"When the sheep are sheared the wool is filthy, but you can't put it in a washing machine because it would turn into one mass," explains Lisa Jacenich, artist and owner of Artful Gifts in Staunton. "To create the felt, you need to take the individual piece of wool and whatever you are going to decorate it with and agitate the items with water and soap. It can be done by hand rolling for small pieces or done using the machines for the larger pieces."
In Mongolia, that bundle of wool is placed on the mother felt and sprinkled with water. This bundle is then agitated by being dragged behind a horse. In town centers, this is no longer practical to do. The plan Jacenich developed and proposed would teach Mongolian felt makers how to use small-scale mechanization. Cute Needle Felted Animals
FeltCrafts in Woodland Park, Colorado and Strauch Fiber Equipment Company in New Castle, Virginia are the manufacturers of the three machines that would be used at the pilot cooperative sites in Mongolia:
Everything the Mongolians currently make is solely utilitarian in purpose and dyed in primary colors. In the 1990s, the missionaries came and taught them how to make and sell touristy items.
"If they are going to be taken seriously in a global market, they have to have a product that is going to sell," said Jacenich.
The future of Mongolia could begin in Staunton
Air Filter Cloth The felt makers in Mongolia do not know how to bring this traditional heritage into the modern day and by that Jacenich means products can be lightweight, drape and have variegated colors and textures enhanced by silk and raw fibers. Part of the proposal includes training and teaching the women at the cooperative sites how to design products that can be marketed on a global scale.