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Meet the Supplier: Marie Redding Arts

Meet the Supplier: Marie Redding Arts

Comments 49 comments

Fibre 3, 2, 1

Q-3 Three types of fibre you can’t live without?

Silk, silk and silk! It goes with everything and always improves any project I create. I consider it a ‘workhorse fibre’ due to how adaptable it is. Even the smallest amount does wonders and I consider it essential for any of my personal projects, or where I want to really wow someone.

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Q-2 Two tools you use all the time?

  1. A felting rolling pin. I start all of my felting projects with this. It takes the hard work out of felting and I don’t have to roll the felt up, I can work on it flat. Within minutes I can have a large piece of felt that is ready to be developed further. 
  2. My trilobite finishing tool. I use the tool at the end of the felting process to give a sheen and smooth finish to my felt. It works especially well when I’m using silk.

Q-1 One fibre art technique you love the most?

I looooove *gestures at the void* how can you ask me to narrow it down?! I suppose if I had to choose, I love making nuno felted garments using fibres I’ve dyed myself.

General Questions

What is your business?

Marie Redding Arts

 

What kind of items do you sell?

Felting, weaving, crafting, knitting materials, tools and supplies. I also create and sell my own yarn and locally sourced sheep fleece and locks.

I supply a wide range of wooden tools which my master carpenter makes just for me,  to my designs.

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I ship worldwide and have customers in every country which has enriched my experience and consider myself very lucky.

I’ve recently started creating spirit dolls on a custom basis as well. They’ve proven to be very popular with my customers.

 

What do you think makes your business different from similar ones?

I have a unique eye for colour and use books for inspiration, such as Alice In Wonderland

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I make sure every order that goes out is special and contains little gifts. I also pride myself on being a one stop shop and cater for all my customers’ needs if I can,  with a very diverse range of goods. Being plastic free as much as possible is important to me.

 

Where are you located?

Herefordshire in the UK

 

Where can we find you on the internet?

My Etsy store is here https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MarieReddingArts and you can also find me on Facebook too

https://m.facebook.com/mariereddingarts/?ref=bookmarks

Giveaway

Marie has done an amazing giveaway of a felting basket of goodies. To get in on the draw leave a comment below. Make sure there is an email attached to your profile so we can contact you. (don’t post your email ) If we can’t contact you we will pick another number. Marie will use a random number generator on May 4th to pick the lucky winner and I will announce it in my blog post on May 5th.

A luxury mixed media treasure chest in a gorgeous wicker hamper, ideal for a gift or a treat just for you. A bumper haul of mixed media fibre in your chosen complementary colours, merino wool, hand dyed silks, beads, hand dyed nylon sparkle, hand dyed locks and Teeswater fleece, and a gorgeous piece of luxury fabric to top it off! Presented in a beautiful wicker hamper which can be supplied gift wrapped at no extra cost, with a gift message or blank gift tag. This kit has no plastic packaging as I care about the environment.

 

 

Art Therapy

Art Therapy

Comments 29 comments

I mentioned on the Forum a few weeks ago that I’m going to be doing some wet felting as art therapy at a well-being centre in about a month or two. The budget for supplies isn’t huge and will mostly go on wool tops, so I asked if any of our UK felters had any spare bits of wool or fibres they could donate so we had a nice variety of supplies. I was looking for anything really, especially those last little bits of wool tops that end up a half felted at the bottom of a bag. Teri, Galina and Lyn all kindly said they had a few bits they could spare. They weren’t really telling the truth though, they had a lot to spare! In fact, they were so unbelievably generous, I just had to show everyone! There were a few small odds and ends of wool tops and I had a few small bits too, so I carded up a few colourful and variegated batts:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThere were also some nice blended tops:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALots of natural and neutral wool tops, some of which I carded into batts too:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALots of gorgeous natural fleeces and locks:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd lots of beautifully dyed (by hand, I think) locks:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAn unbelievable amount of embellishment fibres:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALots of fabric:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd last, but not least, lots of yarn:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI was talking to the others involved about what direction the group may take long term after the initial learning and exploring and expressing stages. Maybe being part of some local or national project or initiative, or taking part in some kind of exhibition, something that would give the group a theme to work on and an aim. I don’t have any previous experience of anything like that, and don’t even know where to start looking, I see events ‘featuring local community art groups’ all the time, but never see the initial invitation for groups to take part, so if anyone has any info that might help, even if it’s just where or how to start looking, I’d be really grateful 🙂 You can contact me on the forum or using the Contact Form here, or even on Facebook. Thanks so much to Teri, Galina and Lyn for being so generous 🙂

Meet the Supplier

Meet the Supplier

Comments 20 comments

I’d like you to meet a new supplier who just happens to be located in Montana where I live. The post today is about Karen Straight from Big Sky Fiber Arts.

