Contact Jo Soar:

Website: https://www.josoartextiles.com/
Email: [email protected]

Jo Soar Textiles

Having spent most of her childhood holidays at her grandfather’s home in North Cornwall, Jo eagerly took the opportunity, when presented, to relocate to West Cornwall 35 years ago. It was here that she began making her whimsical felt bear sculptures from her loft studio in Porkellis.

Having studied art at college and missing a creative outlet while raising her two children, Jo took a one day felting course at her local village hall and has been fascinated by its enormous versatility ever since.

Initially exploring the process of wet felting Jo created bowls, bags and purses which she sold locally. These she embellished with needle felting a slow process of continuously stabbing a barbed needle into dry wool fleece until it begins to knit together.

After researching and experimenting with this technique further, Jo began making 3 dimensional objects using just this method of felting. Having made a little jointed bear one wet Sunday she was so overjoyed with the results that she made more and found them to be so popular that she has continued to make bears ever since.

Over time the shape of these bears quickly evolved into the more figurative physique we see today, facilitating a plethora of activities for them.
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Having always been a collector of old books, tools, toys and curios, much to her husband’s relief these have become the starting point, a seed of an idea for each of her pieces and to this day continue to inspire new adventures and stories for her characterful little bears.