ELMORE, Vt. (WCAX) – Tucked up in her Elmore studio, Kate Latz turns wool into art.
“It’s fluff,” she laughs. “You’ve got to deal with a lot of fluff.”
Latz’s foray into fiber art began back in the ‘90s. “Knitting was my gateway drug,” she said. “I’ve done a lot of art, but knitting wasn’t doing it for me.”
Despite not being in love with the craft, she did quite a bit of knitting and even sold it under the name, Positive Purls. It’s the same name her business bears today, but for the last 12 years, felt has been the flavor.
“You only have so many people you can give them to,” she says with a smile. “I love sharing the felting, a lot.”
Initially, Latz would un-ravel yarn from her knitting hobby to use in making her felted forms. But, she’s since upgraded to fluffy, fine wool to make her gifts, accessories, and so-called paintings. Her offerings include pillows, shawls, wallets, bags, and much more.
“I love color, that’s kind of my trademark. When I have my shows, people are like, that’s what they see first is just the color,” Latz says.
There are two ways that Latz gets the wool to work. The first is through needle felting, which uses a barbed needle to tangle wool fibers. The second method uses water and soap. When we paid Latz a visit, she was working on a wool and silk neck cowl using soap and water.
“I want to first just lay out some colors here so that the colors will blend more easily,” she says, explaining the intricate process as she does it. After laying the colors down, she sprays them with water, hits them with olive oil soap, and brushes them out. “The wool and silk are very compatible, they really appreciate each other.”
Her colorful accessories do wonders at markets, craft shows, and on her Etsy shop. Though sometimes, Latz prefers to do “paintings,” which allow her to draw inspiration from other felters, photos, and the world around her. Oftentimes, it’s a custom commission that provides creative direction for this part-time business owner.
”It’s alchemy to me, it is alchemy. Even the needle felting. I just started with fluff and I’m making a dog,” she says looking down at a pillow she’s been poking. “Hi there, doggy!”
From fluff to felt, Positive Purls is all about woolen whimsy, made in Vermont.