My Bicycle rugs in the making

I have just received these pictures from Paul Vowles of WovenGround. He has been at the factory in India where my first Bicycle rugs (from my Bikes of Hackney collection) are being made - in time for us to launch them to our trade buyers next week, at HOME London, Earls Court, 12-14th January.

The above image is from the back of the cloth as the bicycle begins to take shape.
 
These pictures give you an idea of how they stretch the cloth over a frame, with the design printed on as a guide for the craftsmen. They then hand tuft the different colours of wool into the cloth, following the background template of colours. It's like painting in numbers, which I always loved doing as a child! 

This is what it looks like once they have finished tufting, but before the surface is trimmed off so that it is all even, and soft to touch. 

Voila! Now it can be removed from the frame and be backed and finished!

I have not yet visited the artisans myself, but I hope to do it this year, so I can learn and share even more about what is involved in making these beautiful products. Once HOME London has ended I'll post more pictures of the finished rugs. 

In the meantime, have a wonderful first week of January and remember to set your goals high and enjoy the ride wherever it takes you this year.

Love,
Ella

Ella Doran stand at Maison September 2013

Here are a few pictures of my exhibition at trade show Maison et Objet in Paris - last week.

Vintage Bicycle rug produced by WovenGround - I have designed 2 rugs for this season to complement my Bikes of Hackney range of products 

Bikes of Hackney Collection

 

Camera: After Lichtenstein. 2013 Ella Doran.

 

'Camera Lenses' coasters available at the end of September in our online shop!

 

Screen printed 'Cameras Stack' cushion 100% cotton 45x45cm

The walk way past our stand @ Maison

The 'Portables' and 'Sevens' collections had a wonderful setting on the Ary Trays stand - the tables and stools will be available to order from our online shop by the beginning of October.

As always it was good to meet new and familiar faces - thank you to everyone who visited us!

Very best,

Ella

Rugs Competition

I was invited to judge on this years Good Weave Student competition, with Katrina Burroughs known best for her 'How to Spend it' for the FT and Roger Oates, Paul Vowles from Woven Ground and Lucy and David from Jacaranda carpets. 

GoodWeave UK runs the annual Student Rug Design Competition to

encourage young designers to consider the importance of ethical

manufacture from the very start of their careers, highlighting GoodWeave’s work to end exploitative child labour in the rug industry. This year’s competition was co-sponsored by Jacaranda Carpets and WovenGround.

Paul and Roger deliberating.......

Working to a brief set by Roger Oates, students were asked to interpret fashion in order to design an elegant rug with a luxury feel. Charlotte took inspiration from the techniques used by Jonathan Saunders in his Ombré Collection and her research into colour blending, starling murmurations and reflections of sunlight on water led to her final design.

The  Competition has been won by Charlotte Wildsmith, a second year Textile Design student at De Montfort University, with her striking design below:

Charlotte’s design wooed us all!

I particularly was drawn to the colour range of Charlotte’s design as I found it striking, original and at the same time unusual. I can see it working in multiple settings with its eclectic colour and I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it translates into a rug!

Here are some other pieces which stood out for me from the student's work.....

I particularly loved this print below, which was in the student's back up material, and was not her final design. I loved this and would frame it and have it on my wall!  Sometimes it is about knowing when to stop with a design ... in this case less is more.

an example below of the type of boards and back up work that we received....

This was a strong contender - one can really imagine this as a completed  rug

Lucy and David checking the names of our shortlist.....

I loved this design which was again a lead up design to the final  piece, which in my view was stronger, I would love to see these subtle rainbow colours on grey, like oil on water....

Congratulations to all the entrants - and if you are a student reading this, be sure to check Good Weaves website for their next competition!