Beth Marx

Beth Marx has been a felt maker for over 15 years and is still fascinated with the process.   Beth can’t remember when art was not part of her life.  From the little girl who played art school in the basement of her Ohio childhood home to majoring in art at The Ohio State University, Beth has had her hand in many art medium but has always had a real affinity for textiles. With an eclectic sense of style and keen eye, she fulfills her passion by creating one of a kind wet felted garments and accessories in the studio behind her 1920’s bungalow that she has affectionately named Studio 907, the same number as her street address in Long Beach, California.

Beth was an avid knitter as were her mother and maternal grandmother.  She knitted her first sweater when she was eight years old.  In the early 2000’s Beth was knitting large pieces like handbags and boots and shrinking them down in a washing machine so that the stitches became almost invisible, the process is known as felting.  But it was in 2006 that she had a textile epiphany when she examined a unique handbag in a Seattle boutique that was similar but much more refined and sophisticated than the knitting/felting that she had been doing.  She discovered that the handbag was wet felted.  She learned the techniques and ever since, felting has become her passion.  She is now internationally known for designing and creating her own style of fashionable and sophisticated nuno felted garments & accessories.  She teaches extensively and has created a method to demystify the necessary shrinkage calculations.  Her garments are sold in high-end boutiques and galleries in upscale locales, have walked runways, been published in books and magazines and worn by a major theme park character.

Beth creates organically in an intuitive process letting the piece evolve collage style as she repurposes cast offs and vintage fabrics and infuses wool roving, silk and other natural fibers.  Beth’s style exudes a worn patina and an earthiness rich with layers, textures, shapes and colors.