Artist : Dana Barnes

Dana Barnes is already well known and respected as a fashion designer but her new line of felted objects is clearly her best yet. Barnes recently unveiled her Souled Objects line in a show entitled  Unspun at Ralph Pucci International, Gallery Nine, in late 2012.

 I had been hearing rumors and seeing little 'coming soon' images of her work for months. Yet, every time I hit the website, there was no data. At some point I gave up looking, so despondent.

And then, there it was, one day while reading my friend Lari's blog, images. Finally, images.

The work is gorgeous. Fat, knubby, natural fibers that twist and turn and lie beautifully on the floor. She clearly has a love of felt and natural fibers.

What really surprised me, though, was the story behind their creation. She made these felted pieces as a solution to complaints from downstairs neighbors about her daughters' loud footsteps on the wood floors.

What a gem of a solution for everyone, especially the kids. Can you imagine growing up with that? How cool they must think their mom is. If only mine thought the same.

You can see her pieces at her website, Souled Objects. Pour yourself a cup of tea before you sit down as it's a bit of a slow stroll through the work (I'm guessing that was on purpose). Read a wonderful article about the work in the New York Times here.