felt is having a very big moment according to susan brown
IF you ask her about trends in textiles, Susan Brown, an assistant curator at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, will tell you that felt is having a very big moment, finding its way into everything from fashion and product design to architectural installations and home furnishings.
It has become so ubiquitous, in fact, that Ms. Brown has organized an exhibition at the museum called “Fashioning Felt.” The show, which runs from March 6 to Sept. 7, explores the many uses of felt, from traditional pieces, like a Turkish shepherd’s cloak and an Afghan saddle pad, to contemporary objects like the “personal uniforms” designed and worn by the artist Andrea Zittel as conceptual art.
“There’s something so tactile about it,” Ms. Brown said of the fabric. “The desire to touch is strong with most textiles, but particularly so with felt.”
It differs from other fabrics, she explained, because it is made not by knitting or weaving but by matting wool fibers together using water and friction. The result, she said, “is very comforting, warm and inviting.”
This is very good news to me, since I love to felt! Check out the rest of this new york times article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/garden/05shopp.html
Her write up on the yurt exhibition is also really cool!
http://blog.cooperhewitt.org/2009/02/26/janice-arnold-sketches
