Christine Brimer’s passion is to weave with naturally coloured wool from New Zealand sheep, producing beautiful textiles inspired by Aotearoa’s light and landscape. Working and teaching from her Niche Textile Studio, overlooking Wellington’s south coast, her continuing exploration of materiality and processes is underpinned by sustainable design considerations and grounded in the natural environment.
Growing up on a South Wairarapa farmlet, Hana Brough of Bloom Fibre has always been surrounded by wool and wool craft. “Keeping sheep meant a vast supply of our own wool. Even if it was slow, making useful things from scratch was incredibly rewarding especially when the materials were homegrown. I made the leap into hand weaving a few years ago as the next big adventure with fibre and haven’t looked back.”
Cane weaver Sandy Jameson of Almond Seed Handmade tells us her maker journey feels like two bookends at times. “I began weaving as a young Christchurch city girl, and after a long but richly filled break I’ve picked up the cane again as a wise (ha!) rural Aucklander.” Sandy attends her local Pollok Market every month (COVID permitting), and says it’s really cool to engage with her local community and mix with the talented craftspeople and producers there.
Adrienne Mulqueen of Adrienne’s Loom has been weaving since 1979. She loved it from the moment she threw her first weft, immediately feeling she wanted to do nothing else but weave. Life has taken her in different directions over the years but it has now allowed her to return to her looms. Adrienne is passionate about producing textiles that people will enjoy using – she’d really rather you didn’t tuck her creations away for “best”!
Christchurch jeweller Lara Hopwood of Geo Jewellery makes exquisite silver jewellery that is not just inspired by our dramatic landscape but also has a very personal connection to our local environment. A mum of two and wife of one supportive husband, Lara trained in molecular biology and conducted research on viruses that cause cancer – and alongside this she has been creating in silver for over 20 years.
Sarah Jane Wilson is a textiles designer-maker creating unique hand-woven products under her label Fearlessweaver. Her unique designs are woven on a traditional countermarch floor loom in her studio in Wellington.
Adrienne Mulqueen first tried her hand at weaving in Nelson in 1979. In 2018 she is making beautiful kitchen and hand towels for everyday use, the result of a collaboration with fellow Dunedin weaver Christine Keller.
Heads up Christchurch yarnsters! Midwinter Woolfeast is here again, this Saturday – your opportunity to buy from some of New Zealand’s most talented fibre artists and indie yarn dyers…
Wrapt Weaving has some absolutely beautiful new scarves listed this week, handwoven in luxurious alpaca fibre, silky soft with beautiful drape.
The art and science of Souly Fibre
An ad in a shop window was the first step in a new creative direction for Colleen Jamieson. In her hilltop cottage in the rural Northland district of Kaipara, she now weaves flax into beautiful kete, household items and traditional clothing, a selection of which can be found in her Felt shop, Souly Fibre.