Heidi Leugers is an artist who was way ahead of the times. She decided to have a zero waste business in 1998. But perhaps, once you have taken the leap from finance to graduate school in Renaissance portraiture, recycling wool is not so extraordinary!

Heidi moved from the northeast to the northwest around the time that I was president of Columbia Fiberarts Guild. I remember her first visit when she stood and told us about her zero waste work. I did not realize how devoted she was to this ethos until I saw her work on display and she had visuals to show what she does. You can see the felted ball with the opening in the photo above. It is filled with the scraps from that result when she is cutting up the felt to make her designs.

Here is her manifesto:

Here is some more of her work. She recycles hundreds of pounds of post-consumer goods every year. She also works with virgin wool.

Pin cushions:

A kit for making a floppy trivet.

Tree garland made from recycled waste.

Heidi’s sheep are breed specific – not sure which one this is.

Yesterday, she was member in the spotlight and then taught a class after the meeting.

You can see more about Heidi on her website. This link will take you to a video that was done about her reclaimed wool work when she lived in the Northeast.      Reclaimed Wool

I hope you enjoyed the photos of Heidi and hearing about one of the pioneers of reclaimed wool art. She plans to open an online shop soon.