The International Feltmakers Association was formed to foster worldwide interest in felt, to promote members' work and keep members in contact with one another for exchange of knowledge and ideas.
It came into being as a result of an exhibition in 1979, Art of the Felt Maker organised by Mary Burkett at Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal, which showed felts from many countries, from the Middle East, Asia, Scandinavia and a little contemporary work. The show toured the country - artists, craftsmen, students and colleges were amazed and delighted. Such was the interest in felt that the Association was formed in 1984 with Mary Burkett as its president.
Members' interests range from the historical and anthropological aspects of felt to the art and craft of felt as a medium. The Association aims to increase the general involvement in feltmaking through a network of regional groups, our quarterly journal "Felt Matters", exhibitions, lectures and workshops. Members also travel far and wide to learn traditional and new methods and to present feltmaking in schools and colleges. There is communication and interaction between feltmakers from all over the world.
