Tutorial – handmade felt covered buttons

Felters who make handmade felt all have pieces lying around that were either sample tests, projects that just were not right or simply bits left over from larger endeavours. There is nothing like handmade wool felt, and even the smallest pieces never get thrown away, after all.. each piece was lovingly made by hand! For those of you who are not felters, follow these directions using just about any fabric.

Those fabric remnants/felt scraps often just sit in the studio yearning for a new life. Well here is what you do. Make covered buttons.

For larger production, purchase a proper button machine press with a cutter and dies like the Osbourne or Handy machine. (note those machines need a die set for each size)

handmade wool and silk felt covered buttons

Large or small, they can be used in a myriad of ways. Here is a peek at the process.

What you will need:

• circle of thin felt, thick felt is too bulky (nuno is gorgeous as a button!)
• button parts – they come in a variety of sizes and are available in every most sewing stores (and online in larger quantaties) - these are size 75 (4.75cm diameter) I love this size, but also use other sizes right down to just over 1 cm wide.
• assembly tool – old tech like the  Dr*tz covered button kits our mothers all have in their sewing kits 1 part rubber, 1 part plastic.

covered button parts (2 pieces) tool for assembly (2 parts) felt circle

place your felt upsidedown on the bottom part of the assembly kit, place the domed half of the button on top of the felt (dome down)

push button and felt into the assembly unit ensuring there is enough felt overhang to create the button

tuck excess felt in and place the button back (with the eye loop up) on the felt,  placing the plastic assembly part on top

press down firmly. I often use the heel of my foot for this (improvisation is one of my best assets), use firm even pressure. The thicker the felt, the more difficult it is. Regular fabric is a breeze once you have worked with felt!

pop out your button and make another!

What to do with felt covered buttons?  a million things …

• use them to spruce up a great coat or shirt
• closure for purses
• accent a hat
• use for darting on upholstery or pillows
• make ponytails.. house favorite here –  my daughter and I use them all the time, admittedly they are cuter on her than me.

You can also use wire cutters to remove the loop on the back – I usually do this before assembly if I plan ahead, then you can attach them to findings that you can purchase online using a good quality adhesive to create:

• magnets for your fridge or blackboard
• thumbtacks for your corkboard
• hair clips
• lapel pins
• they are a great addition to the perfect felted shawl or collar
• you name it…

I often use these as a little gift when I send a package to a customer, just a little something to say thanks.

Here is a quickie project.. make a pony tail.

What do you need? 1 button, 1 hair elastic and a piece of wire

fold wire in half over hair elastic (make sure metal connector is on opposite side), thread through hole in button

grab the wire and pull hard to get the elastic through the hole. Thicker elastics work too, just be patient and pull carefully supporting the button loop as you pull.

remove wire and pull through, leaving a small loop and the metal bit

loop elastic back under itself

pull tight, making sure the metal part of the elastic sits good and snug

a great hair accessory!

Do a search online for covered button to see what else can be done with them.

thanks & blog poll

I took at look at my stats today, and just wanted to say thanks for reading. When I started my blog this summer, I had no idea that it would be read by so many people. I would love to hear what you would like to see more of (take this anonymous poll – choose 2 options) :

by the way, if you want to subscribe use the RSS feeder links on the top right then bookmark it.

This weeks readers on MinDesign

Etsy – front page

I was lucky enough to be featured on the frontpage of Etsy again this week – that always makes me feel good.

my 'bark ring' as featured on Etsy's front page this week

The collection featured was skillfully put together by  felicitycrew.

Naughty by nature?

… what would you like written around your finger?

I have always loved words and I am an admitted font addict. I have a font for every occasion! I am continuously amazed at how a font can carry almost as much weight as the actual text in a graphic setting.

