Olivia’s Story: Tufting For Connection

Tufting is repetivite. The repetitive creation of tufted loops between textile materials makes me feel connected. 

Taking me out of my robotic state, tufting enables me to experience meditative accomplishments in enjoying the present moment whilst creating a beautiful design,

Sporadically experiencing DPDR for over 6 years, tufting was an art that I came across by chance during lockdown. Dissociating, as I am sure many of you can relate to, makes you feel like you don't exist. At times, you almost feel as though you are a robot, in a grey void or stuck in an otherworldly state of being. 

Despite this being overwhelming for many at times, it is reassuring to accept that it is just a temporary state and that there are certain activities you can try to help reduce your dissociative tendencies. Tufting was the activity that helped me to achieve this, and one I believe will help you too!

Using a punch needle and yarn to tuft and loop a textile design is a repetitive process that helped calm me down and solely zone in and focus on one activity which immediately snapped me back to reality and the present moment. It is an activity that helps me forget any other nagging thoughts or overbearing doubts of anxiety, so much so that it inspired me to begin creating my own tufted products such as pillows, bags, and keyrings, leading me to create my own business.

Tufting became a creative business outlet for me, and one which I wanted to expand in order to help others, which led me to begin regular and collaborative workshops to help teach others how to tuft and dedicate creative time to relax. Not only do the workshops create a beautiful sense of community but it has slowly developed into a safe space for all attendees and is a space that I love to create and implement new ideas into to help give as much positive creative freedom as possible.