Skip to content
Hey there! I’m Vaiva Nat, the creative mastermind behind Wool Cocoon. I handle everything here, from top to bottom, and that includes reaching out to buyers like you. Let me tell you, your support for my small business fills my heart with joy! Since 2004, I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into crafting handmade goodies in my workshop located in the EU.
With a passion for sleek and modern designs, I create pieces that are all about simplicity and contemporary beauty. Here at Wool Cocoon, my main goals revolve around responsible craftsmanship, using natural materials that are eco-certified, and ensuring unwavering dedication to top-notch quality. I firmly believe in creating products that not only dazzle your eyes but also adhere to high ethical and environmental standards. Every single piece is designed with functionality and minimalism in mind, so you can enjoy both its beauty and practicality in your everyday life. As a lone creator, I pour my heart and soul into each and every item I lovingly make.
If you ever have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out, I’m here 🙂
Curious to read more about my story? Keep scrolling — I’ve shared the full interview below.
I Am Creation: The Story Behind Wool Cocoon
A few years ago, a Lithuanian magazine called Sekundė sat down with me for an interview. They asked about my work, my life, and how a graphic designer from Panevėžys ended up spending her days felting wool by hand. Revisiting that conversation now, I wanted to share a bit of that story here — for anyone curious about the person behind Wool Cocoon.
From graphic design to wool
I trained as a graphic designer, part of the very first graduating class of graphic designers in Lithuania. When I started my studies, I remember being told I’d have to work on a computer — and I panicked. Computers still felt foreign and intimidating back then. Funny enough, today I can’t imagine working without one.
Wool found me almost by accident. There was no grand plan, no five-year business strategy — just a material that felt right in my hands in a way nothing else had. I started small, felting flowers and jewelry when that kind of accessory was everywhere. Tastes changed, minimalism came into fashion, and my work changed with it. These days I make cat beds, hats, bags, mats and lamp shades — pieces meant to be lived with, not just looked at.
A new beginning in an old hometown
Life doesn’t always move in a straight line. After a difficult divorce, I found myself raising two children on my own. I tried city life in Vilnius, then spent a couple of years abroad in Ireland, selling my wool pieces at an artists’ market and discovering, to my surprise, how much people abroad valued handmade work. Eventually, though, I came home to Panevėžys — and realised nothing suited me better. It’s a comfortable, honest, unpretentious place to live and to create.
I share this part of my story because I know I’m not the only woman who has had to rebuild after a hard chapter. If anything I’ve done shows that a difficult turn in life isn’t the end of the road, but sometimes the beginning of a better one, then I’m glad to have shared it.
Why minimalism, practicality, and natural materials
Almost two decades into this craft, I know exactly what I don’t want to make: anything overly frilly, anything trying too hard. What I do want is simple — pieces that are minimalist, practical, and made from natural materials. Wool, felted the traditional way with soap, water and hands, no shortcuts.
It’s slow, physical work. Felting is hard on the hands, which is part of why every piece takes real time and care to make. But I’ve noticed something over the years: more and more people are looking for exactly that. There’s a growing appreciation for natural materials over synthetic ones, for things made to last rather than made to be replaced. I’d always rather have one well-made wool piece than ten synthetic ones — and I think a lot of my customers feel the same way.
Still creating, always curious
Running Wool Cocoon means wearing every hat myself — felting, photographing, answering emails, even the bookkeeping I admittedly don’t enjoy. But the creative part never gets old. I’m still, at heart, an ideas person.
At the end of the day, I suppose the interview title said it best: I am creation. I’m not sure I could imagine doing anything else.
Photos by P. Židonis.