Felt Bag Workshop

Just wanted to share some photos from a felt bag-making session yesterday with Vickie, a local lady who was keen to learn felt-making.  She was a great student and made a fantastic shoulder bag - here are some before and after pics!

January Jewellery Workshop

Just spent an enjoyable day making felt beads with 3 talented ladies.  We wet-felted beads in a variety of colours and sizes, then threaded them on cord to make necklaces and bracelets.    Here are the attendees modelling their jewellery sets at the end of the day - well done to all!

Christmas Felting

Well it's been all about Xmas since November, so I thought I'd share what I've been up.  I ran a Xmas workshop for the ladies of the Tandridge Handicraft Society in November, making sparkly felt and hanging decorations.  One of the talented ladies then made a lovely hanging decoration and a bag from her felt, which she showed me at the Oxted Craft Fair on 30 November (so obviously I took photos of her creations!).  It was great to see everyone who popped in to visit the fair above Oxted Library, and I think we all enjoyed a busy day.  Then as well as submitting my latest project article for Sewing World magazine in December, I've been making Xmas bunting for friends.  As usual I had more grand plans for things to make, but lack of time meant that was all I managed.  Anyway, hope you all have a relaxing Christmas!

 

South East Open Studios 2013

June has arrived so it must be time for Open Studios!  This year I'm sharing my textile studio with ceramicist and painter Sheila Parish, who specialises in Japanese and Chinese art.  The event started well with 24 visitors over the first weekend, so if you haven't yet been but fancy learning a bit more about our respective work, then you'd be very welcome to join us for a cup of tea whilst we demonstrate and chat about what we do!

Remaining open dates are:

Friday 14, Saturday 15, Sunday 16, Monday 17, Friday 21, Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June, all 1100-1700.

If you’d like to make a day of it and are particularly interested in textiles, there are several other studios close by who are also open on the above days showing textile art, jewellery and silk painting amongst other things.  Visit the South East Open Studios website: www.seos-art.org for more details.  Also look at the article in this week's Oxted County Border News (page 10).

I’ll be demonstrating feltmaking throughout Open Studios, so if this whets your appetite to have a go yourself, I offer a range of 1-day felting courses where you can get creative and make finished items like bags, jewellery, journal notebooks and scarves.   If you’d like to learn more or book a place (£55 per person), just email me for a leaflet. I’m also running taster workshops during Open Studios, to make either a bead bracelet or a brooch.  So if you would like to learn more or book a place on Sunday 16 or Sunday 23 June 2012 (0930-1100, £15 per person), please get in touch.

All about the bags...

After not making a felt bag for ages, in the last month I've ended up making nothing but bags!  In September I attended a feltmaking workshop with US artist and tutor Ruth Walker, who has developed an interesting way of making felt bags using a large ball and Norwegian fleece.  So I spent two days making two different bags, which was hard work but very enjoyable - here are some during and after photos of the brown bag I made.  I then ran two bag workshops last week to make felt bags - shoulder bags one day and clutch bags the next, using a flat plastic template rather than a ball.  Here are the participants and their very successful finished bags!  So now I'm all fired up to have another go with the ball when I next get a spare day!  

Felting Workshops - New Dates

Here are the latest dates for forthcoming workshops, and some photos to give you an idea of the type of thing you can make at a workshop (but have a look at my flickr site for more ideas!).  All courses are £55 per person, for a full day (c0930-1630).  If you'd like further details or to book a place (or explore dates for different courses), just email me at: natashasmartdesign@yahoo.co.uk.

 

Felt Bag Workshop - Sunday 21 October 2012 - 2 places left!

Felt Bead Jewellery Workshop – Sunday 18 November 2012 – 3 places

Christmas Sparkle Felt Workshop – Sunday 9 December 2012 – 3 places

South East Open Studios 2012

South East Open Studios 2012 has arrived!  I spent last week tidying and setting up the studio, making some new bead necklaces and bracelets to display along with my flower corsage wallhanging (see earlier post), putting up posters locally and hoping for sunny weather!  The latter of course didn't happen, instead it was all rain over the Jubilee weekend.  Anyway, fingers crossed this weekend for sunnier weather to welcome visitors.  Here are the dates I'm open:

Saturday 9, Sunday 10, Monday 11 and Saturday 16 June, all 1100-1700.

I’ll again be demonstrating feltmaking and showing a range of felted and stitched textile work, including clutch bags, jewellery, flower corsages and small art pieces.  If you’d like to come along and catch up on what I’ve been doing in the past year, learn about feltmaking or even perhaps attend a workshop, you’ll be very welcome.

I'm running taster workshops during Open Studios, to make either a bead bracelet or a brooch.  So if you would like to learn more or book a place on Sunday 10 or Monday 11 June 2012 (all 0930-1100, £15 per person), please get in touch.  If those dates don't suit, just let me know and I'll be happy to agree a suitable time with you.

And if you’d like to make a day of it and are particularly interested in textiles, there are several other studios close by who are also open on the above days showing art quilts and silk painting amongst other things.  Just visit the South East Open Studios website: www.seos-art.org.  Look forward to seeing you!

Back to School!

Well we all like to get kitted-out for the new school term, don't we, so for my first September workshop we created an embellished journal for all those important notes! OK, not really for school, as I suspect these creative ladies will actually be using them as art journals for their ideas, designs and samples - but where better to store them all than in a notebook you're created yourself?

We made long rectangles of Nuno felt (felting into dyed cotton muslin) for the covers, with added surface embellishment in the form of yarns, ribbons and silk fibres. We stitched in some handmade paper pages, and topped it all off with a felted cord to secure the book. Another enjoyable day, and I was really impressed with the results.

More Summer Nuno Bags

Another enjoyable August workshop with creative felters making nuno bags - even matching their new bags to their outfits (have a look at the black and green one which perfectly matches her hand-made skirt)!

Nuno Bag Workshop, 3 August

Had a fantastic day on Monday with 3 felters making Nuno felt bags (Nuno felt is where you felt the Merino wool fleece into fabric, eg muslin). There was an amazing variety of colours and shapes for the finished bags - they were all really pleased with their creations and gave me lots of new ideas to think about too. Photos show work in progress as well as finished pieces.

The Big Workshop

In March 2009 I ran a felting workshop for 21 members of the Outlook florist group, learning how to make different shapes of felt for incorporating into floristry displays. Lots of creativity and an amazing variety of shapes and colours. Thanks to Mai-Britt for the photos!

With a little help from my friends...

...photos of the first workshop I ran, in September 2008, to make embellished sparkle felt for Xmas decorations.