Nuno felted wearable inspired by Casa di Giulietta

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The finished Casa di Giulietta poncho modeled by beautiful Taylor.

Work in process on the Casa di Giulietta nuno felted piece.

The graffiti love wall in the narrow archway corridor before entering Juliet's balcony courtyard in Verona, Italy was my inspiration to create this nuno felted wearable poncho really known as a tabard, the open sided garment worn by knights during the middle ages.  

Bronze statue of Juliet right outside the famous balcony.

I loved the graffiti archway and was more taken by it than the actual balcony, well known per those fictional characters Romeo and Juliet, which is the real tourist attraction. 

Taylor is modeling the tabard inside out.  Her jewels really frame the stand up collar.

Thank you Taylor for all your love and support.  You are the BEST of the BEST.

One-on-one vest class at Studio 907

Darling Julia from the Washington DC area found me on the Internet and made contact with me about taking a private one-on-one workshop.  She and her husband planned to be on vacation in California in October so we scheduled it during that time.

Julia arrived at my house, aka Studio 907, and we hit it off immediately.  It was like having a good friend coming over to hang out with on a Sunday afternoon. She was an experienced felter but had been struggling making garments.  I knew our time was going to be limited so I had suggested via our email conversations that we make a simple pull over top but Julia really wanted to learn to make a garment with an opening in the front.  I knew I would have to keep Julia on a tight schedule to complete the vest in one day and she not only met but exceeded my expectations.  She made an outstanding vest.  She was so proud of herself that she left my house in the late afternoon wearing the vest despite the 90 degree record heat!

Julia laying out the roving for the back of the vest.

Julia working on one side of the front of the vest.

Gorgeous colors and design.

The design of the back of the vest is complete.

Julia is rock and rolling.

Julia's reversible, seamless vest is a real work of art and fits her perfectly.  It is as beautiful on one side as the other.

If you are interested in a one-on-one workshop at Studio 907 in Long Beach, CA or interested in a group workshop, please send me a comment here or email me at:  bethmarx@me.com

Dyeing in Tuscany

It looks like a picture postcard but that's me outside our rented villa in San Gimignano wearing one of my felted wearable vests and getting ready to be picked up for the one hour drive to Prato to visit Gaia of DHG (Dyeing House Gallery).   

Knowing I was going to be in Tuscany in October '15, I contacted Gaia months ago and asked if I could come visit.  Not only did she say yes, she also graciously invited me on a tour of the dyeing house which is about 20 minutes from DHG's Prato location.  

And BTW, you can shop on-line and buy directly from DHG; they ship worldwide.  For more info, click HERE.

It was such a pleasure to meet Gaia and learn about her family's dyeing business and how she got started selling beautifully dyed roving, silk and other fibers to felters.

My visit to DHG was a real highlight of my trip to Tuscany and I thank you Gaia and team for opening up your facility to me.  Hope to see you again in the future.  

Donatella was so gracious to assemble my order and vacuum pack it so that it was easy for me to transport on my flight back to the USA.

I was like a kid in a candy store buying product at DHG in Prato, Italy

Any speaking of candy store, these are DHG's Sugar Candies.

Gaia in the lab area of the dyeing house.

Cones ready to be submerged in a dye bath.

Dyed cones

Amazing to see the enormity of the process for commercially dyeing cones, staple and sliver.

Wool being wetted down before dyeing

Wool coming out of the dye pot

A big thank you to Gaia and Donatella