On Sunday, the 8th of October, Feltmakers Ireland member Annika Berglund shared her experiences with her recent in-person classes at the seven-day Hungarian Felt Camp, with five tutors AND her many experiences with studying felting via online courses.
Initially, Annika created her artwork out of totally different materials. She worked in ceramics, bronze, and glass. Seeking a more sustainable and less energy-hungry media, she tried textiles Dublin Knitting and Stitching Show in 2019. This was where she took her first feltmaking workshop. After discovering felt, she then proceeded to take many online classes. Her trip to Hungary was an opportunity to return to learning in person.
There is a recording of Annika’s entire presentation on the Feltmakers Ireland YouTube Channel. Additionally, there are clearer photographs of her finished pieces and links to each of the five Hungarian tutors in an earlier Feltmakers Ireland blog post – https://feltmakersireland.com/2023/10/05/october-sunday-session-annika-berglund-on-hungarian-felting-retreat-online-felt-classes/
As there is so much information and photographs, there will be a Part 2 that covers Annika’s online education experiences. Part 2 of Annika’s presentation is now on the blog – https://feltmakersireland.com/2023/10/17/recap-sunday-session-with-annika-berglund-part-2-online-education/
Scroll down to the bottom to see the links to the Hungarian tutors and the online felting classes.
Hungarian Felting Camp
The guild members enjoyed seeing each of the pieces that Annika created during the retreat. She would hold them up, and then we passed them around the room.
She cautioned that it was a full-on program, with most projects taking more time than allotted. Most of the projects could have been done over two days! Fortunately, Annika could complete her projects by continuing in the evenings. The one exception to this was the pillow project taught by Bea Németh.
There were three groups of students, with around ten students per group. Two of the groups were English speakers, and one of them had German speakers. Annika’s group was impacted by Covid-19, with more participants becoming ill daily. Interestingly, two students were only mildly affected by the virus. They managed to follow along, working outdoors and receiving their instructions via WhatsApp. The wonders of technology!
The cost of the seven-day workshop was around 1,375 euros, which included tuition, room, board, and transport from Budapest. The class was held in the village of Nagybörzsöny.
Necklace Project – Anikó Boros
Annika’s favourite class was creating a felted fuschia necklace with Anikó Boros (BaribonHU). She really appreciated the new feltmaking perspective and eye for detail that this teacher brought to the class.
{See above for a photo of Annika sharing this project.}
Pillow Project – Bea Németh
Interestingly, the students worked together on a giant rug, each person decorating her own square, which they then felted and fulled collectively. After the wool became properly felted, the large piece was cut up, and each part returned to its’ designer. Then, they learned how to use an ingenious cord-making machine and, finally, how to assemble and sew their cushions.
Felted Bag with Prefelts – Gabriella Kovács
Taught by Gabriella Kovács, this class was billed as being for ‘lazy felters’. In this class, the students use manufactured prefelts. There was no laying of wool roving. Interestingly, the students learned how to create a bag so that the lining was integral to the layout.
Doorway Guardian – Márti Csille
In this class, the students learned how to make a modern version of the traditional tumars, which is an amulet-like embroidered felt to keep evil away and is hung in the entrance area of the yurt. Annika explored new colour combinations in this piece.
Nunofelted Scarf – Nadia Szabó
With this class, Annika strove to create exceptionally clean lines to her geometric pattern with her wool layout. The silk was dyed afterwards.
Other Takeaways
- Join the Design & Crafts Council Ireland to further your felting journey.
- Look into Artists’ Tax Exemptions. {This may be a future blog post}.
- Posca pens don’t need to be heat-fixed.
- Ask for a workshop or class as a gift!
The Links!
Some of the teachers sell their finished products and online workshops via their websites. Other tutors may need to be contacted directly for further information. Some of the teachers who teach online have recorded classes that are available year-round, while others have ones with specific availability. Several of the tutors teach additional classes which are not included below. Visit the links to be inspired and learn!
Links are in the approximate order of when mentioned during Annika’s presentation.
Felting Camp – https://cornitfelt.com/cornit-filztreff-2023-live-eng/
Anikó Boros – BaribonHu – https://baribon.hu/
Bea Németh – https://www.facebook.com/beanemez
Gabriella Kovács – https://kovacs-gabriella.hu/about/
Márti Csille – https://www.instagram.com/marticsille/
Nadia Szabó – https://www.etsy.com/shop/lunavifelt/
Pam de Groot – http://pamdegroot.com/
Fiona Duthie – https://www.fionaduthie.com/
- Felting Over the Edge
- Surface Design Online
- Raised Surfaces Online
- Fibre + Paper Online which includes working with permanent inks and other mark-making media. (She also teaches an Ink on Cloth Workshop).
- Free Tutorial: Vessel within a Vessel
Mandy Nash – https://mandynash.co.uk/workshops/upcoming-workshops/
- Felt Fish – a YouTube recording. Email her via her website.
Eva Camacho – https://evacamacho.com/
- Beyond Felting: Wool + Paper + Silk
- Also, she took a Joomchi class, which is not showing as available.
Gladys Paulus – https://www.gladyspaulus.com/ Both of Gladys’ online classes can be found on one page on her website – https://www.gladyspaulus.com/online-workshops
- Inspired by Nature – The Lotus
- Inspired by Nature – Horns
Kristy Kun – https://kristykun.com/
Molly Williams – https://mollywilliams.co.uk/
The Felting and Fiber Studio – https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/
Video of Annika’s Presentation
There is a full video of Annika’s presentation over on Feltmakers Ireland’s YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm5kqzRjXu4
Suggestions?
If you have experienced other online felting-related courses that you have enjoyed, let us know. We will collect this information for a future post. – feltmakersIE@gmail.com
Feltmakers Ireland 
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