It's really a funny story...
At first, my family would walk through our kitchen and roll their eyes at me boiling wool. It took me quite some time to get the method correct. Making wool felt is not something you learn overnight but I was determined to figure it out! A lot of messes and very late nights.
I started with pre-dried wool and would piece it together then felt it. I have kept some of my first dreads and what a disaster they were. I'm so thankful for my daughter, who kept encouraging me. She would say "Mama, I think you're on to something. You will figure it out eventually". Finally, I made one I thought were good enough quality to sell! I listed them on EBay and they sold almost instantly! I was so nervous mailing them out but, to my surprise, the customers were really happy!!!
I knew I could not keep making the ones that were pieced together with pre-dried wool, so I went back to the drawing board aka Google. Side note: What did we ever do before Google? LOL! Anyways, I found out that I needed wool roving. I ordered a small amount of white roving but was still not convinced they would sell. I did not want to spend the huge amounts of money it would take to buy professional dyes, so for the first 3 or 4 months I dyed all of the dreads with Kool-Aid. Some of my prettiest sets I have ever done are mixtures of different flavored of Kool-Aid.
I have been interviewed several times for Vogue and I wish you could see the look on their faces when I tell them about the Kool-Aid LOL!
My family no longer rolls their eyes at me when they walk through my work area. I am so blessed to be able to make a living doing something I love. We just got back from doing the Marc Jacobs fashion show in NYC. WHO WOULD HAVE THUNK IT?? I have a lot of faith and I try to treat everyone fairly and honestly. Even if things do not work out at first, keep trying, you never know where the road may take you.
I started with pre-dried wool and would piece it together then felt it. I have kept some of my first dreads and what a disaster they were. I'm so thankful for my daughter, who kept encouraging me. She would say "Mama, I think you're on to something. You will figure it out eventually". Finally, I made one I thought were good enough quality to sell! I listed them on EBay and they sold almost instantly! I was so nervous mailing them out but, to my surprise, the customers were really happy!!!
I knew I could not keep making the ones that were pieced together with pre-dried wool, so I went back to the drawing board aka Google. Side note: What did we ever do before Google? LOL! Anyways, I found out that I needed wool roving. I ordered a small amount of white roving but was still not convinced they would sell. I did not want to spend the huge amounts of money it would take to buy professional dyes, so for the first 3 or 4 months I dyed all of the dreads with Kool-Aid. Some of my prettiest sets I have ever done are mixtures of different flavored of Kool-Aid.
I have been interviewed several times for Vogue and I wish you could see the look on their faces when I tell them about the Kool-Aid LOL!
My family no longer rolls their eyes at me when they walk through my work area. I am so blessed to be able to make a living doing something I love. We just got back from doing the Marc Jacobs fashion show in NYC. WHO WOULD HAVE THUNK IT?? I have a lot of faith and I try to treat everyone fairly and honestly. Even if things do not work out at first, keep trying, you never know where the road may take you.