeks.  Something that needs wet felting and then needle felting, such as Christmas stockings, will generally take longer overall as I wait for it to dry.  I tend to start something and walk away for a while and don't really time how long anything takes.

Do you prefer wet or dry felting? Why? 
I love to combine the two, but if I had to choose one then probably wet felting because I love to play with water and the soap needed adds a new feel to it.  I particularly like cobweb felting.  I find wet felting less predictable than needle felting, you can be quite precise with a needle, less so with wet, slippery fibre.

Want a chance to win a felted soap from Shadow?!?  

Here are some example pictures of her felted soaps: 

 

The winner will be able to choose from a few different soaps Shadow has available, as well as a small picture.

 


Here's how to go about getting an entry:

* Visit Felt Fusion's etsy shop and reply to this post about your favorite item.

Additional entries:

* Fan Felt Fusion on facebook and leave a comment on this blog that you have done so.

* Fan Etsy Hyena Team on Facebook and leave a comment on this blog saying you did so.

* Blog or FB or Twitter about this giveaway and post the link on this blog.

* Make a purchase from Felt Fusion's Etsy shop during the contest and receive 5 extra entries.

The winner will be announced next Monday, March 1st, and the soap will be shipped Saturday, March 6th.