Introducing Felicity from Entangled Happiness Handwovens. Where every item is handmade!! From her home in Newcastle, NSW, Felicity creates gorgeous unique handwoven items.
Find out why Felicity started creating and why she is so passionate about the value of handmade.
Tell us about your creations and your handmade process.
I create handwoven items such as scarves, baby blankets, baby wraps, tea towels and table linens. My weaving is a slow process. I start by designing a project. Choosing designs and colours - which I often hand dye, precisely measuring each thread of yarn, and threading each of these threads onto my Ashford 8 shaft floor loom or my Ashford rigid heddle loom. Once each thread is carefully attached to the loom the weaving can begin. A shuttle passes from one side to the other over and under threads in different patterns to create different designs.
Once the weaving has been finished, each piece is taken off the loom and checked over and then given a careful wash to finish the whole process. Each item created is a labour of love, every length of thread has passed through my hands. And I use this process to create a truly unique piece that will hopefully be treasured for years to come.
Tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a handmade artist.
I can always remember creating from a young age. My Mum is an amazing quilter, so we were always creating or sewing something. I started my weaving journey after finding my love of using baby wraps with my two young girls. I wanted to weave my very own baby wrap to carry my youngest daughter.
My love of weaving has only grown since then and it has been a great pleasure to handmake pieces for those I love and those who love my work.
What is your inspiration or where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in many places. It may be from nature, an artwork I saw somewhere or from a feeling within me. I use these inspirations for my colour choices for my next weaving project. I usually have so many ideas rolling around my head of the next thing that I want to weave. I try to match up some of the inspirations I have found with a project in my head so that I can bring it all together to create a beautiful handwoven piece.
Where did you learn your craft?
I am a self-taught weaver. I devoured lots of videos at the beginning of my journey to learn the basics. I joined lots of online groups to be able to learn tips and tricks of the trade, all while constantly experimenting on my own looms at home. I believe that learning your craft never actually ends. There is always another technique or embellishment that you can learn to continue pushing your technical boundaries. I am constantly expanding my knowledge base on all aspects of my weaving practice. Whether that's experimenting with new yarn combinations, dye colours or weaving embellishments.
Once you have entered the fibre arts world you realise how many new areas you want to expand your knowledge into. I might have started out as a weaver on a floor loom, but this quickly spirals into dabbling with spinning on drop spindles and e-wheels, to using your newly hand spun yarn to experiment with contemporary tapestry weaving. The options truly seem endless.
Why is handmade artistry so important to you?
I find my weaving an extremely calming experience and it allows me to express myself through a creative outlet. To be able to create pieces of handwoven artwork, whether that be functional cloth or purely aesthetic pieces, for people to enjoy and love is a special feeling. As an artist you pour your creative joy, excitement and love into each piece that you create. In this fast-paced lifestyle handmade artistry allows people to slow down and really experience the joy of creating a piece of art with your hands. Especially art that we would like to hope is cherished for years to come.
I like the feeling of connection to an ancient craft that has been a cornerstone of so many cultures both past and present. Weaving began as an essential process for survival and for some it still provides for their survival today. To be part of an ancient community to produce cloth from thread is always an amazement to me. To also be part of an amazing handmade community allows artists to connect and appreciate the wide array of crafts that we have in Australia.
Felicity is a much loved member of the Madeit Collective, posting regularly in our Facebook Group ~ The Handmade Marketplace of Australia ~ and sharing her new creations as they are released. If you haven't connected with Entangled Happiness Handwovens, make sure you join our FB Group and say hi !
