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.
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.
𝙍𝙝𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙢, the upcoming CRAFTNI August Craft Month exhibition in Belfast, is now accepting applications! This year, CraftNi invites makers to consider the connections between making and music. Belfast is the host city for the annual Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, a festival of music and culture from Sunday, the 2nd to Sunday, the 9th of August 2026. Qualifying competitors from all over the world will showcase traditional and folk music, song, and dance in the city, with around 800,000 visitors expected.
More on the theme from the CraftNI Instagram: “Are you drawn to the rhythm and repetition of traditional music, where patterns emerge, repeat and develop? Do you visualise harmony and tone in your work or does it call to mind a soundscape? Or see the movement and flow of a lyric? A musician playing in a group may bring a new interpretation to a piece in that context – does working in a collaboration drive new elements of your practice? Has a song sparked an impulse or an idea that you want to express through your making? Or perhaps the tactile pull of the materials used in instrument-making – metal, wood, leather and textile – open areas for exploration for you?”
Applications from all supported craft disciplines are welcome.
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.
On a bright sunny day in Dublin, Feltmakers Ireland members held an ‘Introduction to Wet Felting Workshop’ at the CIE Sports and Social Hall in Inchicore on Sunday, the 17th of August. Our event was part of August Craft Month, and also part of National Heritage Week, which runs from August 16th to 24th.
The aim of our event was to introduce participants to the art of wet felting and provide hands-on experience in creating a felted vessel. The skills gained included an understanding of the felting process, tactile engagement, creative confidence, and the joy of having fun.
Selecting fibreLaying out the woolStudent felting
Two sessions were held, with 12 participants attending the first session from 11 AM to 1 PM and 8 participants attending the second session from 1 PM to 3 PM. All participants were provided with wool and the equipment needed to felt a vessel using a choice of colours. Guild member Annika Berglund gave a demonstration on starting the process before the participants went to their positions, where they were assisted in completing the process by members of Feltmakers Ireland.
Annika demonstratingAnnika wetting the fibreAnnika rolling the felt
Photos of the students felting away.
In addition to the hands-on wet felting workshop, guild member Margaret Ryan Collins shared about Irish wool. She demonstrated how to card wool from Irish sheep’s fleece, showing that the wool could be used for felting or knitting. A few years ago, Feltmakers Ireland successfully self-published a book on felting with Irish wool, titled ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking.’ This book is available for purchase on our website – https://feltmakersireland.com/exploring-irish-wool-for-feltmaking/
As part of our Open Day, we showcased the sample board from our research on Irish Wool. It shows how specific breeds of sheep’s wool can be needle-felted and wet-felted.
Samples wet felted and needle felted from the sheep breeds tested for our book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’.
Guild member Eva Salamon demonstrated how to needle-felt her fantasy figures. Hilary shared some of her works-in-progress.
Hillary and EvaEva
Several members displayed their felted creations.
Annika, Irina, Marie, and Elizabeth demonstrated and helped participants to create wet-felted vessels. The verbal feedback from the participants was very positive, and each person left with a completed vessel.
Annika and some of the students share their felted vessels.
Isha from the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland and photographer Sasko arrived to view the workshop. They were very interested in the various pieces on display and the processes demonstrated by the members.
In conclusion, Feltmakers Ireland’s Open Day successfully engaged participants in the creative process of wet felting, enabling them to express their artistic side. It was a great day and a great success.
Adrienne and Deirdre welcoming students
Thanks to the members of Feltmakers Ireland who helped on the day. Thank you to Sam Fagan and Margaret for the photographs. Additional appreciation to Sam, Annika, and Lorna, who organised a very successful event. Feltmakers Ireland is grateful for the support received from the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland.
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.
Join Fibreshed Ireland in West Cork this August Craft Month 2025 for a hands-on, drop-in workshop exploring the ancient craft of transforming flax into linen!
Discover the fascinating journey of this humble plant—from seed to fabric—and the traditional tools and techniques used along the way: rippling, scutching, hackling, spinning and weaving.
Join Kathy Kirwan, who has spent years studying and reviving traditional flax-processing methods, for a hands-on workshop. You’ll see the stages of flax processing and learn about flax’s role in regenerative farming, crop rotation, and its many uses—from sustainable textiles to ropes, composites, and more.
Sonia from Kilcoe Studios will be making paper and rope from flax and organising games and activities with children outside, inspired by traditional games. All ages are welcome to share their memories of games they played.
Flax to Linen demonstrations – all day
Paper making and rope making – 12:00 – 3 PM
Heritage Games for children outdoors – 3 – 6 PM
Drop in anytime throughout the day! No booking or experience needed. FREE! Supported by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland.
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 the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
To celebrate August Craft Month, our fibre-friends, the Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (IGWSD) will host a Big Spin event at the Beckett Locke Hotel on Dublin’s North Docks on Sunday, the 17th of August, from 11 AM to 4 PM.
The Big Spin is open to all and is free; simply drop in at any time. Tea and coffee will be provided. Bring your spindle, spinning wheel or small loom.
