My rugs are made from 100% wool. I dye my wool by hand, and I specialize in natural dyes.
I trained as an Industrial Designer so there is a blend of technology and hand crafted in almost everything I do. I design my rugs using Photoshop on my computer, often using an image of a plant as a starting point. My studio surrounds me in a palette of wool, these colours are also my inspiration
The process of making a rug is a perfect blend of yin and yang. I dye the wool in 3kg batches at a time. Depending on the colour I am trying to achieve, I may use a natural or a synthetic dye. I have found the combination of the softness of natural dyes and the range of colours available in synthetic dyes provides a perfect palette. The wool is rinsed and dried and wound into balls.
The piece is fully designed before I begin to make it.
I stretch a canvass onto a verticle frame, and draw my design onto it.
When I am ready to make the piece I use my hand-tufting gun, which operates on air and electricity. It is like painting with wool, only it requires me to wear ear protection and climb up onto a scaffold. This is the yang part of the process, but I like it. It is time for me and my music and my colours and my own thoughts. A lot of my energy goes into each piece.
The rug is then backed by hand and ready for use.
I do have some off the shelf pieces that I make to order, but often a rug is the final element in the space, so a commissioned rug is what can pull a space together.