Tuesday, 7 May, 2013

Meet Mrs Craftfire

The Alt.Shift.Craft Collective present Mrs Craftfire, their latest offering of alternative craft in nifty library-market form.

This is the first Alt.Shift.Craft market for 2013 – and it’s just in time for Mother’s Day. Mrs Craftfire features craft artists and musicians from the Manawatu and beyond, and this humming night market promises a unique and fun evening out for the whole family.

Come and support local Manawatu artists (as well as some of our own lovely Felt sellers!), buy something handmade, enter the free prize draw, and share the warm and fuzzy sense of community that Mrs Craftfire creates.

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Mrs Craftfire will be making her presence felt at the Palmerston North Central Library on Friday 10 May from 6pm-9pm.

Monday, 6 May, 2013

For the mum who needs some serious spoiling

We know it’s not about how much you spend – but when you find the perfect present for your mum, who deserves it more? Our over-$100 section of the Mother’s Day Gift Guide is an enchanting boutique of beautiful gifts.

Casting our eyes over this section, we really felt we couldn’t let this opportunity go past without showcasing the talent of our silver-workers. These are just some of the talented jewellers listing their work here on Felt – look at these beautiful examples of craftsmanship!

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With so many talented folk selling beautiful handcrafted products on Felt, there’s no better place to shop for your mum. We hope you’ve enjoyed seeing the sweet ideas we’ve picked out to help you find the perfect gift this Mother’s Day. Now go to it and spoil that Mum!

Wednesday, 1 May, 2013

And the winner of the HANDMADE 2013 Weekend Pass is…

HANDMADE 2013 is shaping up to be a weekend of full immersion in matters of making and crafting. Now in its third year, it’s a must for those who want to learn the skills and crafts of previous generations, but in today’s context – using modern technologies and aesthetics.

You might recall we had a wee competition last week. We asked you to put pen to paper and come up with a haiku expressing the beauty of handmade. Well, quite a few of you took up the challenge and found your inner bard. However (as they say in all the reality TV shows) there can be only one winner, and that talented poet was Gunhild Litwin with the following composition:

What gift expresses beauty and thought better than what I made for you – Gunhild Litwin

Congratulations Gunhild, you’ve won a weekend pass worth $299 to HANDMADE 2013! A weekend pass entitles you to choose up to eight classes (or seven classes and two lectures). You also receive two complimentary Meet the Makers Party tickets and a HANDMADE goodie bag and notebook.

HANDMADE 2013 will be held at various Wellington CBD venues over 1–2 June and features over eighty classes. These cover a huge variety of handmade crafts and are taught by expert teachers. The only difficulty is choosing which ones to go to!

Another highlight is the First-Hand HANDMADE lecture series. These talks offer a unique opportunity to explore the world of craft and handmade, in 55 minute talks. Speakers include Colleen Pugh of Dear Colleen, Jo Pearson and Jess Soutar Barron (of Coco and Co and Fruit Bowl Craft Jam fame) and Felt’s own founder, Lucy Arnold. There’ll also be a Pecha Kucha-style fast-paced talk featuring eight HANDMADE teachers each sharing their twenty top tips.

As if all that wasn’t enough, you can also attend a Meet the Makers party, visit the HANDMADE Store, have a yarn in the Knit Lounge or finish off your class projects in the Finishing Room. It’s handmade heaven!

Fresh on Felt

There is something for everyone this week from Felt’s newest sellers. There might even be something that would be just perfect for your mum!

foxriverbathco – bath and body products
lulublue – baby clothing and accessories
kenzy – limited edition silk scarves
absconditus – faux fur hats with animal ears
katz – tote bags and wheat packs
kyliema – clay hearts and magnets
teetees – baby quilts
dearlydee – mixed media artworks
solli – traditional scandinavian bracelets
rachelbaxter – bags made from retro fabrics
finesilver – fine silver jewellery
cre8iveglass – glass bottle wall art and platters
incywincyart – greeting cards
beadslover – jewellery
snipsnap – collage greeting cards
andra – hand knitted or felted shawls
aande – hand knitted merino baby blanket
mymj – crochet accessories and baby shoes
mrandmrs – crochet scarves, shawls and neckwarmers
cosbyandco – custom pet portraits and pet zines
studio10knot – cotton satchels and messenger bags
owenrose – children’s decor items
slithytove – storybook illustration pendants
maggiejs – handbags and cushions
cuucrafts – cushions
chanelled – bibs, burp cloths and soft toys
ashbrooke – word art
mosaictreasu – mosaic jewellery
coddlecrafts – soft toys
boothebear – babies clothing and soft toys
stoneycreek – scarves and plate clocks

Tuesday, 30 April, 2013

Say it with craft for your Supermum

Mums often go above and beyond the call of duty – it’s what they’re all about. Say thanks to your mum for those superhero moments this Mother’s Day with something special from Felt’s range of gifts under $100.

