Putting the Fun in Functional

​

Fabric artist Heidi Hammel blends whimsy, beauty and purpose by reclaiming sweaters and giving them new lives as one-of-a-kind hats and mittens. 

 

Using sweaters found in thrift stores as building blocks, Heidi’s artistry combines cutting, sewing, felting and beading to create warm, colorful and playful items that will keep you warm from your ears to your fingertips. 

 

The seeds of Heidi’s artistic fate were planted during a family trip to Norway, when she was 12. Years later, she couldn’t get the Nordic sweaters out of her head. Those memories knitted together with an abiding desire to protect the Earth’s finite resources and a commitment to recycling led Heidi to produce wearable art. 

 

Heidi’s work was featured in The Crafts Report in 2010 and Handmade Business in 2011. In 2010, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen awarded her with the Green Award for her sustainable art and studio practice.