Based in the Wairarapa, Sharyl Skipsey started her jewellery label flameRED in 2009 after moving with her family from Wellington to Featherston for a change of lifestyle. Since then, her creative outlet has grown into a successful small business both online and through retailers around the country.
From a little riverside cottage in Otago, Rosie Riley creates beautiful batches of the boutique soap that her shop Honey and Spice is known for. Rosie’s passion for soap-making has inspired her to build her craft into a literal cottage industry, and she can often be seen among local markets with her brightly coloured wooden barrow laden in luscious soaps, in full Victorian swing.
Dunedin-based designer and maker Joanna Livingston started her label Little Minx in 2009. She made her Christchurch market debut at A Craft Affair last year and more recently hit the Wellington craft scene at Craft 2.0 in April.
From his studio in Nelson, Mike Hindmarsh designs distinctively stylish contemporary furniture. He specialises in sustainable furniture designs in plywood and his work has been featured in Urbis and appeared in Air New Zealand’s KiaOra magazine. Selected pieces from Mike’s furniture range can be seen in his Felt shop, mikesdesigns.
Andrea Mae Miller is a fine art printmaker by trade, selling her limited edition prints in galleries around New Zealand. Her Felt shop, Peter’s Thumb, is an opportunity for Andrea to use her designs in a more informal and playful context, creating objects that are both functional and beautiful.
Gilt and Envy is the collection of Dunedin-based painter and illustrator Andy McCready. Andy’s distinctive pieces pop up in exhibitions around New Zealand, including at several shows at Pixel Ink Gallery in Wellington and most recently at joint exhibition Belligerence and Bubblegum in Dunedin, at which sponsorship from a hair salon gave her the chance to bring the girls in her paintings to life.
Gillian Weavers started her ceramics business, MudbirdNZ, on Felt in October last year. Since then she has featured at three markets in her hometown of Christchurch and is becoming a regular at local craft events. Trained as a professional photographer, Gill was born into a creative family and is now passing her crafty skills on to her three children.
Currently based in Wellington but soon to join the Christchurch craft scene, Annemiek Weterings opened her Felt shop, Swanwear, a year ago and her vintage inspired swimsuits have made a splash. With a new range of special one-off vintage-print cotton suits and 1950s-inspired two pieces on the way in the new year, Swanwear is a shop to keep your eye on.
Just A Girl is the collection of Hawke’s Bay artist Katherine Quinn, whose whimsical illustrations are exhibited regularly around New Zealand and find homes around the world. Working from her kitchen table in Taradale, Katherine uses acrylic paint, chalk pastel, coloured pencil, thread, silk tissue … Read more »
Matt Whitwell is a bit of an anomaly in the Felt community and is often singled out as one of the few male crafters at events such as Craft 2.0, a regular haunt of his. An artist, zinester and maker living in Wellington, Matt has … Read more »