Fibre 3, 2, 1
Q-3 Three types of fibre you can’t live without?

  1. Merino – I share in common with many felters a love for merino. I especially love extra fine merino (19 microns) as it felts so easily, takes dye beautifully, and it is perfect for wet and nuno felting. It is so much fun to hand dye and card merino into art batts. Carded art batts make terrific skies, rivers, and oceans. Hand dyed merino is terrific for capturing the variations in color found in nature. Photos: 19 micron solid merinos and sugar candies, (Last 3 photos) hand dyed merino, yak and silk

     

  2. Ramie – I adore this bast fiber. It has the sheen of silk, and it comes in a variety of terrific colors. It adds wonderful spark and interest to fiber arts projects. I card it into my art batts. I find it to be especially lovely to work with when working on sky or water in a wet felted landscape painting.
  3. Finn – Finn is a fabulously versatile fiber. It is good for wet felting and needle felting. I enjoy making felted vessels and needle felting 2D and 3 D animals. Finn comes in lovely natural shades that are perfect for animals. It is a durable fiber that has the necessary strength for beautiful vessels.

Q-2 Two tools you use all the time?

  1. Ashford wild carder – Carding is so much fun! The Ashford Wild Carder takes just about anything. In one batt, I will combine merino, mohair, mulberry silk, ramie, sari silk fibers, and more. It comes out beautifully.
  2. Sewing Machine – I love the creative process of free motion stitching my felted landscapes. I also create quilted backgrounds for needle felted creatures.Flowers Inspired by Moy Makay by Karen Straight

Q-1 One fibre art technique you love the most?

  1. I love 2-D needle felting on linen using an embroidery hoop. I find this technique to be a wonderful way to needle felt animals. I draw the on the linen, and then utilize natural rovings. Sometimes I make the picture quite flat. Other times, I build up the fiber so that the animal appears to come out of the picture. I enjoy cutting the felted animal out of the linen, and integrating the needle felted creature into an “art” quilt.

General Questions
What is your business? My business is Big Sky Fiber Arts.

What kind of items do you sell?  We sell fiber arts supplies for felters and spinners. Our goal is to encourage fiber artists to grow by experimenting with a wide range of fiber types and effect fibers. Our inventory includes a large variety of extra fine 19 micron merino roving in solid colors and sugar candies, natural wool roving, hand dyed roving (various fiber types), bast fibers including hemp, ramie, and bamboo, silk fibers, 5 mm habotai silk scarves, prefelt, silk yarns and ribbons, and more.

What do you think makes your business different from similar ones? 

Quality and Competitive Price – Our products are of the highest quality at a highly competitive price. I carefully researched companies in the US providing a similar level of product quality. I marked each product I sell lower than my competitors. To beat the prices I am offering, you would need to buy in bulk.

Variety of Wools Offered – We encourage our customers to break out of their comfort zone and try a variety of types of fibers. Many fiber artists will use only merino. But, for certain projects, using a wider range of fibers will increase the excitement in the final project. We carry a wide range of hand dyed fibers, natural fibers, merino, bast fibers, silk, and yarns. We provide examples of how each product might be used so that our customers feel encouraged to explore. My email, phone number, and Facebook address are readily available so customers can chat with me about their ideas and questions. We love to see the art our customers create from our products!

Owl Detail by Karen StraightCommitment to the environment – A desire to protect the environment and support communities are central to our mission. The majority of our textiles are certified by the International Oeko-Tex Association. Hand painted fibers are created by a trained biologist who takes great care in each step of the process. Our bamboo is naturally processed, and we feature lovely plant-based effect fibers that are renewable.

