After running the felting operation from the garage on our ranch the past five years, we have moved that aspect of our operations to the Nob Hill Fabric shop in Albuquerque.
Conversations began with Liz Frank, the owner of Nob Hill Fabrics, after she moved her shop away from its Central Avenue location into a well-lit and inviting space a few miles away. She invited us to talk with Rikki Quintana, owner of HoonsArt, a Fair Trade certified importer of textiles, apparel and other goods from Central Asia. Our synergy over handcrafted creations, textiles and wearable art was quickly evident.
We decided to name our adventure New Mexico Artisans Nook. Whispirit is hoping to use this great space to create felted wonders, to sell fabric and pieces, and to hold the occasional felting workshops. You will also be able to buy felting supplies, including batts (ours are very thin and great for nuno felters), prefelts and roving. You can follow our plans on the Nob Hill Fabrics “Newsletter” or on our NM Artisans Nook facebook page.
We are not completely set up, but Lee and I have each felted projects in our new digs. We are close to having a routine down for “who drives into the shop when” thus, a schedule for when Lee or I will be in the shop should soon emerge. It still feels weird having to plan what materials need to be at the shop for which felting projects, but we are enjoying being a little more social. Already learned a new dyeing technique from Liz (ice dyeing), worked with the talented Allie on a cook piece of felt and am trying to sort out exactly were is Tajikistan and how does it differ from Kyrgyzstan from Rikki. But, the real bonus, after nine years I get to park my car in the garage!
When you find yourself in Albuquerque, come see us!
Til next time, Sandy and Lee
