To send me an email, tap the grey envelope icon below for a link. Alternatively, email me directly at: fibrefrenzybev@gmail.com

or call me on my mobile: 07749-653933

Felin Cwmcych, Pontcych Mill, Cwmcych, Newcastle Emlyn,

Carmarthenshire SA38 9RR

My textiles journey

I am inspired and excited by texture and colour.

My first passion was weaving, and the process of creating textiles brings me joy!

In my first job as a silk-screen printer, I really enjoyed running workshops and demonstrations. I went on to spend many years teaching, although not always as a conventional classroom teacher.

I worked for over a decade at a school farm in Oxfordshire. Benefitting from 140 acres of 'outdoor classroom' I was able to spend much of my time there sharing my enthusiasm for creating art and crafting practical items from natural and scrap materials.

Becoming self-employed has given me the opportunity to devote more time to leading adult workshops and to revisit and develop my own art. I have shown work in a number of galleries and exhibitions in Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Powys, and most recently Carmarthen and Cardigan in November 2023. I will have work in another exhibition in Cardigan in October this year.

Feltmaking is one of my favourite techniques.

I've also become captivated by the alchemic process of botanical printing, a technique that combines very well with feltmaking and has given me endless scope for creating new work.

I love Indian textiles and have visited Rajasthan, an area rich in many different textile traditions. I had the opportunity to learn Indian blockprinting there, in Jaipur. I have a friend in India whose family are master block makers. I buy their traditionally hand carved wooden print blocks and run block printing workshops. I also sell the blocks and printing supplies from my studio and at local fairs.

I am joint Regional Coordinator for Wales and The Marches, of the International Feltmakers Association. I also belong to the Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers, all lovely like-minded people who get excited about woolly stuff!

I moved to West Wales in 2018 to set up my open studio and gallery 'Felin Cwmcych'.
I display and sell my work in the gallery and deliver workshops and courses here. The studio is next to our home, a converted riverside grain mill, in the picturesque Cych valley on the Carmarthenshire/Pembrokeshire border.

If this chimes with you, and you find yourself in the area, do drop in for a cuppa, you'd be more than welcome!

Bev James, 2024