This week, we were lucky enough to interview Natalie, of Woolhalla and Bear Dance Crafts. Not only is she giving us a peek into her world but she has donated one of her creations for a GIVEAWAY!!!

I have to say, Natalie is quite a character. She’s sweet and caring but she also has a fun quirky side that you can sometimes get a glimpse of.

Natalie is well known in the Handmade Community for her timeless creations as Woolhalla and also for her endless patience and consistently stocked supply shop Bear Dance Crafts, where a lot of us Canadian waldorf doll enthusiasts go to stock up on all of the fun little supplies that go into doll making.

It may surprise you that Natalie was once on the sewing naughty list. Back in school she nearly failed sewing class because it was frowned upon to make her own versions of the patterns. As you can see, her rebellion against authority gave her the baseline for the creation of many original patterns, some of which she also sells in her store.

Natalie lived in Holland for a time and started taking doll making classes there. Suddenly she realized that she had a knack for it and that people were looking to buy more creations from her. This naturally became the beginning of her love affair with handmade toys and dolls, and Woolhalla.

You can tell by looking at many creations that she takes great inspiration from nature and animals. These days she’s also become one of us Pinterest enthusiasts and finds some inspiration there. I imagine that what she creates with that inspiration is less of a fail than it is for some of us. 😉 And you guessed it, her other inspiration is David Bowie. What’s that? You didn’t guess that at all? Me neither, but I love it!

I think like many of us crafters, Natalie gathers a lot of her ideas while lying in bed trying to fall asleep. If she wakes up in the morning and is still excited, she will ponder the details while she is getting all of her supply orders shipped out. Then if she manages to find an ounce of spare time she’ll start bringing it to life. Ideally for her, this process would happen in a cozy chair, either outside in the summer or in front of the woodstove in the winter. Like today, doesn’t that sound nice?  mmmm……..

Oh yes, Natalie.  Natalie has three children, two of which are… gasp… teenagers! and still live at home. Since her teenagers are typical, they allow her plenty of time to get things done and only bother her when they want a ride, or want food, which I imagine is often all of the time.

We tried to pry some fun stories out of her but she was pretty tight lipped. She alluded to karaoke mishaps, roller derby refereeing and a misspent youth… if any of you manage to get the rest of the dirt, please do fill us in.

Thanks for answering all our invasive questions, Natalie! We just love getting to know the creator behind the creations! And Natalie has generously offered one of these sweet wool felt squirrel for our giveaway we are hosting over on our Facebook page so head on over!