The work of the very talented Louise Cottey.

In her own words:

My textiles reflect my love of the landscape; the colours, textures and patterns that I see around me, all influence my work. I grew up in on the outskirts of a village in mid Somerset, a place where generations of my family have lived and worked, so it’s not surprising the land features strongly in my textiles. Each piece tends to have a narrative; they speak about their inspiration, how they were made and from what. While I create collections of scarves, wraps and throws, each piece is unique with its own story to tell.

I draw heavily from the tradition of the craft of weaving. I am primarily a hand weaver; I wind the warp, thread the heddles, throw the shuttle and full the fabric. It is a very labour intensive process, but it connects me to the feel of my fabric as it grows. It feels very sculptural as I work out exactly how I want the weft to cross the warp.

The yarn I choose to work with often comes from the West Country. I am conscious of my own ‘carbon footprint’ and try to choose yarn that is sustainable and supports local businesses. Happily, I have a wonderful variety of wools, alpaca and hemp to choose from, by using local mills and farms. I also use second hand wool and silk. To achieve the palette of colours that I want to use, I dye my own yarn using synthetic dyes. My training as a weaver has taught me how to use the minimum of chemicals to create the colour I want.