Now I am hooked...

My older sister ( I have two sisters and a brother ) got an ipod for her last birthday. To be honest her daughter actually won it in a lottery and sold it to her mother and the family contributed so in the end her daughter had made some money on her lottery win to buy her twin sons their 3rd birthday presents. Money –go –round, but what the heck its all in the family. The reason I mention this is because with her ipod she subscribes to Amazons audio books and raves how wonderful it is to sit quietly, eyes closed, feet up and listen to a story being read. Almost like when you were a child and a grown up reads a story with accents and expressions.
So I went shopping and bought a SanDisk Sansa MP3 on which you can listen to stories and music. It is tiny and easily clips onto your clothes or bag without getting you too entangled. . Now I am hooked.

Today I decided to nuno felt a Rags to Riches scarf/shawl in black. . I designed it with an extra long panel of black merino wool and random pieces of flowing silk. When the scarf was complete I added a further piece to create a shawl and nuno felted them together.
The early morning sun rose as my hands beavered away at my craft. My whole being rapt with listening to The Shell Seekers on my MP3. And when the light had faded and the story had ended I marvelled at the lightness of a day of nuno felting a versatile garment.

Rags to Riches

NEWS FLASH...
Look like a million dollars wearing one of a kind handmade Rags to Riches nuno felted artwear by FELT 4U

Wouldn't you agree that Rags to Riches stories inspire and motivate us?.
You only have to think of Ophrah Winfrey and Bill Gates to name a few who have in recent times achieved their "American Dream"
By creating role models, who with hardwork, courage and detemination overcome the odds and become rich and famous , you can believe that somewhere in the universe opportunities exist waiting for takers to achieve their ultimate dreams. .

My most impressionable rags to riches story comes from the 1954 Gregory Peck movie called The Million Pound Note based on the short story "The £1,000,000 Bank-Note" by Mark Twain.

Two rich brothers, Oliver and Roderick Montpelier, wage a bet with each other whereby they get their bank to issue a million pound note . Oliver says that the mere possession of this symbol of wealth will enable anyone to have anything he wants, without having to cash the note, whilst Roderick maintains that to not cash the note will render it useless. Bear in mind this is London at the turn of the 20th Century where social status and snobbery is how society functions..

Along comes Henry Adams, a penniless sailor from America who is stranded in London with no money to return home . The brothers give him an envelope with a sum of money to be opened later. Starving, and freezing in the dead of winter Henry thinks that the envelope will likely contain sufficient money to cover a meal at a nice warm restaurant. Scruffily dressed he enters a restaurant and is warily eyed by the Restauranteur and his wife and banished to a back table where he eats his hearty meal.

When Henry gets the bill, he opens the envelope, given by the brothers Montpelier and to his utter surprise there is a clean crisp million pound note which he duly presents to the propreitor for his dinner. On confirmation that the note is genuine, and with a hint that this scruffy man is in all liklihood an eccentric millonnaire from Amererica, Henry's world changes. He is treated like royalty and viewed as a man of enormous means, given credit, doors and power are suddenly wide open to this simple impoverished sailor. And still he holds onto the intact million pound note, without having to cash it. At one stage the banknote is whipped out of his hand by a gust of wind and a battle ensues between Henry and the wind, to catch the banknote. Fortunatly the sailor prevails and holds tightly onto his million pound banknote.

Newspapers write articles about the American with the million pound notbanknote. Henry receives invitations to meet local society circles and during one of these events he meets Portia Lansdowne, who is the niece of the Duchess of Cromarty. While hobnobbing with societies elite he meets many characters, including an American investor Lloyd Hastings who is looking for capital for an investment in a gold mine. Hastings pursuades Henry to allow him to use, by now famous name in exchange for some gold stock. Very quickly the stock rises with Henry discovering that he has has in fact just gained sixteen thousand pounds from the stock that was bought in his name. Another character who crosses his path is the Duke of Frognal who has a bone to pick with our hero Henry. The wily Duke plots to have the banknote stolen and then spreads rumors that the note no longer exists. . Creditors descend on Henry while his new friends turn their backs on him and to be sure they regard him as an imposter. He promises to pay all his bills from the sale of his stock, but as you can imagine the rumors have caused the shares to become worthless. But honesty prevails and the Duke returns the banknote to Henry just as Portia rushes to his side telling him she loves him rich or poor. The shares stabalise with Henry earning a fortune selling his gold stock. Henry and Portia finally return the intact million pound banknote to the Montpeliers and our once penniless sailor drives off into the sunset with his lovely Portia .

