Nautilus Brooches: Wearable felt art of marine life crafted by Hiné Mizushima

Mizushima was born and raised in Japan and lived all over the world before settling in Vancouver with her family. A slow crafter, needle felter, stop-motion puppet animator and artist, her work has been used for commercials, music videos, gallery exhibitions and magazine publications.

Before she learned to needle felt, Hiné worked as an illustrator, often using cut-out coloured paper to make artworks. But in 2007, everything changed. She created an animated music video in tribute to one of her favourite rock bands, They Might Be Giants, and sent it to them. Much to her surprise, they responded and asked her to work with them on a new video for their single, With The Dark. From there, she was hired to make another video and this is when she had to make 3D characters and props – thus discovering the magic of felting wool fibres, and she never looked back.

To get your hands on one of her creations, which include prints of her work, visit her Etsy shop. Make sure you also check out her studio to see how she operates, and learn more about her process.