09/06/2026
We have been so thrilled to have received so much enthusiasm and joy in response to our River Map Tapestry.
It’s been such a busy turnaround to piece it all together, and I just thought I would highlight a few really wonderful moments in the design process-
1. The sense that this evolving piece has its own story, through the hands of the makers and the teamwork, the push and pull of ideas and the changes in course, we had an idea of what we wanted to make, and through the ideas that came and went we ended up here.
2. Colour - having ordered digitised acetates (screen print designs) we always intended the printed illustrations to be a deep khol, but sitting together in our studio hand cutting little stencils so that areas of colour could punctuate the prints, really added that extra connection between tufting, yarn colours and the print subjects.
3. The support of team, always popping in with words of advice and encouragement, suggestions for this or that, and always taking in those differing points of view that make working in a collective space even more nourishing!
4. Seeing how far we pushed from the initial rough layout drawing on the hessian, to communicating with each other from one side of the tapestry to the other to place the final details in with the tufting, watching the soft colours evolve as Ellie skilfully placed layer on layer of yarns.
5. Thanks to .ondine and we both feel that alongside the stories we collected from the river, there is hope for a cleaner and more biodiverse river, as long as we engage in small actions, allow people with knowledge and skill to come and section by section, return the watersides and waterways to a more natural and healthy state.
