First of all because it meant that Daniel and I were able to visit Vancouver, a very beautiful and livable city nestled between the Pacific ocean and the mountains where a colorful melting pot of people live in harmony.
Beyond Vancouver we visited many other places. First of all Salt Spring Island (located in Vancouver Bay) where Felt Feutre 2013 was held. What can I say about this place? A small paradise that gave us a warm welcome and lent itself to the invasion of artists, artisans, teachers and amateurs for almost a week. And obviously everyone had felt fever!
The real emotion of those three intense days of work was the people we met. If we had to write a top ten list for our trip, number one would have to go to them.
We met Nathalie Ethier, from Artgus Studio, our Canadian distributor. Email, phone calls and chatting online can’t take the place of the pleasure of talking in person. What a delight after two years of such close collaboration to finally meet face to face!!!
And then there was Fiona Duthie who, aside from organizing the fair, is one of our official vendors in Canada. She loves our extra fine carded merino wool.
And many many many other clients and friends. We met Andrea Graham, DHGArt’s next guest, who is a dynamic and well organized woman with a clear vision of how to run her business. Andrea was enthusiastic to meet us and with that same enthusiasm she told us how excited she was about her upcoming experience in Italy. Her two-day course, to be held in Prato, will be the ideal occasion to get comfortable with the basic techniques that this Canadian artist, of Dutch origin, uses to create her works.
Nathalie introduced us to Ulrieke Benner, an elegant German woman who recently moved to Salt Spring Island. She invited us over for tea to her picturesque home/studio, located on a cliff overlooking the ocean. What a place! The thick evergreen forests, the lichen, the bright and intense greens and the warm color of wood are ideal surroundings for a work space that shows off the colors and textures by our new felting friend.
So many new acquaintances in addition to the many friendly faces that welcomed us and, as always, made us feel at home.
It was to the latter, those who weren’t yet familiar with us, that we dedicated DHG Night at FELT FEUTRE 2013. The event within the event that Daniel and I have been working on like crazy over the last few months.
Saturday, September 28th, we were the protagonists of the evening alongside Marjolein Dallinga. This famous Canadian artist started things off with a conference from 6:30 to 7:30 in the evening, leaving the stage to us. It was an hour and a half of pure adrenaline for us. Not to mention that following Marjolein Dallinga isn’t something that happens every day.
I have to confess that before going on stage I was full of anxiety and fears. There were so many things to say and 100 people to keep interested. I wasn’t sure that we could do it, but I have to say that it went really well.
Nathalie broke the ice for us and she was great. She introduced us, talking about the first time we met, how we started working together and what she hopes to accomplish with DHG.
Then it was my and Daniel’s turn. One deep breath and off we went. In the next hour we attempted to explain what DHG is and to help us we used a video that we have been working on for months and months. A ten-minute roller coaster ride of interviews with our partners and suppliers, images of our beloved city and of textile tours. Ten minutes to talk about sixty years of tradition, research, our local textile industry, the passion for our work and respect for the environment. Pure emotion.
It was a success and I even got a bit emotional. Fears aside, it is wonderful to talk about us, DHG, our team and what we do every day. We are so proud.
(At this point the only thing left to do is to show it to you too, and we will soon. The video will be available soon on our Youtube channel. We can’t wait to share it with you, so stay tuned and let us know what you think!)
Finally we presented a preview of our new Color Chart and DHG Sample Box.
The Felt Feutre gala was a special chance to present our new projects and the perfect occasion to give the teachers the first samples from the color chart and the DHG sample box, two new tools researched and developed over the course of years to obtain the right degree of flexibility.
With the new Color Chart, each artisan/artist can freely edit their own pages, reorganizing colors according to their own wants and needs. The Sample Box, on the other hand, allows the customer to familiarize themselves with the touch and feel of each fiber and DHG product without being distracted by the colors.
That, however, is a whole other story and we will tell you about it soon. There are just too many things to say about these new projects.
Enjoy the photos Daniel took during our trip. To me, they all speak of maple syrup, of heartfelt welcomes, of new trips to undertake… of goodness. What do they say to you?
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