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Ever since I was a little girl, growing up in a coastal town in the north of Sweden, I've loved working with fabric and creating my own designs. I loved to spend time with my grandmother and great grandmother when they were sewing, working on my own projects side by side with them. It remained a passion, but only as a hobby - I worked with communication coaching and counseling for many years, making use of my creativity in a different way.
When I moved with my family to the United States in 2009 I took the opportunity to actually make something more of my love for fabrics. As fate would have it, I stumbled upon felting and the rest is history.
Felting is the oldest way known to man to make fabric. It has been around
since at least 6500 BC. In Sweden, as in many other cultures, felted objects have always been around. I always thought of felting as something very mundane and never considered felting myself. But about fifteen years ago I came across some really beautiful lightweight silk scarves and garments which seemed to have wool magically merged into the fabric.
I had no clue how it was done, but found it intriguing and beautiful. After doing some research I realized it was a technique called nuno felting, where wool fibers are merged with silk and other natural fibers through felting. I signed up for an introductory workshop at the local art museum and was hooked! I set up a studio in my home and started experimenting. I took workshops from renowned fiber artists and refined my techniques.
But a girl can only wear so many scarves, so I started selling my objects in order to justify making more. In not too long I was also making other accessories like small purses and pins, but also garments and other things.
These days I’m a member of Cazenovia Artisans where my pieces are sold. I also do various arts and craft shows over the year.
My biggest fan was always my maternal grandmother Anne. A milliner by trade who became a housewife and family business administrator. Unfortunately, she never really allowed her artistic side to shine fully. As many women in her generation, she put herself last, making use of her artistic side in beautifully handwritten invoices, baked goods and keeping a beautiful home. Much of what I know about textiles and sewing I learned from her and I think her cheering me on was a way for her to see her talents being explored further through me.
She passed away a few years ago, but she's with me in spirit every day in my studio where this photo hangs on the wall.
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