Collars by Unifelt
made with Baize Shetland Fleece
THE UNIFELT STORY
by Baya Batomunkueva
Living in Siberia, where I come from, is tough. It is impossible to survive without warm clothes, and sadly, the warmest material is fur.
When I was little, not far from our home was a farm, where arctic foxes, black-brown foxes were bred. My father is a veterinarian, so he ocasionally went there for the vaccination or when one of the animals fell ill. I've never been there, but I could see the farm from our home far far away, and it made me so sad to realize that those animals spend all their life in seclusion, bred just for their beautiful fur, and destined to die without seeing anything but a cage.
I am not a vegetarian or vegan, I eat meat, and I don't feel guilt about it. I am a village girl, grew up in a vast plains of Buryatia, where all the meat that we ate was from our stock. I know how to milk a cow, and how to clean the bullpen. I even delivered a calf when I was ten. So growing stock, taking care of it, and one day consume it was a part of our life. I don't think it is immoral or unethical to eat meat, but I definitely have different feelings about fur.
Maybe that's why I have such a great passion for felted fur. Just think about it: wool and sheep locks can be used to create a material, that looks just like fur and has all the properties of it-softness, warmth, and lightness. It is absolutely ecologically clean, sustainable, and the most importantly, no animal has suffered in process.
Felted wool garments are far superior to synthetic fur or faux fur, ( also called eco-fur which if you think about it, has nothing in common with eco).
My pieces are hand washable in warm water with mild soap. They can then be laid flat to dry.
When I create a new piece, it makes me feel better about myself, and hope maybe somewhere I saved a life of an animal.
Note: Baya now lives in Portland, Oregon where she crafts her beautiful pieces many of which are made using Baize Shetland.
When I was little, not far from our home was a farm, where arctic foxes, black-brown foxes were bred. My father is a veterinarian, so he ocasionally went there for the vaccination or when one of the animals fell ill. I've never been there, but I could see the farm from our home far far away, and it made me so sad to realize that those animals spend all their life in seclusion, bred just for their beautiful fur, and destined to die without seeing anything but a cage.
I am not a vegetarian or vegan, I eat meat, and I don't feel guilt about it. I am a village girl, grew up in a vast plains of Buryatia, where all the meat that we ate was from our stock. I know how to milk a cow, and how to clean the bullpen. I even delivered a calf when I was ten. So growing stock, taking care of it, and one day consume it was a part of our life. I don't think it is immoral or unethical to eat meat, but I definitely have different feelings about fur.
Maybe that's why I have such a great passion for felted fur. Just think about it: wool and sheep locks can be used to create a material, that looks just like fur and has all the properties of it-softness, warmth, and lightness. It is absolutely ecologically clean, sustainable, and the most importantly, no animal has suffered in process.
Felted wool garments are far superior to synthetic fur or faux fur, ( also called eco-fur which if you think about it, has nothing in common with eco).
My pieces are hand washable in warm water with mild soap. They can then be laid flat to dry.
When I create a new piece, it makes me feel better about myself, and hope maybe somewhere I saved a life of an animal.
Note: Baya now lives in Portland, Oregon where she crafts her beautiful pieces many of which are made using Baize Shetland.