Bunny by Karen StraightCommitment to community – We recognize that where we purchase our products impacts communities. Through the careful selection of artistic supplies, we can support communities. Our yarns and several of our banana and silk effect fibers support women’s co-ops in Nepal and India. Your purchase of these products helps to improve the lives of these disadvantaged women. We also feature made in Montana products, and we look to expand our listings of rovings produced by local farmers.

Where are you located? We are an online business only located in beautiful Kalispell, Montana. Our family lives here with the Swan Mountains in the background on five acres with our six rescued horses, two dogs, and a cat.

Big Sky Fiber Arts, Karen Straight

Where can we find you on the internet? 

http://bigskyfiberarts.com

Readers are welcome to use code 52015 to receive 10% of their first purchase! Code valid on all products purchased until the end of June. The discount does not include shipment charges.

Big Sky Fiber Arts

 

Thanks Karen! I hope you enjoyed learning about Karen’s business and do check out her site to look at all the yummy fibers she has available.  

Meet The Supplier and a Giveaway

Meet The Supplier and a Giveaway

Comments 47 comments

Meet the Supplier

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Fibre 3, 2, 1

Q-3 Three types of fibre you can’t live without?
Angelina fibres, I did not think I would like this fibre until I started using it and now love the bit of sparkle it adds. Also merino pre felt, and wool tops, especially dyed merino.

Q-2 Two tools you use all the time?
Twisted felting needles because they felt evenly throughout your piece and leave a smoother finished surface. The other tool has to be my Janome sewing machine, I love to be able to make practical but beautiful things like blinds and bags with cotton and linen fabrics.

Q-1 One fibre art technique you love the most?
Wet felting, both pictures and 3D forms. I enjoy the creating, and rinsing off the soap to see the final piece is great. Even if it’s not quite how you expected there is always something a little bit lovely about what has been made.

PrefeltB
General Questions

What is your business?
heidifeathers is an online felting supplies business

What kind of items do you sell?
We sell wool bundle mixes, needle felting kits, wet felting kits and drop spinning kits, pre felt bundles, nepps, glass eyes, felting needles, dyes, dyed tussah and mulberry silk fibres, scarves, angelina fibres and other felting tools, basically we are a one stop shop for felting.

mulberry tops 3What do you think makes your business different from similar ones?
We offer lots of colour! Lots of mixed items such as wool bundles, silk bundles, and pre felt bundles, giving you variety so you don’t have to choose. We stock a lot of felting related fibres, tools (including an extensive range of felting needles). We offer all the supplies you need so you can experiment with felting. We care about the customer and are always willing to offer help and also care about stocking good quality items.

merino playful2What can you make with your kits?
Our kits all come with instruction. The needle felting kits come with a 24 page booklet with 6 projects and wool for plenty more. The wet felting kit has 3 projects and some other basic information about wet felting, again there is wool for lots of other ideas and we include a template and instruction for making a purse. The spinning kits explain how to spin wool tops in to two ply yarn using a drop spindle.

kit2Where are you located?
We are an online business based in the Cotswolds

Where can we find you on the internet?
www.heidifeathers.com, also on etsy at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/sweetgorgeousthings  and ebay http://stores.ebay.co.uk/heidifeathers

GIVEAWAY:
Heidi Feathers is offering a very generous prize for a giveaway. Because of the size and subsequent postage costs, this giveaway is only available for postage within the UK. That doesn’t mean you have to live in the UK to enter though, feel free to enter as long as the recipient is in the UK 🙂

giveaway Kit2 The prize is a complete Wet Felting Kit. Zoe from Heidi Feathers says “The kit is a high quality wet felting kit which is fun and easy to use for any age, with everything you need to start wet felting (besides warm water)” The kit contains: 200g of the finest soft merino tops (21 Micron) in 20 beautiful colours including pinks, blues, greens, orange, yellow, greys, browns, purples, reds, black and white; one large piece of bubble wrap; one large piece of voile; one light weight rolling pin; one small cloth; one block of pure olive oil soap, and one bamboo rolling mat 45cm x 30. It also includes a 3D re-useable template for making a purse and instructions for three felting projects to make:  A bead, a picture and a purse.

All you have to do to enter, is leave a comment to this post. Check back on Thursday 5th June for the winner to be announced, and please leave a comment on the announcement post so your details can be passed on to Zoe.

Thanks a lot to Heidi Feathers for answering our questions and for the very generous giveaway 🙂 Please have a look at the sites and the great variety of products.

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