What's been happening this Spring? . . .

I realise it's been ages since I last wrote a post (naughty me!), but in my defence it's only because I have been such a busy bee!

Planning new colourways

For me this Spring has been all about the production of the new 'Regal' colourways.  The 'Regal' collection is my lightweight cotton stripe design and I've been itching to expand it for ages.  So now 'Charlemagne' and 'Francois' have been joined by 'Claude', 'Josepha', 'Lucienne', 'Antionette', 'Cecilia' and 'Agnes'.  I launched them at the Contemporary Craft Festival a couple of weeks ago and now I am working on getting them up on the website as soon as I can.  My in house photographer (Richard Foot) has been a busy bee too lately, working on lots of new films for R&A Collaborations, so pinning him down to take some product shots has been tricky.  But fear not, I shall be bribing him with biscuits next week! In fact I'm also planning a styled photoshoot of them for next weekend.  I shall be working with Ella Ruth Cowperthwaite again, who took the beautiful modelled pictures of the 'Festival' collection last year.

On show with the 'Festival' scarves at the Contemporary Craft Fair, Bovey Tracey.

But for now I'm off to London for the week, helping my Hereford students at New Designers and making sure I visit as many exhibitions as is possible while I'm down.  Once I'm back it will be the beginning of my summer production run and I shall thankfully have the assistance of some lovely interns for a couple of months.  So watch this space for some Limited Edition colourways, new gift products and an entirely new collection . . . .

Buddying Annabel Williams . . .

I was incredibly lucky last year whilst on the Crafts Councils Hothouse scheme to have the amazing weaver Laura Thomas act as my 'Buddy'.  The role involved being a general go-to person for advice and pep talks, spurring me on to push my business forward every step of the way.

This year the boot is on the other foot.  I was asked by the Crafts Council if I would act as a 'Buddy' to one of this years Hothouse intake and I'm extremely pleased to have been paired up with Annabel Williams.  A fellow weaver, Annabel designs and makes textiles for interior and commercial spaces.

Working on a 16 shaft computerised George Wood loom (which she purchased from Ptolemy Mann) she creates cloths using monofilament, light reflective yarn, lurex and silk.  Annabel tells me her work is inspired by light:

The energy of the city creates a treasure trove of light, shapes and pattern from which I draw on as inspiration. From the buzz of the morning traffic to the fading evenings and dim lit streets, these traits instil a passion for my urban environment.

Light box

A recent graduate from Bath Spa University, where she studied under the watchful eye of Stroud based weaver Tim Parry-Williams, Annabel is now based in Bristol.  Having already successfully shown her work at Tent London, she is now planning for more shows later this year.  She will have a stand at The Contemporary Craft Fair in Bovey Tracey in June (which I will also be exhibiting at) and from my prodding is currently developing a dynamic list of potential stockists to approach in the coming months.

Handwoven cushions

Since I 1st met Annabel in February she has already been making fantastic progress.  I caught up with her on the phone last week and it was great to hear her making positive evaluations for the direction of new work and she's even moved her studio (which I hope to visit in a couple of weeks time).  

So keep you eyes peeled for the work of this new emerging talent . . .