Show Notes
Join Heather Potten as she dips into the archives of the journal of the International Feltmakers Association. From the journal's origins in 1986 as 'Echoes' to its current form, 'Felt Matters,' the archive features a rich history of global feltmaking innovation. Heather shares inspiring stories, including the revival of feltmaking in Armenia and international collaborations. The episode also covers the creation of the association's first online feltmaking courses and the ongoing influence of the journal, offering a treasure trove of resources and inspiration for felt enthusiasts. In another feature of the podcast, Vivienne Morpeth continues to explore The British Wool for Feltmaking book published by Crowood Press. It highlights the different wool structures, from fine to coarse, and the practical applications for feltmakers. The book includes both wet and needle felting techniques, emphasizing local and natural fleeces. Listeners are invited to visit this fascinating world of wool types, their uses, and creative projects, ensuring a comprehensive resource for both new and seasoned feltmakers.
More from Felt Matters
Hosts Heather Potten and Louise Curnin chat with Lori Demange, the IFA’s editorial coordinator, about how a desire for warm slippers launched a decade-long felting journey. Laurie recounts learning wet felting from countless online videos, turning a side-hustle of needle-felted pumpkins into a creative education that led her to craft fairs, artist workshops and editorial volunteering. The conversation covers how workshops with generous tutors expanded her practice, and how felting opened doors to fibre festivals, books and a wider textile community.
A warm, conversational episode about how feltmaking ripples beyond craft: new skills, small businesses, artist co‑ops, travel, and personal growth. Heather Potten and new co-host, Louise Curnin, talk about turning classes into lasting friendships, opening local shops to sell work, and branching into related crafts—dyeing, leatherwork, ceramics, weaving—to enrich their felting. They describe shared rituals (making at a table, silent concentration), studio life (yurts, messy bedrooms and dogs on mic), and the satisfaction of creative escapes. The episode ends with behind‑the‑scenes laughter and production notes, making it an inviting snapshot of the two feltmakers.
As Season 4 of the podcast Felt Matters draws to a close, Vivienne Morpeth and Heather Potten discuss some of the highlights of Vivienne’s life as a feltmaker. They chat about her initial encounter with felting, the role of family and mentors, and the support and inspiration from the International Feltmakers Association. She stresses, too, the importance of teaching through experimentation. This has been particularly crucial in the development of her upcoming book Nuno Feltmaking | design, techniques and projects for the creative maker which she discusses here with her daughter, Raphaela.
In this episode of Felt Matters, hosts Vivienne Morpeth and Heather Potten discuss the art of Nuno Felting. Vivienne shares insights into how she crafts her signature felt dresses. Early on in her felting career, she utilised inherited scarves and sewing patterns. However, she soon developed her own way of creating seamless dresses with hand-dyed silk and fibre, techniques she describes in her upcoming book. In contrast, Heather describes how she uses ready-printed silks to create texture and pattern on a 3D vessel for an exhibition called Holding Conversations.
As Felt Matters launches its fourth and final season in its current form, Vivienne Morpeth and Heather Potten talk about friendship, art, and facing life's challenges. Vivienne, whose treatments for cancer have failed, has decided to spend her remaining time completing her book and creating this last set of podcast episodes. Together they touch on the balancing act of discussing death openly while still chatting about their great love of felt. They explore the possibility of the podcast evolving, ensuring that the discussions and community spirit continue beyond Vivienne's involvement.