Felt Maker and Print Artist
in North Cornwall
Traditional Techniques - Original Designs - Unique Creations
About me
My name is Em Lynch and I’m a felt maker and eco printer from North Cornwall.
I first discovered felting as a creative outlet over 10 years ago, when my lovely artist friend Liz gave me some wool fibres and lent me a couple of books. From that moment I was hooked.
Over the years I have developed different styles, going where my mood takes me whilst maintaining my core principles of creating practical and durable but beautiful items and artwork.
The art of eco printing and natural dyeing was a natural progression for me as I strive to make my practice more environmentally friendly and sustainable. It has also enabled me to extend beyond the medium of hand made felt, creating pieces using different types of fabric, and up-cycling preloved clothing.
About my work
Nature's Gift
The area I live in, nestled between rugged coast and craggy moorland, provides me with a wealth of inspiration, as well as an abundance of natural printing and dyeing material right on my doorstep.
Plants such as oak, sycamore, blackberry and rosebay willowherb all print beautifully in the Dirty Pot.
I don’t have to travel far for a foraging expedition.
Growing my own
Whilst my cottage doesn’t have a garden, I have been very fortunate to have had an allotment in the village for nearly 20 years.
As well as producing my own fruit and vegetables, I am now in the process of developing part of the plot into a natural dye and print garden.
This enables me to grow and harvest vegetation that isn’t available to me in the wild.
The 'Dirty Pot'
I love the randomosity of eco-printing in the ‘Dirty Pot’. Very simply put, this involves bundling up the fabric with certain vegetation and ‘cooking’ it in a metal pot (such as iron or aluminium) that contains water, rusty metal and vinegar. This combination creates chemical reactions that allow me to achieve strong, colour fast, wash fast prints and colour without using powdered chemical mordants.
Felt in print
Using the best quality fibres, along with local natural materials, I create unique hand made fabrics, clothing, accessories and art work.
This little felt hat is made out of super fine merino wool and wild silk fibres, eco-printed with leaves from a eucalyptus tree close to my cottage.
Thrift and Up-cycle
For reasons of cost and sustainability, I have been a huge fan of charity and thrift shops for many years, rarely buying new clothing.
Eco-printing has opened up a whole new avenue for me -giving a completely new lease of life to preloved items.
Creature Comforts
My first recreation of animals in felt was this portrait of our dear dog Strider in cushion form.
Using photographic images I combine wet and needle felting techniques to create realistic pet and wildlife portraits.
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