A natural, local, handmade alternative to the silver heat-reflecting sise/tallad (insoles) we have all slipped in our winter footware, turba/tallad are made of turvas (peat) and vill (wool).

The insoles resemble vilt (felt), in fact they have been made in the viltimise (felting) technique.

Their package reads: Villa ja turba/kiu/segu vilt (felt made of a mixture of wool and peat fibres). Kiud = fibres. Turba/kiud soojendab, imab niiskust, on antiseptiline > Peat fibre retains heat, absorbs moisture (imama = to absorb) and is antiseptic.

These local beauties can be purchased at the Emma Leppermann stuudio & pood in Tallinn's old town.

Emma Leppermann (www.emmaleppermann.ee) got its name from a famous variety of plum grown in Estonia for over a century.

P.S. Vilt/saapad (felt boots) known as VILDID ("felts") are a type of age-old Russian winter footware made of moulded felt.

To see modern examples go to www.valenki.ee (felt boots are valenki in Russian), while the Canadian boot company Sorel also makes felt liners.

Text and photos: Riina Kindlam, Tallinn