A few weeks ago I received an email from
Handmadenews asking if I wanted to be their featured artist. And I said "yes". I almost forgot it until today I saw a tweet from Handmadenews with my name and a link to the
article.
Angelica Schaaf, the editor of Handmadenews, did a wonderful article based on my interview. And I was just blushing reading all good things she had to say about my work and...me. Thank you, Angelica!
Vilte Kazlauskaite of VK Felt Magic
Posted by Angelica Schaaf on Monday June 01, 2009
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I am entranced by Vilte's shawls. They're gorgeous, a work of art, yet I want to touch them, feel them on my skin and show them off to the world. She's beautiful as well, which I guess is part of why I am in love with her work. Her photos are sensual, and embody what is wearable and classy about what she creates.
She is a former dancer, a mother and has a deep passion for felt. In this interview, she opens up about the endless possibilities for her craft, her favorite artists and how for her, handmade items have a soul. It was an absolute pleasure to interview Vilte and I wish her much success in her endeavors!
Tell me about yourself?
My name is Vilte Kazlauskaite and I own VK. Felt Magic by Vilte Kazlauskaite. I currently live in Lithuania and I am a former dancer, psychologist and dance therapist; mother of 2 children, discovering the world of textile for the last 3 years of my life. Felt has become my passion and interest that I have been studying by myself. My love for felt has also been expressed by publishing the first book about felting technique in Lithuania in 2008.
Tell me about your craft...
Felting is my passion, way of expression and tool for creating art. It is one of the oldest textile techniques and has endless possibilities for creation. It only takes wool, water and friction to create new textile piece.
Why do you love your particular mediums?
Though felting is probably the oldest textile technique, it is at the same time absolutely modern and extremely powerful technique for creating almost anything. It lets you transform such simple material as wool into new objects and forms. It lets you create color, it lets you create forms, it lets you create textures, it lets you create new materials. It is simple and sophisticated at the same time. It is very versatile.
Where can we find your work?
My work is sold in one boutique in Lithuania. I also opened several shops online this year - I joined
Artfire,
Etsy,
Dawanda... (
Editor Note: You can click on any of those links to take yourself to her stores) I decided I want to be more open to the whole world and have tighter connections with my customers. Selling online gives both.
Any advice to new or young sellers just getting their feet wet?
I am a new seller online as well, so I guess my advice can be based on intuition, not practice. I would advise anyone selling handmade items to start this business only if they really love what they do, not just for the money. To be original, distinctive, value high quality and do your best at representing your work in visual and narrative ways. Be true to your style and spread a word about you and your art. Communicate with other artists as it always opens you some new doors and enriches you with eperience.
What do you do outside of your business?
Currently, I am raising my two kids at home. My son will be 4 this Summer and my daughter will be 1.
What does the "handmade movement" mean to you?
I love handmade items as I believe they have a soul. I would like that all things in my home were hand made. And I really love to see that this handmade movement is progressing so fast and there are more and more people who appreciate things that have souls. I think it leads to valueing meaning and not just consuming.
If you could have lunch with any artist living or dead, who would you choose and why?
It would be hard to choose just one artist and the first two persons that come to my mind are Claudy Jongstra, dutch designer - felter, and Paula McCullough, American artist.
Claudy Jongstra is my goddess of felt. I find so many things in common in her expressions and meaning she puts in felt. Her fabrics, coverings, hangings are the most distinctive, incredible pieces of felt art. I am also charmed by her art life style - she is breeding her own sheep for wool that she uses for felting. So it would definetly be thrilling to have lunch with this incredible artist who uses the same medium as me.
I met Paula online just as I opened my shops on the net and she has really stunned me with her art and personality. One of her most impressive art pieces are her clocks she makes from found materials. She combines the art of time in corrosion and erosion of the things that became useless for us and the art of her own gifted hands and creates pieces of art that hold your breath and makes your eyes wander through incredible surfaces over and over again. I would love to meet and have lunch with this wonderful artist in real life for sure as she is really an Artist who always motivates you for creating, helps with your insights about art and makes you reconnect with what you create with your hands.
Tell us a bit about the space you create in? How has it evolved since you started your craft?Space for creating has been and still is a problem for me as we live in appartment where there is no place for my studio. So I just share the same space we use for living. It is pretty difficult when you also have small children at home. I felt on the floor in our guest room, but I know it won't be like this for ages as we are building our house now and there I will definetly have my own space for creating.
What is your favorite type of handmade item to buy for yourself?
I like many handmade types of items. If looking for something for myself, I usually start at wood works, ceramics, textiles, I also like to look for hand made toys for my children.
Who is the person most supportive of your craft business? How do they support you?
It is my husband who tolerates my choise of being a felter, of having piles of wool in our apartment and lack of attention to himself as most of my time goes to my felting and business. I really appreciate him giving a chance for me to express myself in felting, feel thankful for him for helping me with our kids, helping to construct something for my creations, helping me out with my supplies and posting my orders. It is really important to have someone dear support you in your way in life.
P.S. I just saw this tweet by Handmadenews if you are interested in geting featured:
"Would you like to be featured? Drop us a line! angelica@handmadenews.org, jenniferhyman@handmadenews.org or beverly@handmadenews.org!"
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Interviu Handmadenews.org
Tebūnie tai nuotrupos, pastebėjimai, tikėjimai ar nuogi faktai:
Meilės veltiniui dėka 2008 m. gimė mano knyga apie šią tekstilės techniką - “Veltinis”.
Vėlimas man – tai aistra, saviraiškos ir kūrybos įrankis. Veltinis – viena seniausių tekstilės rūšių, atverianti neribotas galimybes. Tokia paprasta technika tuo pačiu yra tokia moderni, vilną galinti transformuoti į praktiškai bet kokią formą ar būvį. Veltinis yra sudėtingas ir primityvus tuo pačiu metu, ir visiškai įvairialypis.
…………
Išjausti, išnešioti rankų darbo daiktai nebėra tiesiog daiktai, tai daiktai, turintys sielą. O jų populiarėjimas džiugina – panašu, jog po truputį pradedame vertinti prasmes, o ne tik vartojame…
Thank you! And I am honoured!
Last week I received an email inviting to participate in the event Felt United on the first International Day of Felt, October 3d, 2009. 
