I am living in Hungary (middle Europe) for more than 20 years now, with my bicultural family, since I am French, my husband is Hungarian, and we have two daughters.
It is a very ancient tradition here, that wool, felted wool in particular, is used. This comes from back times, when Hungarians had a nomadic way of life and "jurták" were their homes. (Those are tents made from felt fixed on a light wood structure, and proved being perfect in terms of lightness and isolation, and some could even reach relatively great sizes!).
Therefore, I used to see felted objects (mostly wet felted) at market fairs or museum feasts. Moreover, I always got excited about how we obtain an object so different from its origins (ship hairs actually) with nothing else than skill and time (lots of time). An ecological process for a sustainable object.
My education background is animation films though, (I graduated from the Crafts and Art school of Budapest MOME) and films are my passion.
FELTOOHLALA
Making dolls is a thing I do since my young age (with more or less skill to be honest). An attempt to express some extra creativity and probably a need to empower and direct a virtual world (upto a certain point).
Needle felting proved to be the right Technic for me, which I came across applying about the year 2009 first! I really love doing it, for the contact of the wool and even its smell, and the special noise of the needle when I insert it in the wool. It is like stepping in the snow to me, millions and millions of steps, in the quiet and virgin snow ahead, but also something warm and soft...and yet full of the possibilities of forms and shapes your mind decides.
I created FELTOOHLALA in 2010 and I hope it will grow and that people will appreciate my craft as much as I enjoy doing it. Each doll is like a present for me , that should bring warmth and wonder for those to whom it is designated.
I put much care and love in my creations and always try my best to conduct the process with sincerity and honesty. That is why my dolls are always my own design, and one of a kind. Their story come from the interaction of the long hours spending forming something which at the end is always unexpected, and feels right . Therefore only a few dolls are created a year, and each is a precious little soul to cherish a lifetime long and beyond.