I was very disappointed to miss the ‘Crafted: Makers of the Exceptional’ exhibition at Somerset House in London last weekend. This elegant and airy building is the perfect venue to showcase the work of such brilliantly talented British artisans and designer/makers, and I had been particularly pleased to see that the selection this year included textile designer Margo Selby, who we wrote about previously here.
I had, however, been lucky enough to see her new range of textiles – the ‘Tribal’ collection – at a show in January – in fact it was impossible to miss the stunning display of metres of these gorgeous, colourful fabrics which celebrate woven textiles from around the world and take inspiration from a combination of African tribal patterns and Japanese dyeing techniques.
Margo Selby’s work is all about colour, pattern and, above all, texture. She’s famous for her pioneering and innovative techniques that introduce a 3D quality to her work, and from the very start of her career has worked with manufacturers and embraced new technologies and materials in order to constantly push the boundaries of weaving techniques and processes.
The new ‘Tribal’ collection has all of her trademark exuberance, and includes some striking geometric and monochrome designs alongside the vibrant colour combinations for which she’s so well known.
The ‘Tribal’ collection is available as ready made home accessories such as cushions and lampshade, and also fabric by the metre. The range of 13 fabrics is suitable for curtains, blinds and general soft furnishing applications. The website says:
“By using heat-shrink acrylic combined with cotton we have achieved non-stretch, wider width fabric which retains our trade-mark 3-dimensional qualities. The ‘Tribal’ collection can be woven by commission in contract weights for the hotel industry or other contract applications.”
I love the whole collection but I think particular favourites, which are very different in character, would have to be the ‘Chester’ fabric above in this beautifully muted and elegant combination of turquoise, grey, purple and cream, and ‘Dogstar’ below, with its riot of bright pink, orange, turquoise and lime contrasting with the blocks of black.
Vist www.margoselby.com to see the entire collection, for more information and to shop online.
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