Felt Chair Mats by Leiko Uchiyama

Leiko has worked almost exclusively with felt for the last 25 years. Before this she was an agriculture student studying sheep reproduction and after a year working on a sheep farm in New Zealand, she became the first professional female sheep shearer in Japan. She finds her craft inspiring not least for its simplicity, transforming wool fibres into 2 and 3-dimensional objects through the simple addition of soapy water and hand friction. She has also inspired by the ancient heritage. Sheep have the longest history of domestication, supporting our food, shelter and clothing. Felting is one of the oldest textile techniques known to humans.