Category: News

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.

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.

Share this:

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.

Of Interest: Rethinking Textile Waste Symposium and Exhibitions- Haslach an der Mühl, Austria

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

This year, the Textile Culture Haslach‘s summer symposium is centred around the theme “Rethinking Textile Waste.” It explores current issues surrounding overproduction and recycling, questions our approach to fast fashion and production waste, and highlights ideas that view waste as a valuable resource. Several exhibitions and evening events will shed light on different aspects of this broad topic.

When: the 20th -31st of July, 2026

Where: Textile Culture Haslach,, Stahlmühle 4, 4170 Haslach an der Mühl, AUSTRIA

For more information, visit https://www.textilkurse.at/sommersymposium/

Instagram @textileszentrumhaslach


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 the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.

Of Interest: Feltmakers Ireland West Meet-up – Wet Felted Butterflies- Creggs, Co Galway – THIS Sunday

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

This Sunday, Feltmakers Ireland West will meet up to create Wet Felted Butterflies.

Please bring the following items:

  • Spray bottle
  • Towel
  • A small piece of bubble wrap 
  • A small piece of net 
  • Merino wool

When: Sunday, the 12th of July, 2026, at 11 AM

Where: The CS Parnell Heritage Centre, Creggs, F42 X674

If you are attending, please RSVP to feltmakersirelandwest@gmail.com

@feltmakersirelandwest


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: Wool in the News – Peatland Restoration – Antrim Hills

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

A new peatland restoration trial at Slievenanee Mountain in the Antrim Hills is exploring whether locally sourced wool can help restore damaged blanket bog.

The initiative, led by Ulster Wildlife and Ulster Farmers’ Union, working alongside Sustainable Rope Ltd, Ulster Wool and Ulster University, is the largest trial of its kind in Northern Ireland to date. There are 60 ‘logs’ made from scoured local wool.

The project involves installing 60 “wool logs” in areas of exposed and eroded blanket bog. Made from scoured fleece compacted into wool textile sacks, the logs are designed to slow water flow, trap sediment, and support the re-establishment of peat-forming vegetation such as sphagnum moss.

Wool, as a material, has already shown promising results in peatland trials elsewhere in the UK, particularly at upland sites in Scotland and northern England, where it has been used to stabilise eroding peat and retain moisture.

UFU Peatlands officer Stephanie Clokey said, “Wool is a natural, biodegradable material and is a logical solution for peatland management. Here we’re helping to rebuild damaged areas by using materials that work with the landscape, while supporting local farmers and adding value to something that has recently often been treated as a waste product rather than a resource, while creating new opportunities for what is often an underused by-product of farming.”

To learn more about the project, visit their website – https://www.ulsterwildlife.org/news/local-wool-put-test-innovative-peatland-restoration-trial

@ulsterwildlife

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: ReStyle Dublin – This Saturday in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

ReStyle Dublin will take place across Dún Laoghaire this Saturday, the 4th of July, bringing together a full day of creativity, sustainability, fashion, and community.

Guild member Sandra Reynolds is one of the Makers and will be offering two embroidery workshops to upcycle wearables.

Throughout the day there are:

  • Workshops
  • Live demonstrations
  • A repair café
  • Swap shops
  • A fashion show
  • Talks, stalls, exhibitions, and much more!

The organisers ask that attendees bring clothes in need of repair, clothes to upcycle or alter, and clothes to swap or donate.

More information and free tickets can be found here – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/restyle-dublin-a-sustainable-fashion-expo-free-event-tickets-1991909161924

Their Instagram @restyle.ireland @rediscoveryctr @sandystitchedup


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 the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.

News: Guild Member Karena Ryan featured in the Irish Independent – Artwork to be Displayed at Pulchri Studio, The Hague

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Artwork by Feltmakers Ireland member Karena Ryan is to be included in an international exhibition opening at Pulchri Studio in The Hague, Netherlands, this weekend.

Her two textile artworks are inspired by Moya Cannon’s poem ‘Carrying the Songs’.

Each piece is hand-embroidered on vintage Irish wool blankets and explores memory, migration, and the stories held within inherited cloth.

The opening takes place on Saturday, the 4th of July at 15.00, with speakers including the Ambassador of Ireland, Ann Derwin; Pulchri Studio chairman, Ed van der Kooy; Hamilton Gallery owner, Martina Hamilton; and the poet, Moya Cannon.

When: The 4th through the 26th of July

Where: Pulchri Studio, Lange Voorhout 15, 2514 EA Den Haag, Netherlands

To read the newspaper article, visit the Independent – https://www.independent.ie/county/galway/galway-artist-selected-for-major-exhibition-in-the-hague-its-an-honour-to-represent-my-work-on-an-international-stage/a/157863925.html

Instagram @karenaryantextiles @pulchristudio


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 the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.