Tag: Bord bia Bloom

Recap: Feltmakers Ireland at Bloom 2026

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
A group of people queuing at a market stall, surrounded by colourful bunting and a blue banner that reads 'Made Local - Made to Last'.
A craft fair stall featuring artisans demonstrating felt-making techniques. Several people are engaged in crafting at a long table adorned with colourful wool, handmade felt animals, and artwork displays.
A group of women engaged in a crafting activity at a table, using wool and colourful fibres. One woman in a floral shirt focuses on her work while another interacts with her. Others are visible in the background, with various crafting materials scattered across the table.
Two women engaged in a felting workshop at a craft fair, surrounded by colourful wool fibres and crafting tools. A mannequin displays a felt hat, and a sign for 'Feltmakers Ireland' is visible in the background.
Two women smiling and posing in a craft stall, one holding a sign that reads 'Created using Human Ingenuity'. A third woman sits at the stall in the background. The stall features colourful felt products and a banner for 'feltmakers ireland'.
A woman demonstrates a craft at a table, engaging with two participants, while colourful materials and a decorative backdrop are visible.
A group of women engaged in a crafting activity at a community event, with materials spread out on a blue table. One woman in a pink patterned dress and another in a blue shirt are working on a textile project, while a third woman assists behind them. Various handmade items are displayed on the table.

On Friday, the 29th, and Saturday, the 30th of May, a dozen volunteers from Feltmakers Ireland generously shared their love of the magic of feltmaking with the public at Bord Bia Bloom, an enormous, five-day festival in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, which focuses on gardening and sustainability.

As in previous years, we were located within the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland‘s (DCCI) Irish Craft Village – in the special Demonstration Area – just like the Irish Woodturners’ Guild and the other GANS Guilds.

On the second day, we shared the space with our friends from Fibreshed Ireland. It was great to see them spinning, weaving, dyeing, and sharing insights into the sustainable, local wool and linen textiles of Ireland.

Fibreshed Ireland

A craft demonstration booth featuring two women. One woman is spinning wool on a traditional spinning wheel, while the other is arranging materials on a blue table with various craft items and a schedule of demonstrations in the background.
Malú Colorín and Frederique Knits
Two women standing in front of a blue backdrop displaying 'MADE LOCAL'. One is holding a weaving loom with colourful yarn, while the other stands beside a display of local crafts and materials.
Malú Colorín and Kathy Kirwin

Hands Busy at Work

A colourful striped towel spread out on a table, with three hands positioned on it and a red rubber object placed in the centre.
A person using bubble wrap to felt colourful wool pieces on a work table, surrounded by towels and a bowl.
Close-up of two tattooed hands resting on a white towel, showcasing various intricate black tattoos including patterns and symbols on the fingers.
A hands-on demonstration at a craft fair with participants engaging in an activity. Several hands are positioned near a bottle of window and glass cleaner, with petals and craft materials scattered on a table.
Two people engaged in a felting workshop, using their hands to shape colourful wool on a table covered with protective material.
A group of hands engaged in a crafting activity on a multi-coloured striped table. Various materials, including bubble wrap and a piece of felt, are being manipulated.
A person with gloved hands is handling brown plush toy animals, in a market stall setting with a wooden display board. Soft toys resembling bears peek from the top of the display.
Hands of guild member Tamzen Lundy, as she creates faux-taxidermy foxes

Our volunteers led children and adults in creating wet-felted balls, 3D flowers, and flat wool paintings. They also demonstrated more complex feltmaking activities.

Tamzen Lundy created several of her 3D faux-taxidermy foxes, and Irina Lampadova showed how to make felted wristlets using a unique template method.

