“Beautiful birds hand-made in wool”
Welcome to my shop - the place where you can buy my lovingly handmade woollen birds.
I only add birds to this shop once they are finished. So, if you see them on Folksy they are available to buy. I post my work in progress on my Instagram and Facebook pages. If a bird you see on my socials isn't here on Folksy, I have either made it directly for a client as a commission, or I am not yet sure it is finished.
If you would like to commission a handmade bird sculpture, you are really welcome to contact me. I can walk you carefully through the process of creating a wonderful bird together for you or as a special gift.
I attend one maker's market locally in Whitstable which is the only real-life place to look at my birds and have a chat with me. This means that birds will seem to disappear from Folksy if I sell them locally. Sorry!
None of the birds I make with such careful observation of detail will ever be repeated in excatly the same way, I just don't work like that. Every single bird I make is a unique artpiece to be displayed for a lifetime. They must be handled with care and none of them should be bought assuming it is fit to be a child's toy.
You are always welcome to message me with any questions about wool, birds or making.
Jacqui x
£28.00
£38.00
£180.00
£40.00
£180.00
£28.00
£28.00
Here are ten things you might not know about me, just in case you are feeling terribly curious:
+ I started making birds in wool after I had Covid-19 and didn’t fully recover my health
+ I hand-make birds using the needle-felt technique, which involves manipulating wool fibre using sharp, barbed needles
+ It took 20+ hours of work to make the smallest bird I have sculpted, the Goldcrest
+ Inspiration comes from watching birds on the beach and on bike rides, and when visiting RSPB reserves or local sanctuaries
+ I work on one bird at a time, concentrating on the details of plumage, colour and form to make them as life-like as I can
+ My work-room is a spare bedroom in my tiny Victorian terraced house at a very thin desk in Whitstable
+ Though I made different things whilst I was learning to felt, I now concentrate only on bird sculpture
+ My favourite bird is the sea-piercing, wind-riding, sharp-eyed Gannet
+ Beach-combing for wood along the Kent coast is a wonderful excuse to take a daily beach walk
+ I have a one-eared black and white cat called Puddington
Reviewed by Karen
Stunning piece of art, always a pleasure to buy from this artist
Reviewed by Karen
These pigeons are adorable! Such wonderful detail and character. Lovely communication with artist
Reviewed by M
I fell in love with Jacqui’s sweet felted birds on Instagram. As a birder, the algorithm knew I was a sucker for birds, and crafts and I was smitten with her work.
Every time she posted a new bird, I wished I could purchase it, and every time I didn’t.
As part of a gift and memorial to a very special year, I decided I’d like to commission Jacqui to create a piece that would remind me of a place and a time I had very much loved. I asked her to do a bird she’d never seen in real life, a lesser sand plover, and sent her a few of my own reference photos to see if any struck her as fun to work with. She chose one of my favorites, a cheeky little fellow staring at the camera sideways!
The work was done to perfection, and when one small detail didn’t quite sit well with me, she made the change graciously. She also sent along a piece of old brick from her garden that looked like the sand the sand plovers spend their time on. The little plover has crossed the Atlantic and sits guardian on my mantle. The wool smells gloriously wooly, too, so I had to move it out of range of the cat.
It took maybe. . .2 months start to arrival, and part of that was a delay I requested. She works quickly !and! carefully.
Jacqui herself is kind and gentle, and I wish her all the best. I can’t wait to commission another. They’re so special. Thank you Jacqui. I love the memory you helped me capture.
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