10 Years of Felt

In 2017, Felt turns 10! We think this is pretty neat. In September we are hosting a gathering for our supporters and people we'd like to work more with, so if you're reading this page that's you :)

We'll be in touch with more details soon. Thanks for stopping by.

- Team

In an increasingly virtual world, there is something special about celebrating the tactile, the physical. We spend so much time staring at electronic screens, putting energy into becoming more productive, thinking about abstract problems and solutions, getting up to play with the newest technologies… and yet there is still nothing quite like opening an old leather bound book. Or curling up under a woollen blanket. Drinking from a handmade teacup.

Felt uses the power of modern technology to celebrate and showcase the best of artisan craft, and this year we are turning 10. Felt is New Zealand’s online marketplace for locally made goods and gifts – direct from the maker. Felt is the home of good Kiwi craftsmanship, whether you're shopping for quality goods or looking to sell your creations.

There are many stories we could tell:

· A young female founder walking into the world of disruptive technologies.
· The handmade revolution that began as a Y2K flash in the pan and became a global movement.
· Keeping Felt alive despite losing the office and everything in it to devastating earthquakes.
· Running a failed equity crowdfunding campaign.
· Countless stories of makers, young and old, learning new skills and maintaining artisan crafts.
· Creative people feeling that their contributions are valuable, that their work and their passions have meaning.

Felt is a community, a platform, and a reminder that as the world continues to shift and grow in fantastic new ways, we will always value that which has come with us from the past.

In 2007 a young graphic designer, Lucy Arnold, started Felt after successfully selling her own handmade merino arm warmers online as a hobby. Not satisfied with the idea of commission going offshore for no real reason, Felt was founded around the vision of a society that makes and sells for its own good. Now a thriving set of communities around New Zealand, Felt is run by a small and dedicated team from a shared office above Pomeroy’s Old Brewery Inn in Christchurch. All four of the part time owner-operators are makers themselves, and deeply understand the people they serve and the problems that Felt exists to solve.

“There really is nothing quite like the joy you feel when someone buys something that you’ve poured your heart and soul into making. Some random person thinks that this thing that I have made is valuable. They WANT it! If anyone could bottle that feeling I think the world would be a much happier place!” – Lucy Arnold

Felt has emerged as one of a new class of organisation, a social enterprise that recognises business as a powerful tool and also that plenty of things are more important than just making a profit.

“Felt has always served a purpose higher than profit, but it took a long time to find the language for that. I think that was a major reason for the crowdfunding campaign not making the target – we’re a social enterprise but people didn’t understand what that actually meant. That’s ok, we’re all figuring this out together still!” – Jason Pemberton

The success and growth that Felt is celebrating is a sign of the change in consumer mindsets also. Gone are the days of mass production and the desire for more, cheaper, and plastic.

“People want things that last. They want to know the story. They want to support another real person to have a better life, simply by buying the thing that they need, or they want to gift to someone else. Felt lets them do that.” – Marcel Weber

Since Felt was founded 10 years ago this September:

4,317 creative kiwi makers have sold
150,261 items, worth a total of
$3,741,297.55 to
40,029 individual buyers

Our top seller of all time, Nelson-based Lauren (onetrickpony.felt.co.nz), has had more than 3,300 sales since registering on Felt in 2010.

“As a seller I chose felt as it was a small, friendly local business with a wonderful efficient support team. Selling online has allowed me the flexibility I need with other work commitments and raising small children, I am grateful for the opportunity to keep doing what I love. As a buyer I have been blown away by the fabulous original and affordable fare on offer." – Lauren