Munte:
I have lived in the village for almost twenty years in Bílovice nad Svitavou. I have one man, two kids, two cats and a rabbit. I like flowers, books, traveling, playing, children, Beskydy, lounging, poems, coffee, mushrooming and also stuffing!
I started with dry felting first, but in the last few years I have been working exclusively with wet technology. I like the fact that a person plans something and almost never misses it, but even if the result is different, it is always amazing. Felting is about patience, calmness, about playing with colors and materials – Felting is meditation …
I prefer making hats and caps. When it comes, they are both sides. It’s probably not too ordinary, rather crazy, playful, extravagant, but sometimes elegant. I also produce vests, gloves, bags, handbags, brooches, rings, bracelets, flowers, toys, jewelery, soap in sweater, postcards, patches, cocoons …
Materials and processing techniques:
On hats, caps and clothes I use mainly Australian merino, which is characterized by distinct fineness (about 18 microns). But I’m still using a wave of other sheep breeds: Bergschaf, Steinschaf, Gotland, Leicester, Wensleydale, Karakul, Icelandic wool, Mongolian wool, and lamella, New Zealand lamb, Camel or Goat. Each wave has a different length and fineness / roughness of the fiber. Each wave has a different shrinkage. You produce a different kind of wool from each wave. Every thread just surprises you.
In sheep wool and wool of noble animals I add silk, soy, len, ramie, bamboo or various yarns. I love using nuno felting technique and I use remnants of fabrics – big and small – old and new … Recycle. I’m experimenting. I’ll fill my lace, even stone or wood …
I try to sometimes process the Czech fleece itself – that is, I clean it, put it on, and comb it on the carding machine that my husband has built. Unfortunately, it takes so much time and effort that I do not even know if the result is worth it. Perhaps for that feeling …
How to care for products:
It’s nothing complicated. Products that you do not use daily need to be ventilated from time to time. I often leave lavender or my “soap in a sweater” for my products. The products can be washed by hand in lukewarm water (30 ° C) with a fine washing powder on wool or shampoo. Do not gently peter, squeeze the water by pressing, mold the product into the desired shape and let it dry. Do not hang around. Handbags, caps, etc. can be stuffed with a towel. After drying, some products can be ironed with a wool set. Do not wash, do not dry in a tumble dryer! For longer use, “smear” may occur on the surface of the product – remove it by cutting or shaving and the product is new. “We do not get stuffs.