Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Linardakis.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Helen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Born in Athens, Greece where I was given the name Eleni, I always knew I wanted to be an artist. Inspired by my mother’s skill with intricate embroidery, my Yia-Yia’s talents for making lace, and my grandmother’s love of crafting, my passion grew as I did. After college, I worked in the fast-paced world of advertising, while I spent every spare moment exploring every artistic medium I could get my hands on. But it wasn’t until I picked up a book on hand-stitched felt projects that the lightbulb went off that lit the path to the medium that would define me as an artist.
Over 12 years later, I continue to transform expectations of what felt can do by creating all kinds of felty goodness from hand-stitched personalized dolls to pop culture-inspired fine art pieces. I’ve turned over 170 Moo.com employees into one-of-a-kind felt dolls, my work has been featured in Slate Magazine and Creative Review, and I turned Tegan & Sara into dolls for their “Dying To Know” video.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being an artist is never a smooth road, but that is what makes it great. I live for the challenge of using such an untraditional medium. The way that I manipulate felt is like nothing else. Getting felt fabric to look like neon, or a mug or a guitar is a challenge and exciting! In addition, life has certainly thrown many challenges my way. It has given me the determination to be a full-time artist, and do what I was born to do.
We’d love to hear more about your art.
Simply, I make art out of felt and thread. I specialize in portraits of people, families, dogs, wedding couples, pop culture characters, and… well, anything you throw at me. I have a unique style that I’ve perfected over the years. And I am insanely detailed. Like, OCD detailed. I am known for confounding expectations of what can be done with felt. And I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished to date because I know there is no one else that does what I do—not at my level of expertise and detail.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My goal for the future is to be a full-time artist. A happy life for me is creating every day, all day.
Pricing:
- custom doll portrait: starts at $950
- custom child portrait: starts at $850
- custom dog portrait: starts at $750
- custom wedding portrait: starts at $1,950
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.elenicreative.com
- Email: helen@elenicreative.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenicreative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elenicreative/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/elenicreative
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