Category: News

Of Interest: Petition to Reduce VAT Rate on Irish Craft

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

The Irish Design Loft in Powerscourt Estate, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, has organised a petition to reduce the VAT rate on Irish-made crafts. The current Value Added Tax (VAT) rate is 23%; they propose reducing it to 13.5%, which is the VAT rate for fine art in Ireland.

“Irish handmade crafts are an important part of our heritage, creativity, and local communities. Yet many independent makers are struggling under the current VAT rate, making it harder to compete and keep traditional skills alive.

A reduced VAT rate on Irish handmade crafts would help support local artisans, small local creative businesses, and the future of Irish craftsmanship.

If you believe in supporting Irish makers, please consider signing the petition and sharing it with others. Every signature helps.”

Editor’s Note: For your input to be registered, you will need to click through an emailed confirmation.

For more information and to sign the petition, visit this website: https://www.change.org/p/reduce-vat-on-irish-handmade-crafts

Their Instagram: @irishdesignloft_


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Of Interest: Participatory Arts Project with Studio – Dublin

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in Dublin is partnering with The Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Older People’s Council (dlr OPC) on a studio project for professional designers/makers and older people.

They welcome applications from individual designers and makers who they will support to develop their craft practice with older people in the County. The designers/makers will receive a monthly fee to support their practice, a materials budget, and a training stipend. Additionally, the DLR will offer full (rent-free) access to a studio in dlr Baths from early October 2026 for 14 months. It will give designers/makers the space and time to create their work.

The organisers will host a visit to the Studio on Thursday 30 July at 2 PM. If you are interested in visiting, please email arts@dlrcoco.ie or phone (01) 236 2759 to book a place.

  • The deadline for questions is 1 PM, Friday, the 4th of September 2026.
  • The deadline for applications is 1 PM, Monday, the 7th of September 2026.

Your application can include written documents, video, or audio files.

To learn more and apply, go to https://dlrcoco.submit.com/show/379


Instagram: @dlrcoco.ie @agefriendlyireland @dlr_arts

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

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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Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Awards: Dorothy Waxman Textile Prize – Open to Students and Recent Graduates of Textiles Worldwide

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Only two weeks left to apply for the Dorothy Waxman Textile Prize, which is part of New York Textile Month, an exciting gathering of textile-related events held across multiple locations this September in New York City.

Li Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano are pleased to announce the 12th edition of the Dorothy Waxman International Textile Design Prize, awarded to a current or recently graduated student in Textiles or Fashion who exhibits sustainable thinking and innovative creativity in textiles. The prize is part of the TALKING TEXTILES initiative that promotes textile education and creativity.

The competition is international and open to students currently enrolled in programs focused on textiles, fashion, interior, or lifestyle textiles. Graduates from 2025 and 2026 are also eligible to apply.

The $5000 prize for the winner is sponsored by the American company MOHAWK GROUP. @mohawkgroup

Deadline: Friday, the 7th of August, 2026.

Work in image by Carlotta Talkenberger @ct.textil.e

For more information and to apply, visit the New York Textile Month website: https://www.textilemonth.nyc/textile-prize-2026

On the website, one can also see and learn about the inspiring past winners and others whose work is highlighted.

Their Instagram: @newyorktextilemonth

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

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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Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Exhibition: Tamzen Lundy has work at Craft NI Gallery – August Craft Month

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A piece by Feltmakers Ireland guild member Tamzen Lundy, “Fragmented Landscape”, has been selected for the exhibition ‘Rhythm’ at the CraftNI Gallery in Belfast, UK. This event is part of the island-wide August Craft Month. 

The exhibition features contemporary craft works that highlight the connections between making and music, traditional or contemporary. As Belfast prepares to host the annual Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, local makers share with us how music, with its rhythms, harmonies or lyrics, informs their making.

Participating makers: Adam Frew, Céline Traynor, Corinne Price, Eddie Doherty, Eimear Malone, Fiona Kerr, Hannah Ferguson, Joel Smyth, John Piekaar, Karen Hamilton, Kevin Callaghan, Natasha Heaslip, Nicola Dalton, Peter Meanley, Stuart Cairns, Sue Cathcart, Tamzen Lundy, Ursula McGivern.

The opening is Thursday, 23rd of July, at 6 PM and runs for the month of August.

Where: Craft NI Gallery, 115, 119 Royal Ave, Belfast BT1 1FF, United Kingdom

For more information about the show, visit the gallery’s website: https://exhibitions.craftni.org/

Instagram: @craftnigallery @augustcraftmonth26 @tamzenlundydesigns

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

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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Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: Irish Flax featured on RTE1 Nationwide – 20th of July

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

On Monday, the 20th of July, Nationwide had a programme about the growing history and the revival of Flax in Clonakilty, West Cork. Presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh interviewed eco artist Kathy Kirwan, a member of Fibreshed Ireland.