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Our Mother’s Day Gift Guide contains a clutch of the best handmade ways to celebrate your mum’s heroic efforts, so say “I love you, Supermum!” with something made with love.

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Monday, 29 April, 2013

Featured Seller: Needle & I

A desire to produce timeless, quality children’s products lies behind the work of Lauren Butler of Needle and I. “After the birth of my daughter in late 2011, I became very aware of the throw-away nature of the kids industry, how much pressure there is to buy new things all the time and how much of what is on offer is often cheaply made with questionable origins. When she was around six months old I started to focus in earnest on what I wanted to see in her bedroom and what objects I could dream up to hold her attention. These experimentations were the beginning of Needle & I.”

What do you make?
I design and make a range of soft furnishings for kids rooms including garlands, mobiles, cushions, toys, games, books and the occasional growth chart.

How did you get into your craft?
I struggle to remember a time when I wasn’t a maker of things. It would have been hard to resist my Mum’s influence, given she always had some sort of project on the go, be it dressmaking, embroidery, tapestry, knitting… the list goes on. I guess what I do at Needle & I is a confluence of all the things I’ve learnt along the way. There’s nothing particularly tricky about what I do as I use very basic stitching and construction techniques. I guess I just found a design aesthetic that worked well with my technical skills and I was able to create something cohesive out of it.

Do you have formal training or qualifications in your craft?
Not at all. I’m not even sure such a thing exists for what I do. The best training you could get is to grow up with a very clever and dexterous mother. Actually, my grandmother had a hand in it too. Pedal sewing machines and making pompoms were my formative training.

Your favourite materials, tools and processes?
Most of the Needle & I products are made from boiled wool. It’s a very beautiful textile to work with. It’s soft and luxurious yet very robust. I’ve really enjoyed experimenting with hand-dying small batches of wool – it’s a lengthy, messy process but very satisfying when you make it through enough trial and error to produce the colour you were hoping for. I find the needlework itself is quite meditative which is lucky given much of what’s involved with this craft is detailed, repetitious work.

What inspires you?
I like simplicity and I’m drawn to unconventional use of colour. I like to walk the line with colours which almost clash so I’m always keeping an eye out for interesting colour use in things such as interiors and clothing. Often fabric will inform what I make or combinations of colours I see in my day-to-day travels. It’s a bit of an abstract process really, I’m not always entirely sure where an idea springs from but I will often sit on an idea for weeks before it develops into an actual product. I like to take my time over ideas and edit along the way.

Is there a philosophy behind your work?
Much of what I had as a child – be it clothes, toys, linen – was handmade. I think this developed an appreciation for goods made with care and a real consideration for what’s being made and who it’s for. It’s very meaningful to receive something that has been made by hand.

I like the idea that less is more where kids are concerned, that it’s not about buying something new every week, but investing where you are able in well-made, considered goods which spark children’s imaginations and will last a long time. Hopefully this is something that translates through what I do at Needle & I.

Why have you chosen to specialise in homewares for children’s rooms?
In some ways it was a case of ‘right place right time’ for developing the range in the direction of furnishings for children’s rooms. Having a child of my own has definitely opened my eyes up to what I want to see in her bedroom. I wanted her space to feel cheerful, cosy and colourful and not so cluttered as to overwhelm her. I wanted a way of making a room feel cohesive by adding a few simple items which both she and I would get pleasure out of.

Describe your workspace:
Workspaces, really. I work from home, between the office and studio in the garage, so my gear is spread in a somewhat dysfunctional way between the two. I have lots of plants, jars filled with thread, reams of fabric and piles of cut wool all over the place. I’m not very good at working in mess so I’m constantly tidying up the trail of destruction I leave behind. I’m sure I’d get through a lot more work if I could just let things get messy now and then!

What else do you do as well as creating the Needle & I products?
The other thing I love to do is write. Well, cook and photograph… then write. It seems I’ve become a professional multi-tasker. I dabble in food blogging via my website and I also run a page on Facebook called Mini-me Meals with a foodie friend of mine which focuses on easy, nutritious meals for littlies.

Recommend an album:
Electrelane – The Power Out. I just keep coming back to it.