When I first put words in silver, my head swirled with ideas. What, and how to write it – the possibilities were endless. Rings are my personal favorite. There is a significant amount of work involved in the creation of a custom ring. The graphic design (size matters) is crucial, the actual sizing of the ring (size matters here even more so!)  - it all needs to be taken in consideration.  I start at my computer where I work in Photoshop to create a template from which to work. From there, I go through a series of steps to convert that 2D image into a three dimensional form that I can use to sculpt the ring. Working with photopolymers and some japanese techniques. I sculpt each piece by hand. I do not do engraving, nor do I stamp a plain silver band. The procedures I use make deep impressions will not wear away. After polishing and workhardening, I use  a liver of sulfur solution to create a patina that accentuates the words. The jewelry is then hallmarked .999fs (fine silver 99.9% pure) which tarnishes less than sterling silver due to its purity. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver.

“be careful Anais, abnormal pleasures kill the taste for normal ones” – a quote cautioning Anais Nin from the movie Henry & June

My favorite norwegian quote “Evig eies kun det tapte” (Ibsen) roughly translates to “only that which is lost is yours forever”

slave to love ring

I have had clients ask for some pretty cryptic pieces, secrets that only they and maybe a special someone know the meaning of…

Here are some of the other designs I have used on rings. JUST BREATHE has a been very popular!

some text options available for custom silver rings

I can also scan your (or someone you loves)  handwriting to create a very personal piece of jewelry. Let me know your favorite quotes – What do you think would make a great piece of jewelry?

Etsy – Shop Local

For those of you who think that Etsy is only a North American thing, think again! Etsy is working hard to help cater to artists and consumers worldwide.

Etsy's Shop Local - Photo by crabappledesign

If you are not familiar with all of the features that Etsy has to offer – take a look at ‘Shop Local’. You can search for artists in your country, your state or even your own town. Who knows, you may find that a great talent lives right nearby and you might get the chance to visit (and shop!) in person.

Shopping local also has great benefits:

• the environmental impact is reduced
• you reinvest money in your own community
• you will support a local small business owner
• chances are you will get great customer service
• lower shipping costs (saves you money!)
• this list could go on and on.. but instead of reading this, go see what you can find where you live!

Felting experiments – Texel fleece

Elis Vermeulen of Holland is my partner in Felt United.

We make a funny pair, Elis and I… we are so very different in everything we do, from the ways that we work, to the materials that we use. Working with her has freed me (or pushed me.. I am still not sure) to work outside of my comfort zone and to try things that I would never have considered before. I have always worked with fine fibres (merino, alpaca, cashmere etc… using norwegian C1 for sturdier pieces) while Elis prefers to use courser fibres, often in the grease.

We have done our fair share of “sheep talk” of late, and the wheels are spinning in my head once again.

While I was in Holland with Elis, who is a lover of Texel wool, I tried my hand at felting with it.  She LOVES to use it ‘in the grease’ – in other words straight off the sheep, full of vegetable matter (and more) and smelling like a barn! haha.. Not really my style, but I am game for anything. So in our typical ways, we went to work and laughed the entire time at how we work in completely different ways. From the manner in which we lay out our fibre, to the way we wet them, to the way we roll. Polar opposites – it is refreshing to work with someone who can show you new ways of thinking and expand your horizons.

Since that trip, I have been obsessed with trying to new wools. Specifically Norwegian heritage sheep, but also other breeds to get a better understanding of wool and how it felts.

Christine White author of Uniquely Felt offers a “Felting Lab” which would be a dream to take. It is an intensive study for Feltmakers designed to give a thorough understanding of the feltmaking medium.

Andrea Graham a very talented artist from Canada is currently in the ‘Lab’, and discussions have arisen about felting with Texel, hence the inspiration for this post.

Here are a few photos of my first time with Texel. My goal was to create as thin and even of a felt as I could using this fleece with a raised square in the middle. Elis laughs at how I work … going wild is going to take me some time – hehe. We rolled for what felt like eons before it started to felt, using boiling hot water. The smell, well…. what can I say? You do not felt with this and then go out to a restaurant for dinner without taking a good long shower first!

Anyone who is interested in learning more about Texel, should contact Elis, she is an expert in using it!

Elis Vermeulen in her studio in Holland

My first experiment with Texel ‘in the grease’

Texel felt

transparency (photographed by a window)

in the studio today…

A few moments from the studio today.

