I have secured employment as an Assistant Designer at a Scottish Mill. From this experience I hope to create contemporary designs within a commercial environment. My long-term ambition is to apply this experience in Wales.

Long nights of working under the light of a lamp, and realising it might be bed time as the shipping forecast comes on. Creativity seems to flow at this hour. My finished products were finished and the hanging on my work was coming together. I’m delighted with how the throws and cushions are looking, and delighted with my small showcase of work.

It was time for me to see the fabric come alive. I was keen to visit the mill whilst the cloth was being woven, as this is a massive part of the making for me. The process of hand weaving and power loom weaving is similar in majority of aspects. The exciting part for me, is the speed of production as well as scale. Hand weaving can be limiting in speed and scale where by working with a mill these issues can be overcome. The speed of the warp and weft becoming one is just awesome! As the cloth was growing my smile was beaming, 

End of the week I visited the mill to hand over my designs for the run I was commissioning. I decided on five designs that I wanted woven. They length I was getting done will be 1.5m wide. We discussed finishing techniques and clarified that the designs were clear enough, and we finalised the colours I was after. Excited is most definitely the word of the moment. You could add anxious, but the whole process of working with the mill owner has been an eye opener.