About Felted Textiles with Susie Hughes

Photograph: Susie Hughes

In this interview with Susie Hughes, a fibre textile artist of many years, we discuss the art of felted textiles. Susie shares her insights on the felting process, the benefits of felted artworks in interior design, and her dedication to using ethically sourced materials.

SIBU Gallery: Susie, can you tell us what felting is and how it works?

Susie Hughes: Absolutely! Felting is an ancient technique for making non-woven textiles. It involves binding the fibres of animals and plants into cloth through the addition of water and friction. There's no need for separate backing fabric, glue, or adhesive. Multiple layers of fibre are placed by hand, and during the felting process, the fibres connect and become a single piece of fabric.

SIBU Gallery: What are the benefits of felted textiles in interior design?

Susie Hughes: Felted textiles have excellent sound-absorbing properties, which can improve acoustics in a room. If reverberating sound is a particular issue, the artwork can also be wrapped around an acoustic panel to enhance its sound-absorbing capabilities.

SIBU Gallery: How long has felt been used, and what were its traditional uses?

Susie Hughes: Felt is one of the oldest known textiles. Historically, it was used for clothing, jewellery, wall hangings, and elaborate blankets. Its versatility and durability made it a popular choice in ancient times.

SIBU Gallery: How is felt used in contemporary art and design?

Susie Hughes: Contemporary felt artists create wall textiles, felt couture, and sculptural pieces. Felted art textiles are now integrated into interior design and architectural installations. You can find them in restaurants, hotels, theatres, private residences, and prestigious locations like the MOMA, Lincoln Centre, Dutch and US Embassies, and the UN headquarters in New York.

Ethically Sourced Fibres

SIBU Gallery: Can you tell us about the ethical sourcing of the fibres you use?

Susie Hughes: All the fibres I use are sourced from high-welfare suppliers who ensure no slave, forced, or child labour is involved in the production process. Animal fibres originate from various countries including Germany, Peru, Tibet, the Falkland Islands, and Australia. Cellulose fibres are produced from wood pulp sourced from sustainable forests and processed through an eco-friendly closed-loop system that minimises water and chemical use.

SIBU Gallery: How do you ensure the ethical treatment of animals, particularly for angora and silk?

Susie Hughes: Angora fibre is sourced from Europe, where there are strict animal welfare standards. The fibres are shorn, not plucked, and then processed in the UK. Silk fibre is sourced from a small company outside of Suzhou, China. We ensure that there is no child, slave, or forced labour involved and that the environment is high welfare.

Artistic Influences and Processes

SIBU Gallery: Your work often incorporates natural elements. How does your environment influence your art?

Susie Hughes: Living by the ocean has a significant impact on my style, which I describe as ‘Ocean Botanical.’ The natural beauty I see daily, from the softness of a flower petal to the glistening ocean, influences my work. I use natural fibres like silk, merino, alpaca, angora, and flax to capture these elements. The process of felting allows me to layer textures and hues, creating pieces that reflect the elegance and calm of the natural world.

SIBU Gallery: How did your background and experiences lead you to become a fibre textile artist?

Susie Hughes: My journey started with a passion for art and textiles, which I taught for 17 years in places like Byron Bay, Sydney, and Bali. During this time, I continued to develop my skills through workshops and mentoring. After relocating to Crescent Head, I focused solely on creating contemporary textile art. The diverse experiences from living in different countries and engaging with various cultures have significantly influenced my creative process.

SIBU Gallery: What is unique about your felting process?

Susie Hughes: My felting process involves multiple layers of loose fibre, placed by hand, which become connected to create a unique textile. Each fibre has its place, and the process is intuitive and transformative. The final piece is a balance of beauty and function, designed to bring a sense of calm and connection to nature into any space.

In Summary

• Felting is an ancient technique for making non-woven textiles. It is a process of binding the fibres of animals and plants into cloth through adding water and friction. There is no separate backing fabric, glue or adhesive needed. Multiple layers of fibre are placed by hand, then during the felting process the fibres become connected and become a single piece of fabric.
• Felted textiles have the added benefit of improving acoustics due to their sound-absorbing properties. The artwork can also be wrapped around an acoustic panel if reverberating sound is particularly problematic.
• Felt is one of the oldest known textiles. In ancient times it was used for clothing, jewellery, wall hangings, and elaborate blankets.
• Contemporary felt artists create wall textiles, felt couture and sculptural pieces. Felted art textiles are integrated into interior design and architectural installations, and can be found internationally in restaurants, hotels, theatres, private residences and prestigious locations including the MOMA, Lincoln Centre, Dutch and US Embassies and the UN headquarters in New York.
• All fibres have been sourced from high welfare suppliers with no slave, forced or child labour in the production process. All animal fibres (for angora and silk, see below) originate from Germany, Peru, Tibet, Falkland Islands, Gotland, Germany, New Zealand, Bolivia, Ecuador, Georgia, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and Australia. Production facilities are in Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. Cellulose fibres are produced from wood pulp sourced from sustainable forests of mixed species and produced through an eco-friendly closed loop system that minimises water and chemical use.
• Angora (rabbit) fibre is sourced from Europe where there are strict animal welfare standards. Fibres are shorn (not plucked) from the animals, then processed in the UK. Silk fibre is sourced from China and produced by a small company outside of Suzhou. The facility was checked to ensure no child, slave or forced labour and confirmed to be a high welfare environment.

Special thanks to Susie Hughes for an insight into her textile making processes and support of ethically produced materials.