May you all be blessed with health and prosperity for 2010
Elaine

American Holiday Bazaar

FELT4U had a great time at the annual American Holiday Bazaar held at the American International School recently in Even Yehuda, Israel. This event attracts many internationals who stock up on gifts prior to going abroad for their Xmas vacation. For The event was like a mini United Nations with a multitude of languages filling the air.
We were excited to sell our nuno-felted scarves and wraps to, among others, a Chinese woman who arrived just two months ago for a posting with her American husband, a beautiful filmmaker from Jaffa (she looked superb in our grey/green/blue cobweb wrap), and a local PR hotshot who bought two wraps – black on white and grey lattice.
Elaine and I also enjoyed sharing the day with other craft artists and seeing their creative output. A few special mentions: Anat Brim from LiLush ( knitted scarf coats and wraps in vibrant colors – www.lilush.etsy.com); fashion designer Rina Schechter who has branched into jewelry making (a trendy ethnic look – available at her store 10 rabi Pinchas Street, Jaffa Flea Market, Anat Sapir, a jewelry designer who makes exquisite glass beads (www.anatsapir.co.il), Sheyna Lot, a ceramicist from Kibbutz Shefayim whose vases and bowls come in tones of the desert sands and talented Israeli artist Yoram Gal whose large vibrant paintings of Israeli scenes are sold and exhibited worldwide.

Best wishes to all
Elana

ART TO WEAR

Wearable Art is often the way Elaine and I describe our nuno felted creations - the silk is our canvas and the multi-colored wool our palette. So, I was excited to read an article in Time Magazine recently about New Zealand's WOW Awards (World of Wearable Art) . This annual event is described as "equal parts couture, choreography and craziness." Entries are in several categories from children's garments to clothes that can be reflected under UV light to create exciting effects. Recycling is a common theme and there were items constructed from used neckties, old sofa parts and worn-out bicycle tires. A dress by Canadian designer, Angela Bright was inspired by 18th century French court excess but made with tea bags and coffee filters! No wonder they call it the WOW Awards!

Founder of WOW, Suzie Moncrieff calls the show "a glorious rebellion against the mundane".
This is exactly what makes me passionate about craft in general - in a world of globalization and mass production finding a unique, one-of-a-kind item which doesn't break the bank balance is a complete joy.
It's uplifting to meet the creator of the item you have purchased or in our case, meet the person who is going to wear a particular scarf or wrap. A very important point we have discovered selling through a virtual store is the connection and communication with the customer and the positive feedback we receive. It was exciting recently to make a sale in the USA to a gentleman who bought a wrap in his wife's favourite color as a surprise birthday present and she loved it. WOW, thats exactly how we feel when we receive such wonderful positive feedback from happy and satisfied customers.

What best sums up wearable art for FELT 4U is the collection of cobweb felted scarves and wraps made with with the softest merino woolroving interspersed with of hand dyed shibori silk creating a collage of texture and color. Really great for the free spirited individual who appreciates the organic flow of the item.
Elana

Rio Olympics

One can only imagine the sense of double achievement Rio feels in its win to host the 2016 Olympics. Not only is it a first for the country, but on a grand scale this will be the first Olympics on the Continent of South America. Kudos to Brazil.

I remember when South Africa bid for the Olympics in the 1990's. Apartheid was dead, buried in the annals of history. There was an exciting feeling of optimism, an invincibility that "we have overcome" together with a sense of entitlement that South Africa deserved the honor and prestige of hosting the Olympics which would be the first on the African Continent. As you know South Africa lost that bid and I am not even sure who won.

Like me, you probably feel that Rio evokes a fusion of colors, passions, rythms and diversity which has inspired me to create my nuno felted tunic wrap which I have aptly name Rio.

Elaine

Vintage Rust

Ambling through the neighbourhood recently I came across an amazing old rusty bedspring.
Not one to let an old bedfellow down, I took it home with me.
How could I resist? Who knows what secrets this rusted spring would yield?

Through an amazing process of dyeing the tissue silk, my vintage springs long hidden secrets are revealed in the wonderful shapes with circles and spirals and bleeding rust.
All that remains is for me to decide what to do with the silk. Should I nuno felt it and turn it into a tunic or wrap? Or should I leave it as it is?. Any ideas are welcome.

Zen of Tides

Photo taken Muizenberg Beach South Africa 1942



For twenty odd years during the 80's and 90's the rythmic sounds of crashing waves was music that lulled me to sleep. I lived with my children, a dog, a cat and my partner Sid, in a gabled cottage on a winding street in a quaint seaside resort that had seen better days, called Muizenberg.
Over the years, my early morning walks along the waters edge enriched my life and inspired me to be fully aware of the joy of each and every moment. I observed how on stormy days the wind worried the waves into broken segments, shoving from behind and tumbling them ceaselessly and finally leaving an outline of scummy foam which dried to a dirty grey green and left in its wake pieces of driftwood, shells and debris.
At other times days, it was different. If there was a light breeze off the ocean, and the green sea had some blue in it,the foam frill that swept up from time to time was creamy white and altogether more friendly and left behind amazing etchings in the wet sand.

So why am I telling you all this. Who or what is the inspiration that Elana and I get during the process of crafting our nuno felted garments. We basically start off with a piece of white silk and talk about hot and cold colors and combinations , and should we shibori dye some pieces, and we mix and match and then choose merino wool and other items for texture and pattern. . My latest nuno felted wrap for our shop FELT 4U is aptly named Tidel Foam and was inspired by simple walks on the beach long time ago.