Eco friendly felted accessories by EthicStyle

I love felting for its eco friendliness and beauty. Felted items are created out of basic materials like wool, water and soap. They radiate positive energy as natural warmth. While felting an artist doesn't add any special glues or additives. The process is very straightforward and, yet, it's not easy to turn a piece of wool into an art object. The simplicity of the process is very deceptive. I've recently discovered a really cool artist Svetlana of EthicStyle who creates unique and fun looking felted accessories.



Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was born in Latvia in a small city by the sea. I live in Germany now and create felted accessories and home decor items. I love to experiment with wool creating bags, shoes, jewelry, toys, etc. All my items are made of pure wool. I love minimalism, natural and eco friendly materials, comfort and quality. I try to create items that are different and unique.



How did you start?
I've been designing and hand making items pretty much all my working life. After I had my daughter I picked up felting. I thought it would be nice for my daughter to have unique toys that nobody else has. Wool is an amazing fiber. It's soft, comfy and durable. It turned out to be a perfect material to make baby toys. I was completely fascinated by wool as it gives an artist so much freedom to create and experiment.



What inspires you?
I'm inspired my Japanese minimalism. I like it for its simplicity, elegance and perfection. I love nature especially in the autumn and spring when air is so transparent. I love the sea. It's amazing to walk by the sea barefoot stepping on warm sand.

My daughter brings a lot of joy into my life. Her phrases that start with: "mom, did you know that..." make me wonder and think about many things that surround us. I discover and learn so much when I'm with her.



What fibers do you work with?
I only use natural fibers such as undyed merino wool, alpaca wool, silk and plant's fibers. All my children toys are stuffed with wool exclusively.
All items made of wool feel so special when held in one's arms.

Teddy bears and felted toys by MrBearFamily

One of a kind art toys are beautiful objects. Each art doll or Teddy bear is unique and has its own personality expresses through its eyes. They are of different colors, sizes and complexions yet they somehow all look very kind and cute. One can easily forget they are toys and not live beings. I was lucky to get a chance to talk to a very talented artist MrBearFamily who creates amazing Teddy bears and art toys.



Could you please tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Nina. I live in a small town not far from the capital of Latvia, Riga. I work in an art gallery that exhibits art dolls and toys. Every time I come to my work place I find myself surrounded by a beautiful world of fairy tales, princesses, angels and other mysterious creatures.



How did you start?
One day reading a woman’s housekeeping magazine I came across pictures of hand made Teddy bears. I completely fell in love with these toys and started reading more about Teddy bears' hand making. I found on-line master classes and forums and learned how to make them myself. I got completely addicted to the process of creating my soft toys. It’s been five years since I started and I still cannot stop designing and making my bears and other animals.

My very first toy was a white Teddy bear. It is still with me. The bear sits next to me on my bed-side table. Since then I’ve created more than 200 Teddy bears and other animals.

Some time ago I came across an art gallery while looking for a place to showcase my Teddy bears. That gallery is an amazing art space and that's the place where I work now.



What inspires you?
I suspect I’m still a child deep in my heart. I love making animals that look somewhat childish. They remind me of my childhood and a few soft toys I used to play with when I was a child. Each of my toys is unique and it has its own personality. They all have kind faces and somewhat unsettled look in their eyes.

I frequently go to different art dolls and toys’ shows and museum exhibitions. I create Teddy bears that are ballerinas, sailors, angels, different characters from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tails. On top of that I make all sorts of animals for the specialized shows.

What are your plans as far as art dolls are concerned?
I will continue experimenting and working with different fibers especially with wool. I plan to start making other animals like monkeys, elephants, lions. Nature is so diverse and beautiful and there are always ideas we can borrow from it.



Thank you, Nina!