New Stockist: TWOFOLD CONTEMPORARY TEXTILES

Pleased to announce that an exciting new online retailer that specialises in luxurious textiles from around the world, is open and stocking my HOLD wrap; TWOFOLD. Twofold embraces dichotomies like style and substance, old and new. Striving to find products that embody these values and are beautiful, lively and strong. I am please to be in such inspiring company on the site. Have a look through the textiles treasures here:  twofoldstyle.com

COLOUR COMBINATION #1 TURQUOISE & TARMAC

Looking through my collections of pictures, to hunt for new colour combinations I have been drawn to when thinking of plans for some new warps to go onto the loom. This happy turquoise and utilitarian concrete feels calm and simple. Making plans and windings for some handweaving samples and product ideas in different weave structures and patterns. Colour always comes first though, and this is my most recent contemplation:

FEATURED

The LOVE blanket has made it's way to the USA and found its way into the delightful pages of Dwell Architecture journal. An article entitled COLOUR RIOT feels wholly appropriate for the pop of acid bright and neon items selected. The LOVE blanket is proud to be one of them, and is available to US customers through the stunning online store Lin Morris.

NEW STOCKIST in HAMBURG

I have a brand new stockist in Germany; Craft2eu Gallery is in the heart of Hanburg and pioneers contemporary craft throughout Germany and Europe. Their collection is confident, modern and not frightened of unusual materials or loud colour pallets (luckily for me). I am really excited to include Craft2eu as one of my stockists and would love to pop over and see the gallery as the ethos, presentation and carefully selected exhibits really appeal to me. You can see my work listed on their website here.

A WALK BY THE THAMES

Went for a weekend river walk to find some repeat patterns in the pavements, railings, underneath bridges and the river surface. Now need to get onto the loom with a nice sample warp and start experimenting with pattern, structure, scale and repeat. Just have an old warp on there at the moment that I need to weave off, maybe in some nice Bauhaus shapes inspired from last years Berlin trip.

TRIANGLES

..... a polygon with three corners

SPONTANEITY PLAY and INSPIRATION

January is a time to play and adjust to a new year. In my studio I am experimenting with ideas, looking at the different colours of food, sampling new patterns, using felt tip pens, designing and making 'things' some of which may become new product designs and some which will remain oddities to loiter around the studio as a reminder to play and allow time to be creative. Two motivations / inspirations for me whilst I'm playing are Alexander Calder's film Le Cirque and Spartacus Chetwynd's nomination at this years Turner Prize. Both show an inspirational amount of joy and enthusiasm, both low-tech and childlike with elements of nonsense. This method of creating for the sake or joy of creating is where I believe good ideas to be born, and if not, then a good excuse to have fun. And that is what I am doing this January. Watch Calders film to see some quite special puppeteering and kinetic performance:

A pre Christmas Mill Visit

Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to visit one of my favourite weaving enterprises; The London Cloth Company in Hackney, London's first micro-mill, for some mulled wine, weaving demonstrations and mince pies. A cross between a hidden garden shed and a wonderful space for  heritage weaving I found the visit hugely inspiring. Whilst there I was introduced to a couple of renovation projects; large, heavy pieces of loom lying in corners, waiting to be put together. These pieces are collected form all over the UK, usually around the North and Manchester, where most of the mills have now been closed. Sometimes a number of the same model of broken old loom (some dating fro as early as c1850) have to be bought in order to cut, weld, model and attach it all back together to create a new (old) functioning loom. These heavy black renovated looms from the industrial revolution are then used by The London Cloth Company to weave lengths of very high quality fabric (usually woollen tweeds) for customers in high fashion companies who value the craft and quality of traditional British cloth. It was an inspiration to visit this small mill in London and to see someone so passionate about reigniting the manufacturing industry in Britain and conserving diminishing skills and crafts.

COME TO THE CRAFT FAIR: MADE12 Brighton.

Tomorrow I'll be packing up my woven wares and setting off to Brighton for MADE12 Brighton's winter craft show at the Corn Exchange. Open from Friday to Sunday, hosted in a stunning building, organised by the loveliest of people and including a tasty coffee stop, I had so much fun last year and am looking forward to seeing all the other makers and lovely visitors. I will have my winter warms in the form of blankets, wraps, lavender scented goodies and hand woven Shetland wool cushions. I'll be on stand 28, come and say hi.

New Craftsman Gallery. St Ives

Throughout November and December the New Craftsman Gallery in St Ives, Cornwall explores ideas of the Modernist interior with an exhibition of furniture, artwork and interior objects including my LOVE blanket and HOLD wrap. Celebrating the impact of Mid Century Modern style, a significant design movement that broadly influenced architectural, interior, product, graphic and urban design throughout the 1950s and 60s , this special exhibition will showcase Modern and Contemporary pieces that reflect the era’s emphasis on function and utility, and sculptural form. The beautiful exhibition will be on from the 10th November until 12th January. 

http://www.newcraftsmanstives.com/

HOLD it!

I am happy to say that my snuggly new wrap spelling HOLD using Morse-code in its colourful graphic pattern is now ready, and can be bought via my online shop or directly from me at my stand at MADE12 in Brighton next weekend. The wrap is 220cm x 45cm + 15cm tassel and large enough to get lost in this winter. It is made from a super soft blend of lambswool, merino and cashmere. Feel free to tell Santa ;)

shop

Up at the Mill

Here's some delicious photographs of my new design being woven on the big industrial machines at the mill in Scotland. After the slow and small hand weaving on my studio loom when designing and sampling these pieces it feels very satisfying to see them being made up as a batch of work in a traditional UK mill. I look forward to adding this new wrap to my online shop next week, or if you'd like to see it in the flesh, come and visit me at MADE12 Bighton on the 22nd - 25th of this month. For now though, I am back on my hand loom making some hand woven goodies for winter and playing with new colours and designs for 2013.

