Woolen felted toys by Vlada Homnyuk

Couple weeks ago, I found great VladaHom shop on Etsy which carries cute wool felted toys.
All toys in there are unique, and they look like real creatures with an attitudes. Even a pumpkin there is giving an impression that it's about to start talking to you :)

Vlada Homnyuk, the owner of the shop, was born in Russia, and she moved to Israel when she was 17. Today, I'd like to share Vlada's story behind these adorable things :). She's answered several questions...

-  How did you start your craft, and how long you've been doing your adorable felted toys?
I’ve always been creative. When I was a kid, I always tried different types of craft and art. I was knitting, drawing, sewing simple cloths for my dolls and myself. My mom was also very good at drawing when she was a kid. She never attended an artists school, but she is artistic by nature.. I believe, I was inspired by her, and that's why I became a creative person. When I was a little girl, she painted several portraits of me. I was excited to watch how she is doing it, and once I picked up a pencil and started to draw. When I gave birth to my son in 2010, I decided to quit my job. That time, I felt real desire to craft again. I started to make toys. In the beginning, I crocheted bunnies, but once I discovered my new passion - wool felted toys. I've seen them on one online web site, and they were like real creatures! That how my felting crafty life began. I've searched internet for tutorials, purchased materials, and tried. I've never attended any class.

 - What kind of materials and tools are you using?
My favorite material is natural wool because it’s soft and warm. I make the toys in needle felting technique, and I use polymer clay details such eyes, noses, etc when needed. The toys are coming out soft, warm, and realistic.

-What is the most important about your work?
I believe the most important for me is that every my toy is carrying a little piece of my soul. They are like my children :) Every single one is unique, and I can't make the same one. I can try to make one more toy pretty much similar, but it won't be the same. It's very exciting to see how little creatures are "born" of a soft and warm lamb wool. I hope people can feel the love I've put into my felted toys :)

-Do you take custom orders?
Sure, I do custom orders.Customers can order something special in my store. For example, I can make a felted doll that will be looking like a person or will be carrying the person's features. I simply need a picture and maybe a couple facts about the person. For example, I made Bull-Man toy for my dad  who loves bathing and smoking a pipe. Also, he was born in the year of the Bull by Chinese horoscope.

Or there is another example. The Nick elephant was made for a girl who likes swimming,elephants and purple color :)

Well... It's always interesting to meet a person behind a cute online shop, even though it's a virtual meeting. I was excited to read and share Vlada's story. And I'd like to welcome everyone to visit her kingdom of felted toys VladaHom. Let's dive again into childhood where all those creatures live :)