To watch the recording, visit the RTE1 player: https://www.rte.ie/player/series/nationwide/SI0000001172?epguid=IH10016303-26-0081

Their Instagram: @fibreshed_ireland @kathykirwan_theartofnature

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

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.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: Article about Creating Animal Fur Using Needle Felting Techniques

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

There is a helpful, in-depth article on the Felting and Fiber Studio website about the many ways to create animal fur using various needle-felting techniques. It includes many tips on the variables to keep in mind when creating different types of animal coats.

The post was written by guest writer Jan, who has contributed several informative articles to the Felting and Fiber Studio about needle-felting. (https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/author/kjarvala/ )

To avoid missing their future articles, one can sign up for email notifications from the Felting and Fiber Studio.

Here is the link to the article about creating animal fur, which Jan calls ‘Shingling’: https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2026/07/04/technique-chat-shingling/


Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

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.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: Online Talk about Design Driven by Material Intelligence by Claire Lucy McGovern of Rhyme Studio

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Claire Lucy McGovern of Rhyme Studio will present an online talk on her decades of work with Irish wool, as well as her research on design thinking and the opportunities natural materials present for the future of the built environment.

Rhyme Studio’s recent developments include LanaLux, a system for Light, Sound & Air, and their Architectural Wool Program. Publicly launched during New York Design Week and NeoCon Chicago, LanaLux combines illumination, acoustic performance and material intelligence within a single architectural surface.

When: Wednesday, the 15th of July 2026; 3 PM–4 PM EST (8 PM–9 PM Ireland)

Where: Online via New York Public Library

The talk is free, but one needs to register here: https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2026/07/15/design-driven-material-intelligence

Additional information about the project can be found on the Rhyme Studio website: https://www.rhymestudio.com/lighting

Their Instagram @rhymestudioart


Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

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.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: “Notes from Sheepland” – Film Screening in Tallaght – Co Dublin

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

On Thursday, the 30th of July, there will be a screening of the film Notes From Sheepland (2024), directed by Cara Holmes.

“Orla Barry is a hard-working, lipstick-wearing sheep farmer in rural Wexford. She is a self-confessed ovine addict. A decade in sheep, she’s still wondering what possessed her to start, but yet she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Orla lived in Brussels for 16 years and now lives and works in South East Ireland where she runs a flock of pedigree Lleyn sheep. Her work deals with the tensions of being an artist and an eco-farmer in rural Ireland. The sheep have slowed her art career but at the same time, caring for them has hugely inspired it. She escapes the studio by going to the sheep, escapes the sheep by hiding in her studio.

Notes From Sheepland follows Orla, an outlier, as she floats between these worlds. It reflects upon the primal, poetic and unpredictable bond she has with the natural world.

This screening forms part of Rua Red’s Learning and Engagement programme for Orla Barry’s exhibition The Collie, The Cheviot & the Crouched Skeleton, which runs from July 10th – September 26th in Rua Red Gallery.”

€3 per ticket, popcorn included.

When: Thursday, the 30th of July, 6-7:30 PM

Where: Rua Red, South Dublin Arts Centre, Tallaght, Dublin, D24 KV8N

To book a ticket, visit this website: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/ruarum-film-club-presents-notes-from-sheepland-tickets-1992510057218

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

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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Of Interest: Guild Member Leiko Uchiyama featured in Create Whimsy

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Feltmakers Ireland member Leiko Uchiyama was recently interviewed by Create Whimsy.

“At the foot of the Blackstairs Mountains in Ireland, Leiko Uchiyama turns wool into quiet, beautiful forms that feel alive. Her journey began with a love of sheep in Japan and led her across the world to farms, classrooms, and studios.”

To read the full interview and see all the photos, visit the Create Whimsy website: https://createwhimsy.com/projects/spotlight-leiko-uchiyama-felt-making-artist/

@createwhimsy @leikofelt

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

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.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.

Of Interest: Craggaunowen Culture, Craft & Textile Fair – Co Clare – This Sunday

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

The Craggaunowen Culture, Craft & Textile Fair features local and national artists and craftspeople as they demonstrate age-old skills, including spinning and weaving, blacksmithing, leatherworking, basket weaving and felting. Amongst the artisans and crafters, two of Feltmakers Ireland’s members will be sharing their work: Katarina Hruskova of Woolstore Ireland and Sandra Marschall. Guild friends, Malú Colorín and the Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers, will also be there!

When: Sunday, the 12th of July, 10 AM – 5 PM

Where: Craggaunowen Castle & Crannóg, Craggaunowen, Kilmurry, Co Clare, V95 AD7E

For more information, visit their website – https://www.craggaunowen.ie/events/cultureandcraftfair/

@craggaunowen.ie @woolstoreireland @sandraotte1973


Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

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.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.