Elisa Shine

When I came to live in the mountains... it was cold and I needed a hat! I have never been a toque person, no way! I knew that I wanted a hat that was cozy, soft and looked great! I shopped around for a well made, cool hat that I could afford... nothing!!! So I made my first felted hat and I got compliments wherever I went. I made my husband a hat and the response was amazing. I began to get many requests for custom made hats.

And so the journey of Shine Designs began.....

A little about how I arrived here...
I have always loved art! I spent my early years living across the street from the Ontario Museum of Art. In my younger years I learned the technique and art of sewing from my mother who was an avid sewer. My teenage years were spent obsessing over fashion and designing my own clothes.
In 1990 I studied Fine Arts at the University of Guelph for two years before moving to Spain to learn Spanish and travel. I observed European couture while travelling and working abroad.

In 1994 I returned to Canada and settled in the beautiful mountain community of Argenta, British Columbia to build a Natural Earth Cob home, grow an organic garden, home-school our 2 children, care for 3 pet angora rabbits, and Live Life as Art with my husband, a sculptural artist.

My love of fibres and the sweet, soft, wool of the english angora rabbit led to an exploration of wet and dry felting. Incorporating the things that I love in life, with wearable art, became my passion. My current work is hand-felted and constructed from merino, english angora wool, and silk.

~live life with passion and shine your light~