About LinPin
Lin-Pin creates colourful and wistful needle felt landscapes, seascapes and characters by needle felting in 2D and 3D. In using the finest soft merino roving wools, speciality fibres and blends, including tussah and sari silk. The felt works are soft, colourful and unique. Adding to the blends this year are LinPin Highlands, Hebridean Sea and Sunset customised wool and silk blends.
While needle felting, LinPin uses imagination to evoke a simple time and a simple way of life, envisaging relaxing settings, while allowing the felting image scenes and characters to make you feel peaceful and smile. The very fine and beautiful wools can create abstract images full of colour, texture, contrast and depth.
Felt works are created by using a fine single felting needle, a brush, a piece of flat felt as a canvas and a variety of roving wools. With a little time, patience and some artistic licence LinPin is able to create unique bespoke works.
Lin-Pin creates her needle felting at home, attends a mixture of charity fundraising events and classes, stalls at Agricultural Shows, NTS fairs, Historic Scotland fairs, the Viking Festival and various Stall Hire Scotland markets.
Fine art photography of felt works are by Glasgow photographer Jon-Paul Davis at Deadly Digital and fine art printing by Ayrshire's John Aitchison, of Scotland's Artists. LinPin has much appreciation of their skilful work which translates into high quality reproduced images being transferred onto products for sale and for labels for felting kits, by Graeme at Minuteman Press in Kirkintilloch.
LinPin's first commission pieces were from Freda Newton of Loch Ness by Jacobite, Dochgarroch, Inverness and The Celtic House in Bowmore, Isle of Islay. LinPin was delighted with these and was encouraged by this support to create further felt works, and make bespoke works and products. This also led to visiting the areas for inspiration and LinPin is very proud to regularly supply orders to these successful businesses.
LinPin also holds classes in a variety of locations, the first one being in the local haberdashery shop owned by Lianne Garven, Isew2, in Kirkintilloch. Since then further classes in independent business spaces, church halls, community centres and of course in the home base of Mugdock Country Park.
LinPin is very pleased to be a member of local craft and art co-operatives, of Mugdock Makkers Arts & Craft Gallery, The Scottish Design Exchange, Creative in Callander and Conic Crafts. There, her craft and art work, business knowledge and experience has grown, which is quite a career change from nursing.
Appreciation especially to fellow makker and gallery supervisor Lucy Jackson, full of ideas, ability and encouragement, and to Lindsay, Graeme, Judy and all the SDX staff in the Edinburgh and Glasgow stores who have supported LinPin these past 5 years. Also more recently the welcoming makkers, amazing displays, ideas, work ethos, talent and commitment shown by Creative in Callander and Conic Crafts crafters and artists.....and of course appeciation to all our lovely customers during the last few unusual sales years! The ethos of Christian faith and hope the Rainbow of Hope felt image was very much appreciated during and after Covid-19 lockdowns.
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Scottish Design Exchange
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Mugdock Makkers
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Creative in Callander
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Conic Crafts
Through Business Gateway in East Dunbartonshire, Colin Dunn and Anne McIntosh have assisted with business growth, advice, funding and access to information, media support with Lynsey and Julia from MacMedia, and access to networking for local small businesses. A completely new world of business for me.
Such amazing IT support and website development also with Rakesh Davda of D13 Consulting Ltd, introduced by Business Gateway. A huge vote of thanks for his skills, knowledge and his patience, which has been greatly appreciated.
Over the past year LinPin has progressed to Scotland's Trade Shows with Springboard Events at the SECC and has been able to secure further business and trade relationships and orders. A new experience very well supported by Mark, Becky, Jak and all the team.
LinPin was delighted to win the best launch gallery product award in Jan 2023 which increased awareness of needle felting and subsequent fine art products. This opened doors to a wider market and access to the Gift Ware Association with their experts Sarah, Alina and their successful business network.
This exposure and business access has led to the website formation, a new business logo by graphic designer Michelle Haswell from Pixel and Dot, all in preparation for the exciting and forthcoming Amy McCusker WeeBox Scottish Subscription Box!
The March 2024 Bothy edition to include the Scottish Bothy china discs resulting in much printing by John ....and ... much ribboning by family; thank you so much for the huge effort, it has been much appreciated.
LinPin has been invited to hold ongoing classes and a collaborative project with Drumchapel Life's group Chance 2 Change, co-ordinated by Leanne McBride as project leader.
With amazing needle felting results and skills learned, there was group recognition on the back of their photographic Queens Nursing project and film making, in conjunction with Clydesiders magazine, at Glasgow University in the Clarice Pears Health & Well Being building.
Their ability and insight was showcased here, which illustrated the harsh side of life with mental health issues, homelessness, substance abuse and life struggles, to aid teaching of the next generation of nursing and medical students, and of course to inspire hope and change.
It gives me great pride to see the progress of felting and culmination of Drumchapel in the Spring, and it is wonderful to see the class attendees coming in with self set homework, and see their beautiful creations, ideas and on going commitment.
LinPin also stocks in various small independent stores and large family global businesses, on the mainland of Largs, Dunfermline, Dunoon, Kirriemuir, Glamis, Cupar, Lossiemouth, Abernyte, Nairn, Inverness, Dunfermilne, Kilmarnock, Forres, Falkirk, Newtonmore and on the Isles of Scotland of Islay, Skye, Lewis and Harris.
Thank you for visiting LinPin Crafts,
LinPin x