Meet Maria | Transformative Felted Angels & Handcraft | MariaElena Studio
Handmade companions that carry what we cannot say, hold what we cannot lose.
I’m MariaElena, and I create from my handcraft studio in Koolwijk, North Brabant, where felted angels, natural ornaments, and meaningful keepsakes emerge from wool, wood, and quiet intention.
My journey with handcraft began at Europe’s oldest handcraft university, uniwersytet ludowy rzemiosla ARTYSTYCZNEGO nestled in the Polish mountains – my father’s homeland – where I learned to work with my hands across materials, traditions, and techniques. My mother is Argentinian, and this blend of European craftsmanship and Latin warmth shapes how I work: precise yet passionate, traditional yet intuitive.
For years, I trained in traditional European craftsmanship: the kind passed down through generations, where you learn not just how to work with materials, but how to listen to them. Wood carving, textile work, ceramics, metalwork, natural dyeing. Each discipline taught me that craft isn’t about forcing your will onto material. It’s about discovering what wants to emerge.
My craft training aligns naturally with Waldorf and anthroposophical philosophy. Working with undyed natural wool, allowing each angel’s personality to emerge through meditative creation, honoring the spiritual dimension of handwork. I’m a trained artisan who still explores all these materials. Some seasons call for carved wooden ornaments. Others for hand-dyed textiles or ceramic pieces. I follow what the materials tell me, what the moment needs. But it wasn’t until May 2025, after losing my daughter Saoirse, that needle felted angels became the heart of MariaElena’s work.
Creating these small guardians helps me feel her presence. She’s my little selkie, here with me while I work. What began as my own grief processing has grown into something bigger: helping others carry love forward when loss feels impossible. Every angel I create holds a piece of that understanding. Grief isn’t something to fix or finish, but something to carry with gentleness.
Like the waves that call the selkies home, grief comes in tides. Some days the waters are calm. Other days they crash without warning. These little wool guardians are anchors. Something soft to hold when the waves rise, something that remembers when words fail. They don’t take the pain away. They just make it less lonely.
Read the story of my Daughter at saoirse.online
The Language of Wool at MariaElena
Of all the materials I work with, wool speaks differently. The textures, the softness, the way it transforms under your hands: it’s meditative, intentional, therapeutic. Every needle poke is a prayer. Every color choice is feeling. The repetitive motion becomes a rhythm that quiets everything else. And somehow, these little beings emerge with their own personalities, choosing the people they’re meant to protect.
I don’t like to repeat what I’m doing. Every handmade felted angel is different. They tell me what they want to be. One needs golden wings, another insists on purple robes, another wants to hold a tiny tree or heart. Some stand tall and protective. Others curl inward, offering quiet comfort. Some are vibrant and bold: guardians of joy and resilience. Others are soft and contemplative: keepers of memories and gentle grief.
They pick the personality of the person they belong to. They become guardians of certain things. In that way, they’re deeply personal. I’ve learned to trust this process. When an angel feels finished, she’s finished. When she chooses specific colors or symbols, those aren’t random. They’re meant for someone specific, even if I don’t know who yet.
Creating at MariaElena
From my studio in the Netherlands, each MariaElena creation is unique, intentional, and made to carry meaning through life’s most tender moments. Some angels find their people immediately. Others wait patiently on my shelves until the right person recognizes them. And sometimes, someone reaches out with a story: a loss, a hope, a memory they need held. Then I create a custom guardian specifically for them.
Whether you find a ready-made angel who chose you, or we work together to create one that holds your specific story, each piece leaves the MariaElena studio carrying intention. These aren’t decorations. They’re companions. Witnesses. Soft places to rest your heart when it’s too heavy to carry alone.