Made it at MADE London

Back in the studio after a busy weekend showing my woven work at MADE London. The show was a dream, beautiful setting (Sir John Soan's One Marylebone) and impeccably organised. I launched my new piece; the HOLD wrap (see images below) and got some great feedback, the best being: "it looks like a wintery rainbow". One of the nicest things about doing these shows is the people I meet, the people who come through the door wanting to know more about how and why things are made, and all the other makers sharing tips, news, advice and sometimes chocolate! I had a great weekend and made many new friends. Now I can't wait until MADE12 Brighton on the 22-25th November, and all the people I'll see there. Must get weaving again.

The new HOLD wrap will be available to buy from my online shop soon.

HOLD Inspiration

These photographs of the bright and brave flowering mesembryanthemums, taken when I was in the stormy Shetland islands and searching for colour, were what drew me to the acid brights and dark khaki that I use in my new design for the HOLD wrap. I have been sampling and developing this new design for a year and am looking forward to having its happy colours and warm lambswool, cashmere and merino mix surrounding me in the studio this winter. The busy pattern spells HOLD in it's Morse-code design. Just what you want a winter wrap for.

I will be launching this new design at MADE London and MADE12 Brighton this year and will soon have it for sale in my online shop. 

MADE London 26th October.

Full steam ahead! It's exactly two weeks until the opening and Private view of MADE London Craft and Design show on the 26th October. So much making to do still! I'm weaving some new British wool cushions, and will also be launching a new design; the HOLD wrap. The show will be held at the spectacular Sir John Soan's former church One Marylebone and will host a series of talks by makers and a yummy cafe. I'll be at stand 62 so come and say hello and stroke my weaving!

For 2 for 1 tickets to the show click here.

DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT (hi)

I have recently embarked on a new collection of Morse-code paraphernalia. I am a collector now, and I hope some of what I collect has a secret history, I love objects that have a story of their own that can be debated but not known. As I use Morse-code in my woven textiles, I thought I should learn a little more about it. A Bakelite tapping device was my first purchase. I love it because it has the Morse-code alphabet embossed onto the machine, so you can clearly spell out your messages. My second purchase is this Morse-code manual, which is one of the most complicated books I've ever seen! Trying to learn about radio signalling, the forces and brigades that used it and the lives it may have saved. 

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2012

The London Design Festival is over for another year. The Pop Up by Today's Specials hosted at Chest of Drawers on Upper St, was a beautiful thing! Part of the Icon Design Trail of 2012, the shop launched its stunning collection of sustainable furniture and the Pop Up was packed with illustrated china, lasered art work, functional wooden tools and chirpy bird houses. Oh, and my LOVE blanket. This years LDF was a fun packed one, with the launch of Fixperts at 100% Design, along with inspiring lectures by the V&A, Daniel Charny and James Carrigan (from Sugru) all about the art, history and value of fixing things and problem solving in design. I also met a sprinkling of inspiring weavers at 100% Design and Tent London, gave a bit of loom love and got geeky with makers.

Autumn / Winter inspirations book.

There's a beautiful little shop in the Lake District called The Shop Floor Project who sell my Morse-code LOVE blanket and many more beautifully made objects, accessories and artwork. They've just published an Autumn/Winter inspirations book with the stories behind many of the products they stock and artists they nurture, as well as a feature called 'A Nation of Weavers' featuring images of my Morse-code explorations. You can get the book here, and see below for the page on my woven messages.

Summers adventures come to an end.

I have used this summer to further my woven horizons. Firstly in Northern Ireland, then followed trips to Scotland, Devon and around my home town of London. In Devon I was lucky enough to find some weavers to spy on and looms to ogle. Learning about machinery, historic techniques and traditional UK manufacturing. All giving me ideas for further collaborative projects and leading me in new directions.

Using this injection of fresh woven research, I am starting this Autumn by weaving new designs to take to shows and exhibitions (see here for details) and spending as much time as possible on the new addition to my studio; my 24 shaft, Swiss ARM loom!

London Design Festival POP UP SHOP

This London Design Festival I will be taking part in a special Pop Up Shop run by Today's Specials, a retail and pop up project supporting British brands. The pop up will be hosted at Chest of Drawers in Islington and will run from 14th - 23rd September. Not so Private View on Friday 21st September. Come along to see the range of work from British designer makers, browse the micro book shop and view Chest of Drawers' new bespoke furniture project. 

THREE SHUTTLES

I really enjoy the tools I use to make my work, especially shuttles, to which I become very emotionally attached (as I wrote about is issue ten of Oh Comely magazine). I'm making and collecting hand drawings of tools used in hand making, for an online gallery and potential small show. Here's some from this weekend.

EPPIE's PATCHWORK

My sister came down to stay with me in London last weekend and brought with her a big textiles project. She's determined to make a very big and quite complicated star shaped patchwork quilt for her home, and wanted me to help her to make the plans and a sample quilt for her to work from. 

We dug out pink and white fabrics from the scraps bag and started cutting out diamond shapes, playing with how to stitch them together to get the perfect seam and finish. We did this in rows and then sewed the rows together to make eighths of the star, then quarters, halves and then the full shape. 

All this in a day and a half, with a trip to Franks cafe in Peckham and to Brockley farmers market for ice cream when we needed a break. A perfect weekend and a success too. Can't wait to see the finished quilt (and no doubt get roped into a bit more sewing for that too:)