Kate Brewer, founder of Look Like Love, profiles a different new designer every week. With the tagline “support, nurture, promote” echoing confessions of a design geek’s own “discover, champion and inspire” and a similar commitment to advocating for emerging talent, the parallels between Look Like Love and confessions of a design geek are clear. Watch out for her features every Thursday afternoon. This week’s designer? The award-winning Rowenna Mason.
Rowenna Mason, a weaver based at small business incubator Cockpit Arts in Deptford, has combined her love of the ancient craft with urban inspired designs, using British wool as her starting point. And she’s not alone in finding inspiration in Britain’s craft heritage – many of today’s craftspeople and designer-makers are reacting against today’s fast-paced lifestyles and digital overwhelm and going back to techniques and processes that existed before technology took over our lives.
Hand-weaving has a level of intricacy, softness and detail that are visible in the final product – these things are often lost with other processes.With weaving, the layers of texture add to the finished piece, and this is something that Rowenna focuses on with her geometric patterns and structures. She juxtaposes these traditional techniques with contemporary designs inspired by London’s urban backdrop, resulting in a series of vibrant, and monochrome designs. “I take a fluid and distinctive approach to weaving, pushing the boundaries of the craft to create bold patterns,” she says. “The varying tones of yarn accentuate three-dimensional patterns, which reflect the urban architecture.”
Having been selected for the Laura Ashley Family Foundation Scholarship, Rowenna completed her MA in Textile Design last year at Chelsea College of Art. Since then she has been kept pretty busy just collecting awards – including a commendation in the British Wool category at Bradford Textiles Society Competition, the Textile Environmental Design Award for Sustainable Design and Craftsmanship and a Clothworkers’ Foundation Award from Cockpit Arts.
The Cockpits Arts award included a light, airy studio space with looms available, enabling Rowenna to expand her portfolio further. It has also given her the confidence to set up a business based on her passion for weaving. Gaining full creative control was important, so she could push the boundaries of innovation when it comes to weaving, and experiment with the variety of elements at her disposal from inspiration to sustainability. “Craft is a varied spectrum of making and I want to celebrate different elements of this, both the traditional and the contemporary…” she says.
With the emergence of a new conscientious consumer, the timing for Rowenna’s latest collection couldn’t be better. She sells her work based on the story-telling, craft, locally sourced materials and innovative techniques inherent in her products – something which has become more and more important to a new wave of customers who want something a little bit special, and really value handmade objects, skilled craftsmanship and artisan makers.
To find out more about Rowenna Mason, and to purchase pieces from her collection visit Look Like Love.
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- look like love :: emma buckley
- look like love :: michael carroll
- look like love :: eva radulova
- look like love :: kate colin
