Welcome to my little corner of the World Wide Web, here you will find lots of (hopefully useful) specialist textile techniques (classes and PDF tutorials tab), some free resources / tutorials (free tutorials tab), my online shop (shop button on the home page) and of course my blog.
About Teri Berry:
I’ve always been interested in art and crafts, at school art was by far the subject I enjoyed most. After leaving school I trained first as a veterinary nurse and later as a microbiologist and molecular virologist. I worked in clinical research for 15 years, helping doctors and nurses set up clinical trials so their patients could access ground-breaking new treatments. I have always continued to create in my spare time and for the last 10 years have been in the very fortunate position to be able to teach and create the felt art I adore full-time.
Over the years I have explored a variety of mediums from ceramics to wicker sculpture but my enduring love is the magical and amazingly versatile world of wool felt. For me, using natural materials, in particular wool fibre is a cathartic experience. Using millennia-old techniques provides a connection to the past and simpler ways of living, while finding new ways of using these ancient materials and pushing the boundaries of what can be made with wool and other materials provides stimulation for the technical side of my brain. Felt-making is good for the soul on so many different levels!
In 2021 I relocated to New Zealand with my partner (who is a native Kiwi) to a beautiful part of Franklin, south of Auckland. Before we moved, knowing there are roughly 10 sheep for every human in NZ, I imagined there would be lots of gorgeous fluffy wool just waiting to be made into felt. I was very disappointed to find the finer (lower micron) wools are quite hard to find here and when you do, the fibres are contaminated with vegetative matter or in the case of merino, it is often twice the price of what I was used to paying in the UK. My Etsy shop, Teri Berry Fibres was borne out of a desire to make high quality, super fine merino available at affordable prices but has already expanded to include a variety of other fibres.
When I’m not making felt or dyeing fibre, I can be found pottering in my veggie patch, going for a run or doing just about anything to avoid cleaning the house! 🙂
Previous Exhibitions
2023 – Franklin Arts Festival – Pukekohe
2019 – Art Box – Denbies Wine Estate
2019 – Ochre Print Studio Summer Exhibition, Guildford
2019 – Surrey Artists’ Open Studios, Normandy Surrey
2019 – AppArt Exhibition, Priors Field School, Godalming
2019 – Printmakers Exhibition, Oxmarket Gallery, Chichester
2019 – Contemporary Textiles Fair, Landmark Arts Centre, Teddington
2018 – Art for Christmas, Cranleigh
2018 – Surrey Artists’ Open Studios
2018 – Printmakers Exhibition, Oxmarket Gallery, Chichester
2018 – Bacchus Exhibition – “Nature’s Magic”, Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking UK
2014 – International Feltmakers Association, Region 4, Exhibition, Sonning Common, Berkshire, UK.
2014 – Spinners Weavers and Dyers National Exhibition, Norwich Cathedral, Norfolk, UK.
Education
2017-2019 – Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, West Dean College
2017 – Abstract Design for Textiles with Louise Anderson
2016-19 – Life drawing
2016 – Traditional millinery techniques
2016 – Experimental Screen Printing
2016 – Dressmaking and tailoring
2015 – Tailoring and shibori felt, Tatiana Shervada
2015 – IFA conference, workshops with Judit Pocs, Joke van Zinderen and Evelyn Refsahl
2013-14 – City and Guilds Level 2 in constructed textiles (felt making)
2014 – IFA conference, workshop with Yvonne Habbe
2004 – PhD, molecular virology (coronavirus vaccine development)
2001 – BSc, 1st class hons, microbiology