Felt-making courses are fast running out limited places let please book yours now!!

Hello lovely makers and creators, well I can't tell you how thrilled I am at how well my lovely felt-making days have been going and I have to say I have been flooded with bookings and enquiries. Places are going fast so if you want to get in on the action you need to act fast.

Beginners Bag/TeaCosy/Hot Water Bottle  9.30-5pm  arrive 9.15am

Saturday 22nd January  

Thursday 27th January

Thursday 10th February

Thursday 24th February

Saturday 26th February

Saturday 12th March

Thursday 17th March

Saturday 19h March

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Beginners Jewellery 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Thursday 3rd February

Thursday 10th March

Saturday 23rd April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Slippers 9.30am-5pm arrive 9.15am

Saturday 29th January

All the  above course cost £69.00 fully inclusive of materials, slipper lasts to keep, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Small 3D Vessel/Vase 9.30 am-5pm 9.15am start

Thursday 20th January

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Wet Felted Needle Embellished Pictures 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Saturday 19th February

Thursday 14th April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Mothers Day Special, needle embellished card and matching corsage 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15

Saturday 26th March

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Children's Half Term Workshop Mini Wall Hanging Thursday 17th February 1.30-4pm (15.00 inclusive

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.

Tigerlily Makes is soon to celebrate it's 1st Birthday...

Well hello lovely makers and creators, well the Tigerlily Boutique has some great news to share with you this morning.  in just a couple of short months Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Boutique reaches its 1st year of felty fun!  Yes its been nearly a year since the Boutique opened hasn't it gone quickly.

In light of current times Tigerlily feels that this is a fabulous achievement and therefore the occasion should not be passed by without celebration.

Saturday 9th April is the day and Tigerlily Makes is the place to be for a wonderful day of free demonstrations, raffle prizes and an champagne reception to finish the day off in style.  In recognition of Tigerlily's loyal customers and to help support local charities, Tigerlily Makes will be hosting a charity fundraiser in support of the wonderful work that St Giles Hospice do not only with their residential units but their day centres and the care that St Giles nurses provide out in the community. The day is a non profit making day and all proceeds raised from the raffle and collections will go directly to the charity.

Tigerlily Makes is also part of the St Giles Lottery Discount Card Scheme, which entitles participants 10% of any purchases within the boutique.

Hope to see many of you there as it will prove to be a fantastic day with free demonstrations from Sally Williams of Hug Knitting, Mary Halbert of Crazy Mary Crafts and Tigerlily's own designer Lisa Marie Olson.

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.

Dates for your Diary...

Hello lovely makers and creators, just thought I would share a few dates for your diaries as follows:

• Tigerlily Makes 1st Birthday St Giles Hospice Fundraising event, lots of free demos, raffle prize and fizz reception at 5pm full details of demos coming soon. Saturday 9th April
• Big Green Fair Saturday 16th April many major green activities and green handmade products.
• Newborough Well Dressing Bank Holiday Monday 2nd May where I will be demonstrating the art of felt-making and sharing the benefits of wool craft.
• December sees Tigerlily Makes return to The Clothes Show Live for the 2nd Year Running

I hope to see many of you there and keep your eye on the blog for more detailed information on the events.

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.

Courses are really filling up fast....

Just a quick reminder that courses are filling up fast detailed below is the New Year Listings:

Beginners Bag/TeaCosy/Hot Water Bottle  9.30-5pm  arrive 9.15am

Saturday 22nd January  

Thursday 27th January

Thursday 10th February

Thursday 24th February

Saturday 26th February

Saturday 12th March

Saturday 17th March

Saturday 16th April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Beginners Jewellery 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Thursday 3rd February

Thursday 10th March

Saturday 23rd April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Slippers 9.30am-5pm arrive 9.15am

Saturday 29th January

All the  above course cost £69.00 fully inclusive of materials, slipper lasts to keep, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Small 3D Vessel/Vase 9.30 am-5pm 9.15am start

Thursday 20th January

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Wet Felted Needle Embellished Pictures 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Saturday 19th February

Thursday 14th April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Mothers Day Special, needle embellished card and matching corsage 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15

Saturday 26th March

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Spring Flowers  9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Thursday 17th March

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Children's Half Term Workshop Mini Wall Hanging Thursday 17th February 1.30-4pm (15.00 inclusive)

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.

Tigerlily Makes in Partnership with St Giles Hospice

Well hello lovely makers and creators, today I wanted to share with you the wonderful work our local St Giles Hospices do both in their specially designed centers but also  in the community.

