Turkish beauty

On a little outing to Blenheim me and my dear friend needed feeding soon after arrival. We decided to sample some Turkish food. The place would not make a spread in a design magazine but the food was delicious and there were some lovely treasures on the wall...

  This antique beauty looked rather crucified on the wall behind the cafe tables...

A closer look revealed a mesmerising patchwork of colours, patterns and surface design techniques in a happy jumble.

The broken and the missing just made me love it more...

I wonder if it had been to many parties or would someone had worn it while washing dishes?

Kultaturve

I had quite a grand moment cutting a big piece of peat felt I've had for over a decade. The Finnish company that made it, Kultaturve, is sadly no more. They developed a way to use the rotted fibres of the cotton grass (Eriophorum vaginatum) that grows on top of the sphagnum moss. After nearly a thousand years buried under the earth, in the peaty bog, the plant becomes a fibre with exceptional properties for textiles and clothing. It is warmer than wool, exceptionally light, breathable and antistatic.

Mind you my felt is so thick that lightweight is not one of it's attributes. Or perhaps the sheep's wool blend makes it heavy.

The thick earthy felt belongs perfectly in my current project, where I work under the theme "beginnings". The material itself is very primal and connects me quite literally to my home country. I'll construct at least a couple of garments out of it, a skirt to start with.

PSst! Now you can view the outfit here.