Full House

Are you every in need of a change but can only afford to spend a little?. Sometimes all you need to do to brighten up a room is move the furniture around and introduce a new handmade touch that is unique and not available on the high street.

Printing & Felting

There are lots of crafts that could be incorporated to give your room a little lift, a wet felted bowl or a plant pot cover, a hand printed cushion, a handmade quilt, a lampshade, the list is endless. You can also keep the costs low by upcycling fabrics

At a recent Indian Block Printing workshop we ran we discussed lots of ideas of what to do with the pieces of fabric that attendees had printed on . Any of the sample prints could be put into a frame or added to a blank card for that next unexpected occasion.

Lampshade’s & Clocks

As we are starting to plan our workshops for next year we are going to add some of these suggestions, may be the small lampshade first and then the clock, you could come up with your own colour co ordinated home furnishing s range, we might even add a waste bin…..

Wet Felt – what’s that?

Most of the time I needle felt but last year in a moment of bravery I signed up for a City & Guilds in felting. The course is focused on techniques and predominately Wet Felting.

Last week during a regular work meeting the conversation drifted to what people did for a hobby. I mentioned that I liked to needle felt and also wet felt. A quizzical expression appeared on the others persons face and then asked ‘what’s wet felting’, to which I replied felting with water to shape and design a picture or object, the expression turned to one of ‘ I think I will leave this conversation now’.

I assumed it to be a perfectly adequate answer, when we have a hobby we expect other people to know the terminology or have difficulty in explaining how something is done and still hold their attention.

So the next time somebody asks you about your hobby take some time to give a full explanation and spread the word.

Felting & Fairtrade

Felting For A Fairtrade

So what does fair trade have to do with felting? In addition the wool produced in the UK used for needle or wet felting gifts there are many other countries who rely on the product to provide an income and support communities.

Over the last year Wobbly pins have been looking to extend their range of products and unique gifts and have been sourcing items that are Fairtrade meaning we are giving something back to communities whilst supporting our love of crafts.

Fairtrade

So what does it mean for the felt items that are we sell?. At our craft fairs you can buy our handmade items or a range of gifts that we have bought from a companies who are reputable Fairtrade suppliers. This means that they are working with communities to produce goods that they have paid a market rate price that enables decent working conditions and local sustainability whilst learning a trade.

That extra few pence that you pay for an item may not mean much to you but it does ensure that the small scale producer in the remote countryside that produced your gift has some choice and control over their future and is able to reinvest in their community.

Where does our stock come from?

One of our suppliers is Gringo Wholesale and they have been importing Fairtrade items for many years. Over the last few months we have also been visiting trade fairs to meet the people behind the products and we have made some new contacts with small producers in Nepal that we are hoping to work with and have our own range designed.