March saw The Campaign for Wool organise an innovative and creative focus on the way wool can inhabit a space both public and private. This was curated by Arabella McNie assisted by Jo Bailey.As wool is natural, sustainable, inherently fire resistant and renewable it offers a timeless and enduring quality for interiors, fashion, build and craft. We have many talented and skilled people in the global textile industry and it is wonderful to see them using natural fibres in such a diversity of ways.
Although my main interest was from the point of view of hotel design, I really appreciate function and form in all the products and artefacts on display as a confirmed ‘fibre fan ‘. The real life sheep on display at the weekend had gone home but these colourful ewes provided a warm welcome.
The wow factor came into play as soon as one entered the entrance hall with Amy Somerville’s mammoth chair upholstered in wool from Mongolian Long-haired Sheep, a lovely chair to curl up in knitting to while away a wet or snowy afternoon, or provide a signature piece for a boutique hotel reception.
Outsized balls of felted yarn from Krafthaus in South Africa’s Western Cape drew the eye as did the exquisitely worked monotone sheep tapestry over the fireplace by Melissa Watts of Maud Designs.
In the corridor the stunning carpet runner was manufactured by Directory member Brintons to a design by Cristian Zuzunaga. The 100 foot runner was made especially for the event with the inspiration for the design coming from DNA and the double Helix. It was produced on Brintons High Definition looms using 33 colours to create the final result.