Our Volunteers

A woman working on felted art pieces at a booth, with various tools and materials displayed on a table. The background features a promotional sign for local arts and workshops.
Tamzen
Two women engaged in a crafting activity at a table, with fabric and tools arranged. One woman is standing and appears to be helping the other, who is seated. In the background, others are participating in similar activities. The backdrop features promotional material for 'Made Local'.
Deidre and Siobhán
A woman in a white shirt is animatedly speaking while gesturing with her hands at a craft demonstration table, surrounded by colourful wool and handmade bowls.
Fiona
A woman demonstrating felt-making techniques at a craft fair, holding a piece of wool while explaining the process. She is wearing glasses and a flower accessory, with a colourful textile display in front of her.
Hélène
A group of people engaging in a crafting workshop, focusing on felt-making techniques. Participants are working on tables covered with protective material, while instructors demonstrate the process. Colourful felted items are visible on the table.
Hélène and Fiona
A woman smiling while working on felt-making at a craft event, with various materials and completed felt items on a table.
Irina
An elderly woman with short white hair, wearing a colourful floral shirt, is demonstrating a felting technique to two participants at a crafting event. Various colourful wool fibres are spread out on a table, and the backdrop features promotional materials for felt-making workshops and exhibitions.
Claire
Two women demonstrating felt-making at a craft event, with one speaking to an audience while wearing a unique hat and the other preparing materials.
Loli and Linda
Two women smiling together at a craft fair, one wearing a floral hat and green sweater, and the other in a blue cardigan and scarf, standing in front of a decorated table.
Loli and Juliane
Two women engaged in a felting workshop, with one woman demonstrating how to work with wool while the other observes closely. The backdrop features a promotional banner for local crafts.
Mary
A woman demonstrating a crafting technique at a table covered with white towels and various craft materials, engaging with another person.
Siobhán
A craft market display featuring handmade felt fox head decorations wearing glasses, alongside artwork prints and a vendor showcasing their products.
Tamzen

Many thanks to our members, who donated time from their busy Bank Holiday Weekend to share their love of felting with the visitors at Bloom. In addition to displaying their felted work, many wore felted items.

Many thanks to the DCCI for inviting us to be part of the Irish Craft Village, and to the event organisers, Geraldine and Catherine Gray, who ensured we had what we needed for the event.

Delighted Attendees

A smiling woman in a yellow jacket and pink top holds a decorative item while sitting at a table with a white cloth.
A woman holding a piece of felted fabric featuring a colourful flower design, set against a background of festival tents and bunting.
A woman with a black headband and floral top gestures while sitting at a table, displaying a felted wool artwork with a floral design. Other attendees are visible in the background.
An elderly woman smiling while holding a handmade felt bow tie with floral patterns, wearing a patterned pink shirt.

Videos

There are two Instagram Reels for each day of Feltmakers Ireland’s participation at the Irish Craft Village:


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: Panel Discussion – The Future of Irish Wool: Heritage, Sustainability & Innovation – At Bloom on Saturday

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
Promotional banner for Bord Bia Bloom, Ireland's largest festival of gardening, food, and sustainable living, featuring event details and a focus on Irish wool heritage and sustainability.


This weekend, Irish sustainable fashion stylist and journalist, Roxanne Parker, will host two conversations about Irish textiles and fashion at the Sustainable Living Stage of Bord Bia Bloom 2026, in association with The Design and Craft Council of Ireland. Both events will explore the future of Irish textiles, heritage & endangered craft, and sustainability. 

Of particular interest to felters is Saturday’s event, “The Future of Irish Wool: Heritage, Sustainability & Innovation.”

This event will open with a fashion show celebrating Irish wool and Irish woven textiles, followed by a conversation on sustainability, heritage manufacturing, farming, fashion and textile innovation.

Joining Roxanne are the following:

When: Saturday, the 30th of May at 10:30 AM

Where: Sustainable Living Stage, at Bloom

On Sunday at 11:15 AM, there will be a fashion show and a panel discussion on linen.

Opening with a fashion show celebrating Irish linen and contemporary Irish linen design, followed by a discussion on weaving, endangered craft practices, sustainability and the evolving future of Irish linen.

Joining Roxanne are the following:

More information about events is on the Bord Bia Bloom website – https://www.bordbiabloom.com/whats-on/event-schedule/

Instagram: @roxanne_parker @dccireland @irish_grown_wool_council_ @bordbiabloom


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.

