Needle felter

Lifelong horse enthusiast and artist Tomás Varela took the leap and transformed his wholesome hobby into a thriving felt figure business

- Bethany Stone

I’ve been drawing horses since I was a kid. No one in my family is horsey, but I’ve always loved them; always been drawing them, always wanted to learn to ride. I had a whole farm of Playmobil and Schleich horses. Probably because I didn’t have my own horse, I just did it all on my bedroom floor instead.

My hometown, Golegã, is the site of Portugal’s national horse fair. There’s a permanent sand school in the middle of town and stands for all the studs to have their horses stabled. I’ve seen Fjords and draft horses, a bit of everything, but it’s mostly a showcase of the Portuguese breeds – Lusitanos, Sorraias and Garranos too.

I did a year of anthropology at university before switching to equine science. I began studying anatomy and once I started learning how everything comes together inside the horse, my art got way better. It’s just so fascinating to see how the outside of the horse changes as everything moves inside.