Felted Rock Vessel

Made using a mix of Norwegian C1 and pelsull with a touch of silk throwers waste for accent.

Here is a glimpse of the process:

UPDATE:

This photo will give you an idea as to how much it shrunk in the felting process.

Norwegian C1 is fantastic wool!

For comparison purposes, see the size of the original resist.

ohhh.. and a link from Siki in Canada.. I absolutely  love this, turn your music on and enjoy.

Print Gocco – one of my favorite tools

In my last post, I mentioned Print  Gocco. It wasn’t long before I received email asking what it was.

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite tools.

Print Gocco is a Japanese color screenprinting system developed in 1977. It is a compact and completely self-contained printer.  The system works using flash bulbs, a carbon-based image or photocopy and an emulsion-coated screen. When the bulbs are manually flashed, the carbon in the drawing or photocopy burns the screen into a stencil. Several colors of ink can then be applied at one time and multiples prints can be made. Immensely popular in Japan – it is said that at the peak of its popularity, nearly 30% of Japanese households owned one!

Print Gocco have since been discontinued, see SaveGocco.com for more info. There are a few different models on the market, check out eBay, you may find one there if you are lucky. I have a PG-11 .. and I LOVE it!

Print Goco PG-11 model

Quite honestly, the possibilities are endless. Simple cards that a child could do, or more creative projects, like the purses I made (see earlier post). I have gocco-ed fabric, paper napkins, books, leather, felt and more… let me know what you have gocco-ed. Ohh.. and by the way, for the purses, I used 4 different screens, each one with a design I sketched by hand.

Leather purses I screened using Print Gocco

Check out the gocco items on etsy to see what other people are doing with it.

Take a look at this Etsy video to see how the Print Gocco works. You can make things as simple or as complicated as you like. It is great fun either way!

Designernes eget julemarked ’09

This year, I will be taking part in one of Oslo’s most anticipated holiday shopping events. Designernes eget Julemarket (The Designers Own Christmas Market)

poster design Cecilie Ellefsen of Happymeat.com

Over 140 designers from Norway, England, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden will be selling their creations at DogA (The Norwegian Center for Design and Architecture). Approximately 10,000 people pass through the doors over the course of 2 days… and the good stuff goes fast!

Hope to see you there.

ps.. check out some of the talented designers included in this years market:

• Cecilie’s work at Happymeat.com or her etsy shop featuring some great gocco prints.
• Unni Strand –  blog and etsy shop check out her screenprinted upcycled designs
• HotNok – fantastic clothing designs
• Maiken Designs – unique jewelry (with reflex.. in Norway.. thats a good thing!)
• EverydayGlory  - take a peek at their etsy shop and blog
• FabelHaven – gorgeous knits
• Jumina Design – limited edition childrens clothes in natural materials

(UPDATE: if you are taking part in DEJM´09 and would like to be included on the list just send me a note)

Norwegian Press Release:

”et inspirerende alternativ til kommersiell julehandel”

Vi er utrolig stolte av å kunne si at designernes eget julemarked har blitt et av de faste innslagene i Oslos førjulstid.

I år arrangers markedet for 11. gang, Ikke dårlig for en ide som startet rundt et kjøkkenbord for 11 år siden!

“Craft”-trenden er en av de store trendene som bare blir større og større for hvert år som går- ikke bare i Norge, men i hele verden. Vi er lei masseproduserte matvarer, klær, smykker, og møbler. Vi ønsker oss  ting som noen faktisk har laget, noe du kan se er håndlaget – ting som det er lagt tid og kjærlighet i, om det er et stykke ost, en skjorte eller en vakker pute.

I år har vi over 140 utstillere fra hele landet, og fra England, Belgia, Danmark og Sverige.  De selger smykker, illustrasjoner, klær, møbler,  lamper og mye annet.

De fineste gavene vil du finne på årets julemarked!