Recap: Feltmakers Ireland at Bloom 2025

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
Collage by Loli Cox.

On Sunday, the 1st, and Monday, the 2nd of June, 17 volunteers from Feltmakers Ireland generously shared their love of the magic of feltmaking with the public at Bord Bia Bloom, an enormous, five-day festival in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, which focuses on gardening and sustainability.

Our booth at the DCCI’s Irish Craft Village.

This year, we were in a new-to-us location within the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland‘s (DCCI) Irish Craft Village – in the special Demonstration Area – just like the Irish Woodturners’ Guild. This meant we were in a three-sided booth with more area to display and demonstrate.

After seeing helpful photos of how the Irish Patchwork Society inspiringly shared their craft on Friday, we slightly pivoted and emphasised more hands-on felting opportunities with the public. This proved immensely popular!

Young Hands Busy at Work

Several volunteers patiently guided our visitors in creating their own wet felting snakes, balls, flowers, and pictures! We probably should have counted ALL the young people who got to experience feltmaking. (Next time we will). There were a lot.

The last image of hands shows a charming Sheep Purse that one of our young visitors had made!

What Wool Can Do

Loli showed how needlefelting can be two or three-dimensional. In the foreground are fibre samples from sheep raised in Ireland from our Wool Book – ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’. We had several visitors who either grew up on farms or currently raise sheep, look for their breeds of sheep in our book! The orange-coloured wool was dyed with onion skins, while the blue and green samples were dyed with ‘acid’ dyes.

Our Volunteers

Our members donated time from their Bank Holiday Weekend to share their love of felting with the visitors at Bloom. Along with displaying their felted work, many wore felted items: earrings, brooches, necklaces, headwear, and even a jacket!

Irina and Evija
Marian showed children how to make felted snakes.
Siobhan instructing
Clodagh and Siobhan chatting with visitors
Karen wet felting a flower.
Fiona managing the wind from removing her fibres.
Denise walked amongst the crowd and talked about the Guild and Feltmaking. In the foreground is Margaret’s suitcase of fibre.
Jane demonstrated wet felting and Alison demonstrated needle felting
Ramona instructing a young person.
Margaret separating roving.
Elaine and her ‘flower factory’ of students.
Lorna demonstrated how felt can be used to create flowers and Sandra needlefelted a city landscape using a Foxford blanket. as a base.

Many thanks to our volunteers who made our event an inspiring and interactive destination to visit at Bloom: Evija, Irina, Marian, Siobhan, Clodagh, Karen, Fiona, Denise, Jane, Alison, Ramona, Margaret, Elaine, Sandra, and Lorna. Special thanks to Loli and Juliane for organising.

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.

Event: Feltmakers Ireland will be at Bloom 2024

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Volunteers from Feltmakers Ireland will be demonstrating wet and needlefelting at Bloom 2024. Stop by and say ‘hello’, see the magic of feltmaking, learn about our Wool Project, and purchase our book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’.

Where: We will be in the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland’s ‘Irish Craft Village’ in the YELLOW section, area 26, in the GANS Crafts Demonstration booth.

When: The Guild will be in the booth on Friday, the 31st of May, and Saturday, the 1st of June, from 11 AM to 5 PM. (Bloom runs from the 30th of May to the 3rd of June).

Note: we will be closer to the Red Car Park.

There will be free shuttle buses from Heuston Station.

For more information, visit Bloom’s website – https://www.bordbiabloom.com/


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.

Opportunity: Irish Craft Village at Bloom

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Applications are now open for the Design & Crafts Council Ireland’s Irish Craft Village at the Bord Bia Bloom 2024. Each year, exhibitors are selected to illustrate Ireland’s wide variety of craft and design.

Bord Bia Bloom will take place from the 30th of May through the 3rd of June. The event celebrates its 18th birthday in 2024 and is Ireland’s largest garden festival. It runs for five days during the June bank holiday weekend each year in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.

The deadline for applications is Friday, the 12th April.

For more information, visit the DCCI’s website – https://www.dcci.ie/whats-on/bord-bia-bloom/

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.