St Giles Hospice and Tigerlily Makes are working in partnership, Tigerlily Makes is participating in the St Giles Hospice discount scheme. This is a scheme set up by St Giles in order to help those seriously ill patients and their families, the scheme issues patients with a discount card which they can then use to redeem special discounts in the various participating retail shops. As we all know illness can not only have a debilitating effect on our health it can also affect our pockets too.

These hospices are play vital support mechanisms within the  local community to both patients and their families.

The care facilities includes residential care, day care and community nurses that care for patients in the home.

Fundraising is a vital part to raising funds to continue the care in the community that St Giles provide and Tigerlily Makes is proud to support St Giles.

Tigerlily Makes is turning 1 year old in just a few short months and plans are already underway for a fabulous St Giles Charity event on April 9th 2011, with fabulous free demonstrations, drinks and nibbles and so much more.

For more information about the St Giles please visit http://www.stgileshospice.com/

My thanks to

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.

New Year New Hobby New You!

Tigerlily Makes is proud to announce the launch of the 2011 New Year courses.  Come on a one day felt-making course and learn the ancient art of the felt-making process and at the end of the day take home a wonderful bespoke individually created piece from bags, tea, cosies, hot water bottle covers, slippers, 3D vessel/vase and so much more.  Felt-making is incredibly rewarding and therapeutic so why not be kind to you this winter and try a new hobby, meet like minded people to help while away those long winter months.  No experience is necessary and you don’t need to be artistic or creative to achieve great things with felt, as there is absolutely no sewing or knitting involved.  New year, new hobby and new you!  All materials, equipment, course notes, aftercare advice and lovely teas and cakes included in the cost.

You will need to hurry to book your course as many of the fabulous courses are already fully booked!!!
www.tigerlilymakes.co.uk

Beginners Bag/TeaCosy/Hot Water Bottle  9.30-5pm  arrive 9.15am

Saturday 22nd January  

Thursday 27th January  

Thursday 10th February 

Thursday 24th February 

Saturday 26th February  

Saturday 12th March

Saturday 17th March

Saturday 16th April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Beginners Jewellery 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Thursday 3rd February 

Thursday 10th March

Saturday 23rd April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Slippers 9.30am-5pm arrive 9.15am

Saturday 29th January 

All the  above course cost £69.00 fully inclusive of materials, slipper lasts to keep, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Small 3D Vessel/Vase 9.30 am-5pm 9.15am start

Thursday 20th January

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Wet Felted Needle Embellished Pictures 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Saturday 19th February 

Thursday 14th April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Mothers Day Special, needle embellished card and matching corsage 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15

Saturday 26th March 

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Spring Flowers (make your very own flower complete with stem) 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Thursday 17th March 

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed 

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.

Tigerlily Makes Winter Sale... starts 27th December 2010

Morning lovely makers and creators, well I thought I would give you a heads up about the Tigerlily Makes in-store winter sale.  Tigerlily Makes is offering a very generous 20% off all felt-making, supplies, tools, equipment, quilt hangers, trims, Christmas decorations and felted accessories, whilst stocks last. Sale starts Monday 27th December 2010 and will run until 31st January 2011 only whilst stocks last.  In addition to this glorious sale any felt-making course booked and paid for by 31st December will be held at the 2010 price of £49.00 except the Slipper course which is currently £59.00.

So don't miss out on some really fabulous felty bargains.

wishing you a very merry Christmas and a very happy New Year :)

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.

After yesterdays post loads more course places have been booked and wishing you a very Merry Christmas

Good morning lovelies, well after yesterdays post many more of the felt-making course places have been booked, so you will need to move fast if you want to secure yours.

Huge thanks to all our followers and lovely felt-makers for their continued support throughout 2010.  Looking  forward to the New Year and lots of new courses :)

In the meantime I and everyone at Tigerlily Makes would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very merry Christmas and the very best of everything for 2011.

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.

2011 Felt-making courses going fast get yours at this years price...

Well hello lovely makers and creators, with the 2011 course list off to a flying start I just thought I would give you a heads up as they are going fast, I have taken several confirmed bookings in the last few days alone.