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.
Feltmakers Ireland will have TWO events where we will teach wet felting as part of this year’s August Craft Month –
CIE Sports Hall, Inchicore, Dublin, on Sunday, the 17th of August
St James Hall, Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, on Sunday, the 24th of August
Our events run from 11 AM to 3 PM, offering both morning and afternoon sessions for students. While our Dublin event is already fully booked, there are still spots available for our Kilbeggan event. Please note: These remaining places are reserved for non-members—we want to share the joy of felting with new faces!
At both events, we’ll need volunteers to welcome and guide students throughout the day. Members will also have the chance to exhibit (and sell) their felted creations!
New this year: We’re inviting members to use the Open Day as an opportunity to actively work on their own felting projects. It’s an excellent way for the public to see the creative process behind the finished pieces.
If you are a member and want to be part of our Open Days, please email us at feltmakersIE@gmail.com
Members’ ACM Felting Activities
Several of our members have their own August Craft Month events!
Needlefelter Emily Thompson has a month-long exhibition of her wool landscape paintings at the Carrigaline Library, Kilnaglery, Carrigaline, CoCork, P43 HA25.
On the 9th of August, Zivile Zeniauskaite will be part of the Makers of Blackwater Valley in Fermoy, Co Cork. She will demonstrate how she creates felted slippers – https://augustcraftmonth.org/acm-event/meet-the-makers/
If you are a guild member and we overlooked your event, please accept our apologies. A lot is going on during August Craft Month!
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.
Applications are open for this year’s August Craft Month, which is open to all makers who wish to share what they do. Highlighting the vibrant local craft scene across the island of Ireland, August Craft Month is a unique celebration of the local craft sector, providing various opportunities for the public to #MakeSeeBuy.
Your event could take the form of a workshop, open studio, craft trail, exhibition, talk, meet-the-maker session, demonstration, craft market, fair, or festival. It may be held in person or online and can be designed for adults, children, families, or audiences of all ages.
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.
CraftNI‘s August Craft Month 2025 exhibition is now accepting applications. Makers are invited to address the contexts of the open call below –
“Do you feel the tug of elements of tradition that are important to you in your craft? Is it the traditional techniques, in use for centuries, that you love to use in a contemporary way? Or is it the traditional values of crafts which are one of your drivers? Co-operation, place, community?
Perhaps you feel released from the bonds of tradition, your chosen discipline enabling you to pursue your ideas freely. Or perhaps you want to turn your creative focus inwards, towards the concept of binding and/or unbinding.”
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.
On the 15th of November, Feltmakers Ireland was awarded the County Winner in the National Heritage Week Awards for the Dublin City Council local authority area. We now have a beautifully framed award to share.
Every year, the Heritage Council celebrates the work of communities and organisations that hosted National Heritage Week events, which kick off on the third weekend of August and run until the end of the following weekend. Feltmakers Ireland hosted two Open Days, where we shared the magic of wet felting with the public. One event was in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, and the other was in Inchicore, County Dublin, at the CIE Sports Hall and Social Club, where we typically hold our monthly Sunday Sessions. In addition to sharing how wool fibres transform into felt, we displayed felted wearables and artwork created by members. A second display area had information on Irish wool, how it can be used for feltmaking, and copies of our book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’.
Thank you to the Heritage Council for recognising feltmaking as a cultural heritage. Additionally, we want to thank the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCI) for supporting our guild throughout the years.
We don’t know who kindly nominated our event for the County Dublin Award, but we are ever so appreciative! Go raibh míle maith agaibh, (which is ‘Thank you very much’ in Irish).
The Awards
In addition to County Awards, there are eight other categories:
There is a category that relates to the theme of the year. The theme of 2024 was ‘Connections, Routes and Networks’
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.
On the 15th of November, Feltmakers Ireland was awarded the County Winner in the National Heritage Week Awards for the Dublin City Council local authority area.
Every year, the Heritage Council celebrates the work of communities and organisations that hosted National Heritage Week events, which kick off on the third weekend of August and run until the end of the following weekend. Feltmakers Ireland hosted two Open Days, where we shared the magic of wet felting with the public. One event was in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, and the other was in Inchicore, County Dublin, at the CIE Sports Hall and Social Club, where we typically hold our monthly Sunday Sessions. In addition to sharing how wool fibres transform into felt, we displayed felted wearables and artwork created by members. A second display area had information on Irish wool, how it can be used for feltmaking, and copies of our book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’.
Thank you to the Heritage Council for recognising feltmaking as a cultural heritage. Additionally, we want to thank the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCI) for supporting our guild throughout the years.
We don’t know who kindly nominated our event for the County Dublin Award, but we are ever so appreciative! Go raibh míle maith agaibh, (which is ‘Thank you very much’ in Irish).
The Awards
In addition to County Awards, there are eight other categories:
There is a category that relates to the theme of the year. The theme of 2024 was ‘Connections, Routes and Networks’
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.
