Artist, Shepherd & Needle Felting Educator
I’m Teresa Perleberg, founder of Bear Creek Felting, a needle felting sculpture artist, shepherd, and educator in Fort Ransom, North Dakota.
Wool has been at the center of my life since 2006. I raise my own flock of sheep, work hands-on with their wool, create needle felted sculptures, design kits and courses, and teach others through the Bear Creek Needle Felting Academy, classes, and in-person retreats.
I didn’t grow up thinking of myself as an artist. Needle felting changed that. What began with sheep and a curiosity about wool became a creative life and a business built around helping other people discover what they can make with their own hands.
Sheep, wool, dyeing, carding, teaching, and making things from the ground up aren’t separate parts of my work. They are all connected—and that connection is at the heart of Bear Creek Felting.
From Wool Curiosity to Bear Creek Felting
My journey into fiber arts began in an unexpected way. My daughter Libbie and I had just learned how to knit when, for her birthday, she asked for a lamb.
We purchased Romney lambs from a woman who also happened to do needle felting. She invited us to join her spinning guild, and that opened the door to an entirely new world of fiber arts. I became fascinated by wool—how it could be washed, dyed, spun, felted, and transformed into something completely different.
Needle felting especially captured my attention. I began felting in 2006 and soon discovered an artistic side of myself I hadn’t known was there.
In 2008, I opened Bear Creek Felting as a small Etsy shop. What began with a few sheep, curiosity about wool, and a new creative passion gradually grew into a full-time business centered around needle felting, teaching, and the wool from our own flock.
Features & Recognition
Over the years, my work and Bear Creek Felting have been featured in a variety of publications and media, including North Dakota Living, Better Homes and Gardens, The Furrow by John Deere, MaryJanesFarm, SHEEP! Magazine, Australia’s Homespun, The Wall Street Journal, CrossStitcher, and others.
My work has also been included in the books Artistry in Fiber: Sculpture by Anne Lee and E. Ashley Rooney and Raising Animals for Fiber by Chris McLaughlin.
I was also featured by Etsy as a Featured Shop in 2015 and in their Quit Your Day Job series in 2017.
What has always mattered most to me, though, is the work itself—the wool, the process, and creating something honest and lasting with my hands.
Bear Creek Felting Today — Fort Ransom, North Dakota
Today, Bear Creek Felting is based in Fort Ransom, North Dakota, where I have my shop, wool mill, studio, and teaching space.
My sheep are raised on our family farm, and the wool from our flock is brought into the mill where it is washed, dyed, carded, and prepared for needle felting. I oversee the process closely so the wool used in my kits, classes, Academy projects, and artwork has the consistency and quality I want.
Fort Ransom has become the creative center of Bear Creek Felting. It’s where I design new projects, work on my own needle felted art, film lessons, prepare kits and wool, welcome customers, and host in-person learning experiences.
Having the farm, the sheep, the wool, the mill, and the teaching all connected in one place brings together the parts of this work that matter most to me.
Life With Wool
My days are a mix of sheep, wool, art, teaching, and running Bear Creek Felting.
Depending on the season, I might be caring for sheep, working in the mill, dyeing or carding wool, designing a new kit, sculpting a new piece, filming an Academy course, preparing for a retreat, or helping customers in the shop.
I also enjoy knitting, weaving, watercolor painting, and exploring digital art. Much of my inspiration comes from the animals around me and the prairie landscape of North Dakota.
Why I Do This
Needle felting is more than a creative outlet for me. It keeps me connected to the sheep, the land, and the process of making something meaningful by hand.
I love that wool starts as such a simple material and can become something full of shape, character, and personality. I also love seeing that same discovery happen for other people—especially those who never thought of themselves as creative.
Through my artwork, kits, teaching, and retreats, I want to help people experience that sense of possibility for themselves.
If you’re here because you’re curious, looking for a new creative outlet, or simply drawn to working with wool, welcome.
Explore Bear Creek Felting
- Needle Felted Art — See my finished sculptures and available artwork.
- Needle Felting Kits & Supplies — Shop kits, wool, needles, tools, and felting supplies.
- Bear Creek Needle Felting Academy — Learn with me online through courses, projects, and our felting community.
- Wool for Needle Felting — Explore wool from our flock, prepared specifically for needle felting.
- Retreats & Classes — Learn with me in person at upcoming retreats and classes.
- Bear Creek Felting Blog — Read about needle felting, wool, sheep, farm life, and what’s happening at Bear Creek.
Needle felting is more than a creative outlet for me—it’s a way to stay connected to my heritage, my flock, and the land I love. I come from generations of farmers and ranchers, and working with sheep and wool feels like a continuation of that story. Every piece I create carries something of the prairie, the animals I’ve cared for, and the life my family has built on this land.