If you would like to secure your place and get a 2011 course at this years price, here's what you need to do: Look at the list below, pick a course, call to book and pay for your course before 31st December 2011 and you can take advantage of the £10.00 difference between this years and next years course price of £49.00!! Happy Days :) 

Beginners Bag/TeaCosy/Hot Water Bottle  9.30-5pm  arrive 9.15am

Saturday 22nd January  

Thursday 27th January  

Thursday 10th February 

Thursday 24th February

Saturday 26th February  

Saturday 12th March       

Saturday 17th March

Saturday 16th April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Beginners Jewellery 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Thursday 3rd February

Thursday 10th March

Saturday 23rd April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Slippers 9.30am-5pm arrive 9.15am

Saturday 29th January

All the  above course cost £69.00 fully inclusive of materials, slipper lasts to keep, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Small 3D Vessel/Vase 9.30 am-5pm 9.15am start

Thursday 20th January

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Wet Felted Needle Embellished Pictures 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Saturday 19th February

Thursday 14th April

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Mothers Day Special, needle embellished card and matching corsage 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15

Saturday 26th March

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

  

Spring Flowers (make your very own flower complete with stem) 9.30-5pm arrive 9.15am

Thursday 17th March

All the  above course cost £59.00 fully inclusive of materials, use of equipment, tuition, printed course notes, after care leaflet, lovely teas, drinks and cakes not forgetting your finished project.

Children's Half Term Workshop Mini Wall Hanging Thursday 17th February 1.30-4pm (15.00 inclusive)

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.

Is your Nepal Felt product fairly traded?

Well good morning lovely makers and creators, today I a looking at the trials and tribulations of finding a fairly traded felted product.  Over the next few days I will be looking at Nepal's felt industry in order to raise awareness of fairly traded felt.

Pictured above is a very typical Nepal felt design, this particular bag I have sourced from a company that does not seem to offer any kind of documented evidence of entering into a fairly traded world.

We all really need to stop and ask where the incredibly cheap felted products are coming from. 

We need to be asking questions such as does the Nepalese selling company hold a fair trade certification or indeed a fair wages certificate.  Are these companies a member of any recognizable and regulatory body? 

Over the coming days we will look at these issues and some of the recognized bodies so that we can inform and arm ourselves with the right questions to ask the selling body. We will look at statements such as Child Labor Free with a lack of evidence to back this up and many more issues pertaining to the umbrella of fair trade.

I do know that there is one company in Nepal who can evidence their policies by the very bodies and organisations they are a part of.

However many of them cannot and many of these designs are similar across a number of companies, so how can we be sure that the Nepal crafted item we buy is fairly traded, well I will be covering this over the next few days.

But make no mistake having explored the ludicrously cheap wholesale prices and the retail mark up on this, there are questions that need to be answered.

More importantly we have to address the effect that Nepal Felt is having on our own industry here in the UK. When you can buy a Nepal felted bag for a mere £21.00 it raises an expectation, that this is what the craft is worth.  It is heavily devaluing the work we do here in the UK. For example I use only the finest wools, where I have had confirmation from my supplier that its ethically farmed and I use only the very best products within my felting process. Some of these items can take me several days and sometimes weeks to complete, so it begs the question how can we guarantee that Nepalese women are not being exploited?

Buyers need to be aware of the work that goes into a felted project. We also need to look at the type of wool that is going into these projects and the quality of the finished items.  PLEASE DON'T GET ME WRONG!! I am all for supporting women in remote rural places and women whom have been trafficked, but we must also be aware that many women may still be being exploited by not being paid their worth. 

Is a felted item from a charity a safe bet to buy? Well that very much depends on where the charity has purchased the item from and if they have witnessed conditions first had or if they can provide evidence that the company they buy from are fairly traded or registered.

In short Nepal Felt is having an extremely negative effect on the UK felt market, for example a mum and daughter visited my boutique a few weeks ago to browse the felt products on display.  The customer heavily procrastinated at the price of this particular item (£59.00), I advised the customer politely that all the items in the boutique were handmade and still there was procrastination.  It was only when the daughter asked if it was myself who made the item and had I confirmed yes that the procrastination stopped!  After another 10 minutes browsing the mum bought the item and was happy to pay the £59.00 as I had made the item.  Further more it was made clear to me that they assumed that all the felt was shipped in from Nepal and that I had put a ridiculous mark up on it. This particular item took me 2 days to complete, so you don't have to be a mathematical genius to work out my hourly rate!

We all seriously need to invest in our own felt and handcrafted market place supporting each other as artists, artisans and crafter's alike, as well as supporting our industry partners locally wherever possible. There is a need to educate and inform customers of the value of highly crafted item.

More on this coming soon.

Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2010 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner.