Global Groove Life
The Night Before Christmas- Handmade Felt Cat Ornament - Fair Trade- Nepal
The Night Before Christmas- Handmade Felt Cat Ornament - Fair Trade- Nepal
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The purr-fectly adorable eco-friendly, wool ornament for the cat lover! This ornament features lots and lots of intricate detailing. Lovingly crafted by mother and sister artisans in Nepal using hand-crafted, eco-friendly wool felt. A Fair Trade holiday ornament.
Measures approximately 5 x 4 inches.
The Art of Felting: The first step to creating these beautiful felt pieces begins with gathering some of the world’s finest sheep’s wool from New Zealand. Making felted wool is an ages-old, time-consuming process of bonding fabric with fiber. This is a physical job where the artisans scrub, rub, roll, and rinse the wool again and again with soapy water. Once the wool is bound into a sheet and the desired thickness is complete, the felt is laid out to dry. From there, the felt wool is cut and reworked into many complex shapes and designs. The many sheets of wool might merge several colors to create patterns and layers. This takes a well-trained, talented artisan and is a true labor of love. The results are colorful, one-of-a-kind textiles that are stunning to behold.
About the Artisans
About the Artisans
Marisol Medina used her creativity and love for animals to craft handmade wildlife creatures. She began her work with wire and cotton in Tabio, a small village 60kms from Bogotá in Colombia. Starting with readily available raw materials, and struggling through various challenges typical of a small business/enterprise, Marisol soon enhanced her techniques and the business as the demand for the product grew in the market. She began with participating at the annual national fair which takes place in Bogotá once every year. This is where Marisol was introduced to her first set of wholesale and retail clients.
Because of insufficient orders and a slow business, her workshop initially supported the artisans only for about 3 months. Piel Acida, a Bogotá-based organization that works with artisans from all over Colombia, showed keen interest in supporting Marisol’s cotton and wire animal enterprise. They provided support in all aspects to Marisol and her team. These products have been displayed and sold at various international trade shows such as the ones in New York and Frankfurt.
Marisol’s enterprise has meant much more than the enhancement of her skill and business – it has been a steady source of income for tens of artisans from the Tabio countryside. Thanks to organizations like Piel Acida, these artisans now have a consistent source of income and they also feel a distinct sense of empowerment.
Marisol is happy to see the growth of her small artistic talent into an enterprise. The Tabio Mountains have transformed her from an ordinary employee at a plastic factory to an independent entrepreneur. Today, her little workshop and the women involved have a brighter future.
Materials
Materials
Dimensions
Dimensions
Care information
Care information
