Guild member Astrid Tomrop-Hofmann has been invited to exhibit her work at the Shoreline Arts Festival, in Portumna, Co Galway. The Visual Arts Exhibition is displayed in the beautiful and historical museum, The Irish Workhouse Centre.
The show runs from Monday, the8th of September, through Sunday, the 21st.
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Guild member Dr Niki Collier has a solo exhibition at Portumna Castle. It combines felt art, installation, dance, and participatory engagements, which are captured through film and photography.
The exhibition ‘Symbols of Mobility’ uses bird lore in legends, proverbs, and intangible cultural traditions to explore the hard truths about ourselves and others.
The audience will get the chance to see seven stories: The Phoenix, The Children of Lir, The Black Swan, The Cutest Chick, The Stork, The Legend of Óengus and Caer, and The Blue Bird of Happiness. These pieces are embodied in large-scale sculptures informed by wings and small sculptures informed by shapes of sorrow and joy. The work also includes installations, photography, and film.
Parts of the work have been produced with the generous support of the Office of Public Works, Arts Council of Ireland, Creative Ireland, and the Dublin Arts Office.
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Dublin is buzzing with creativity this week as two milestone exhibitions open, each celebrating decades of artistry and community.
Sculpture in Context – 40th Anniversary Show at the National Botanic Gardens
One of Ireland’s most beloved annual art events, Sculpture in Context, has returned after a hiatus to the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin for its 40th year. The exhibition transforms the gardens into an open-air gallery, with sculptures of every scale and style nestled among the trees, glasshouses, and landscaped grounds. Visitors can expect a vibrant mix of work from established and emerging artists, with pieces that playfully interact with their natural surroundings.
Three of Feltmakers Ireland’s members have pieces in the show: Ramona Farrelly, Juliane Gorman, and Fiona Leech.
When: Thursday, the 4th of September to Friday, the 10th of October.
Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers – 50th Anniversary Show at the Lexicon Library
Meanwhile, in Dun Laoghaire, the Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers (IGWSD) is marking its 50th anniversary with a special exhibition at the dlr Lexicon Library. Showcasing the craft traditions of weaving, spinning, and dyeing, the exhibition highlights both heritage techniques and contemporary textile art.
Visitors will see a rich variety of textures and colours—handwoven fabrics, intricate patterns, and natural dyes that speak to the Guild’s commitment to preserving and evolving Ireland’s textile heritage.
Two of Feltmakers Ireland members have work in the show: Juliane Gorman and Sharon Wells.
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‘Warped and Wasted Exhibition’Textile TalksTextile Challenge
Seam Collective, a contemporary textile collective of textile practitioners based in the southwest of the UK, has three items of interest: an exhibition, a series of textile talks, and a textile challenge.
The Exhibition
Firstly, they have a group exhibition, ‘Warped and Wasted’, which focuses on textiles, sustainability, and collaboration.
Secondly, the Seam Collective will host a series of Textile Talks, both in-person and online, on Friday, the 3rd of October. The collective and invited peers in the fields of textiles, visual arts, and sustainability will discuss issues of textiles and sustainability, adding to the critical dialogue around sustainable arts practices locally, nationally, and internationally.
Finally, the Seam Collective is once again hosting their annual online challenge, #SeptTextileLove. (They have been doing this challenge for nine years!) You can visit Instagram to see the work they are sharing from the exhibition, re-share it with a 💛, or contribute your own posts that relate to the daily prompts. They request that you include the hashtags #SeptTextileLove and #SeptTextileLove25 in your caption, and tag @seam_collective. There are also new daily hashtags, such as #STL25Day1, #STL25Day2, and so on, making it easier to find posts.
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How will crafts shape the future of Europe’s economy? The European Crafts Alliance Annual Conference 2025: ‘Positioning Crafts in the Contemporary Economy’ will explore this question.
Date: Thursday, the 4th of September Time: 9:30 CET (online), {8:30 Irish Time} 9:00 (onsite) Location: Litteraturhuset, Oslo & Online
This hybrid conference, co-hosted by @eca.crafts & @norwegiancrafts, will explore the fundamental economic challenges and opportunities for craftspeople, offer practical strategies for collaboration from the Nordic Network, present new perspectives on the social and cultural value of craft, and examine how craftspeople are integrating technology with traditional skills to create innovative and economically viable work.
Featuring:
Rosa Muñoz, Brand and trends consultant @thisisohayo
The event will be livestreamed on the ECA YouTube Channel, with the broadcast starting at 9.30 CET. They recommend joining the stream a few minutes early. Online attendees are invited to participate actively in polls and the live Q&A session using the interactive tools provided.
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For feltmakers looking to work with more Irish-raised wool, there’s a special opportunity this week. Texel-cross wool, sourced from Margaret of Kilmullen Farm in Wicklow and carefully cleaned by Feltmakers Ireland guild member Katarina of WoolStoreIE, is on sale.
According to our book ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’, Texel-cross is particularly well-suited for needlefelting, so this is a great chance to try something new with local fibre.
This Friday, bundles will be available at €7 each (regularly €9) or 3 for €20.
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These courses are not feltmaking specifically, but they may be of interest to add to one’s textile-related skills. The Joomchi workshops are in Dublin, and the Paper Casting Workshop is online.
2 in-person Joomchi Workshops in Dublin
Art in Layers is offering two in-person workshops in September on how to create Joomchi, which is a traditional Korean paper-crafting technique that involves layering hanji (Korean mulberry paper) by hand.
“In this class, you’ll learn the meditative process of bonding paper fibers without adhesives, creating stunning pieces with depth and dimension. Perfect for all skill levels, joomchi offers a beautiful way to explore texture, color, and form while connecting with a centuries-old craft.” – from the Art in Layers website.
The Surface Design Association (SDA) offers an online paper casting course taught by Leah Aegerter.
In this foundational paper-making workshop, students transform pulp into unique cast-paper sculptures. Starting with dry abaca pulp, they will delve into the process of reconstituting, blending, dyeing, and casting sheets using a traditional mould and deckle. Abaca paper is characterised by long fibres with impressive wet strength, making it ideal for manipulation. Students mould wet sheets onto objects at home, around the studio, or in the environment. This method of papermaking and casting exemplifies a DIY approach to adapting the traditional craft for a personal studio setting, as described on the Surface Design Association website.
When: Three live Zoom sessions in October/November, with recordings available for a year.
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From Róisín de Buitléar’s Instagram @CEIRD_ The Irish word for craft is Crinniú na Ceirde – Gathering craft. These are words used to tie our cultural identity to our craft, as seen at an event at the RDS earlier in the year, when over 200 craftspeople gathered for Crinniú na Ceirde to begin unravelling an Identity for Irish Craft.
It highlights that craftspeople form a vibrant community, creating a unique micro-industry comprised of skilled and passionate individuals who are eager to connect. We make significant contributions to education and tourism, and are an integral part of Ireland’s cultural identity. Yet, many traditional crafts practised today are not financially viable and therefore fall outside the scope of government enterprise-based craft schemes, leaving them without adequate support. This lack of recognition poses a threat to their sustainability, with many crafts at risk of disappearing altogether. Despite this, their cultural and social contributions to the economy are substantial—though currently unmeasured and undervalued.
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The Design and Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCI) is now accepting registrations for this year’s Design Week, which takes place from November 17th to 21st.
The DCCI invites designers, makers, educators, and creatives across Ireland to apply for funding to run events that reflect this year’s theme: “The ties that tie, and the links that link”
Your event can be a talk, exhibition, open studio, workshop or other activity.
The deadline for applications is the 12th of September, 2025.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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