Tamzen’s art practice is playful and experimental. She is inspired by stories and the Irish landscape. She often relates her work back to children’s books, the mix of the sweet and the subversive. Her work is designed to make you smile, laugh, think, and inspire your inner child. When she sells online all her packaging for delivery is reused, when selling through shops she makes sure that all packaging is recycled and recyclable.
Born in Belfast in the 1970’s, she now works from her home in Maynooth, Co. Kildare, surrounded by fibre, up to her elbows in soap lather, dancing to the radio, chatting with the three kids and whooshing the cat off the table!
No day is typical for me! That’ s both the beauty and the pitfall of working for yourself and being a small business… I feel like a “jack of all trades”- maker, PR, book keeper, post master… you name it, I’m doing it.
There is a magic to being able to truly make something with your hands... with limited amount of tools and no modern technology... it is a very grounding experience.
Tamzen Lundy
Wet Felt making is very sensory, there is a magic to being able to truly make something with your hands… with limited amount of tools and no modern technology… it is a very grounding experience.
My work is slow… that is both a delight and a curse- it helps to slow me down, I have to build my patience muscle. However it is hard for customers to understand, there simply is no way to speed up my process and therefore the quantity that I can produce is limited. I guess that makes my craft very special.
What’s the first thing you do when you leave the studio?
Find the cat.
What other maker in your discipline do you most look up to?
I’ve met a lot of other felt makers through Feltmakers Ireland, which is a super friendly organisation. Internationally I admire the work of many textile artists, Vanessa Barragao, Shelia hicks, Marjolein Darlinga amongst others.
What advice would you give someone who is considering this craft career?
Persist.
What’s your favourite craft item in your home?