Ønsker du mer info eller høyoppløslige bilder vennligst kontakt

Bente Helstrom, bente.helstrom@online.no
eller
Paul Lowe, paul.lowe@mac.com

Sted: DOGA, Hausmansgate 16, ved siden av kulturkirken Jakob. Oslo.
Tid: Lørdag 5. desember 10-18
Søndag 6. desember 10-18

Med vennlig hilsen
Bente & Paul

“what is precious…”

This was entry for the Cheongju Craft Biennial in Korea:

suffice it to say I did not win ;(

The theme for the competition was: (you can skip this part if you want.. a little long winded!)

The theme for the 2009 Biennale, Outside the Box, proposes that craft be considered or approached as a composite whole, rather than as a series of fragmentary and contending disciplines. To think outside the box, as the phrase goes in the West, is to transcend spurious divisions through the human faculty of imagination. In newly-merged artistic and managerial discourses, ‘outside the box’ is where the indispensably ‘innovative’ is to be found. But it is also where a state of integration becomes attainable; where meetings become possible. As what is devised as a necessary means to an end, craft and innovation have ever been one and the same. By the same definition craft is integration; with nature, with others, with its collective self. It therefore has the power to unite and represent all human values, in the here and now. It is one of the chief absurdities of our times that the world should be facing unprecedented environmental, economic and humanitarian crises and at the same time find itself inundated with products and consumables.The position in relation to crafts, and the fate of crafts, is one essential aspect of this paradox. Contemporary attitudes to material culture: the idea of the self as project the creation of the authentic individual the arbitrariness of meaning; these have proceeded from the beginnings of modern consumerism in the eighteenth century, and from the development of Romanticism as an intellectual and emotional response.¹ But to what vision of mankind does this proliferation of the inherently valueless testify in our information and technology age.

My entry:

In this world where diamonds and pearls are stripped from nature to adorn humans as priceless baubles; it is time to seek out treasures derived from renewable resources such as natural fibres like silk and wool. It is time to reconsider what is precious and priceless.

This fine silver ring (.999FS hallmark) with its hand- sculpted and polished finish was designed to enhance and reflect the natural beauty and luster of this hand felted “pearl”; making this “pearl” as precious as any of its ocean counterparts.

This unique ring was inspired by the United Nations declaration that 2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibres.

Felt Pearl Ring

Felt Pearl Ring

Since making this ring, I have been working on a series of pieces for a new line.

note: the size and colour of the pearls can be custom ordered. I will be posting these on etsy in the not do distant future.

Here is a preview:

cups, saucers, shells and bowls...

cups, saucers, shells and bowls...

cups, saucers, shells and bowls...

cups, saucers, shells and bowls...

cups, saucers, shells and bowls...

Etsy.. the handmade movement

Etsy.. the place to buy all things handmade

If you do not know what Etsy is (actually in Norway, it is relatively unknown), welcome to the land of the living and take a look. Over a hundred thousand artists showcase their wares for the world to see, and everything you see there is either handmade or vintage. Etsy offers artists not only a fantastic opportunity to expand their market, but it is also a very special place to meet like minded people who appreciate and/or create handmade works. If you are an artist, do look into the community and forum pages, they are excellent resources, with information on marketing, photography and more.

I have been featured on the front page of Etsy on a few occasions, it never ceases to make me feel proud when something I made with my own two hands is chosen for one of their coveted front page spots.

etsy front page featuring my “linen pendant”

etsy front page featuring my “bark ring”

I have been fortunate enough to have been contacted by people looking for that “something special”…. such as a Texan gentleman who was looking for a special “linen” gift for his wife on their 4th anniversary – the “linen” anniversary. She now proudly wears one of my  silver linen pendants. A woman in Boston who was getting married wrote to me, she needed a shawl to wear with her wedding gown. Knowing that what one does – what one dreams of and then creates – goes on to become a cherished piece… something that becomes part of the story of someone’s life is a great feeling. Making/giving handmade gifts – there is just no comparison.

Artist of the month – Nesoddhuset

Artist of the Month
Cynthia Reynolds
Nesoddhuset
October 3rd – October 31st
opening Oct 3rd 12:00

come by and take a look