Your favourite childhood book?
The one that sticks in my mind is a version of Yertle the Turtle I thrashed when I was about seven years old. The pages were made from heavy card and had a mini record pressed onto each page. There was this little contraption that you pushed on top of the record and it played the story. I was completely obsessed with it. No one I’ve ever mentioned this to says they’ve heard of anything like it. Hopefully it’s not just a figment of my childhood imagination… (It isn’t, you’ll be glad to know! It was one of a series of “Talk to Me” books produced by Fisher Price – Ed.)

What are you reading now?
Reading is sadly a bit of a thing of the past since our daughter came along. I’m well and truly done for by the time we get her into bed. The last book I read, The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, was really great but tragically took me a couple of months to finish. And it’s an easy read.

What was the last handmade item you bought?
I visit the Takapuna Markets most weekends, usually with Thea in tow. I’ve found a sweet little stall there which makes rudimentary and slightly odd soft toys out of old blankets. I recently bought an garish pink and orange owl to keep the Thea’s green and blue dinosaur company.

Lauren has very generously offered us one of her delightful handmade Grey Cloud cushion covers (cover only), to give away to one lucky Felt customer. The Grey Cloud cushion cover is made from high quality 100% boiled wool and cotton and is designed to complement the range of garland wall hangings also listed in her shop.Tell us what you like about Lauren’s work, or how it inspires you, in the comments section below and you’ll be entered into the draw to win this lovely cover. The winner will be drawn on Friday 10 May. The draw is open to New Zealand residents only.

Sunday, 28 April, 2013

A feast of handmade in Havelock North

The handmade love abounds in Havelock North – this lucky town has two fabulous crafty markets on the first Saturday of every month!

First up, there’s the Havelock Handmade Market. This crafty assembly is dedicated to the locals – the talented makers of the Hawkes Bay region.

The Havelock Handmade Market springs to life on the first Saturday of every month, in the middle of the Village Court, Te Mata Road, Havelock North.

But wait, there’s more! Really get your market fill by making your next stop the Craft and Design Market, at the Hawthorne Coffee Shop, 23 Napier Road. This market also runs on the first Saturday of the month and features local and New Zealand makers, as well as imported ethical goods. Find them on Facebook too.

How spoilt is Havelock North? What a way to spend your Saturday morning – it’s a market-fest!

Friday, 26 April, 2013

Roses for Frida

Unconventionally, defiantly beautiful, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was known for her flamboyant style, passionate and painful life and her surreal, often sinister self-portraits which are full of references to her Mexican culture. She is still celebrated in exhibitions and retrospectives around the world.

Her beautiful clothes, so much a part of her very individual style, were kept locked away for many years after her death, first at the behest of her husband Diego Rivera and later by an old friend, Dolores Olmedo, who kept them guarded and private until her own death in 2004.

Seen as the fashion time capsule of an icon, this collection is now on show – if you’re lucky enough to be able to visit Mexico City.

Her inspiration reaches much further, however, and we were intrigued to see just how many of our own talented Felt sellers draw inspiration from Frida or from Mexican culture. As you can see, we’ve found a colourful collection of examples.

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We also loved the captivating, eerie range of Dia de los Muertos-inspired creations we found. The sugar skulls of this Mexican day of remembrance for lost loved ones have inspired more than a few of our makers.

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Thursday, 25 April, 2013

We will remember them

National Anthem Print by Nick McFarlane

Wednesday, 24 April, 2013

Fresh on Felt

Amongst this week’s new sellers there are some lovely homewares, as well as lots of children’s clothing to choose from.

featherrush – feather hair extensions
snippet – upcycled children’s clothing
lustrejewels – fused glass jewellery
linabears – children’s clothing
izzybearkids – children’s clothing
train2boston – children’s clothing
whatnots – cushions, decor items and purses
lilfantailcz – woven bead jewellery
hayleyhearts – baby blankets/lap quilts
lizij – greeting cards
candysign – jewellery
zachan1 – feeding pillows
littlepetal – crochet baby hats
vintagesigns – hand stencilled vintage inspired signs
emzcreationz  – crochet purses and accessories
babyhalos – baby bonnets and wraps
artyhearts – vintage china mosaic decor items
yaduna-trade – cushion covers
unwined – upcycled wine bottle lanterns
chicofactory – soaps
fidgetcrafts – fridge magnets, brooches and hair ties
frockgrrl – crochet clothing and accessories
ingerlisa – photographic prints
amandabest – crochet beanies