Photography: Yiannis Katsaris & Yeshen Venema

From her home in Rutland, textile designer Bonnie Kirkwood is showing me her newly launched collection of beautifully crafted, colourful woven throws and cushions. Her products are all made from pure wool, with this latest collection using a Yorkshire lambswool and a Donegal yarn that she says adds a little fleck to the design. She took time sourcing the materials, including cushion pads from a family-run business in Suffolk, and experimenting with different wools and patterns.

In fact, meeting Bonnie is an education into what goes into creating her textiles, which are all designed on her hand loom. From initial concept to finished product, there are many skills and processes involved. Bonnie’s keen eye for detail and focus on quality means that everything, from selecting the yarns and the colours to the weaving and finishing of the products, is done with a commitment to craftsmanship, UK sourcing and minimal waste.

Inspiration

‘It took a lot of tests to get all the colours right, the weave structure and colour combinations,’ says Bonnie of her new range, which was inspired by the artist Sonia Delaunay. ‘I saw her exhibition at Tate Modern. They are inspired by her use of colour and pattern.’

Bonnie finds inspiration all around her, and this particular weave was also influenced by trips to the beach. ‘I was initially inspired by the patterns on the sand, where the waves leave a ripple effect. I wanted to explore this weave structure, and it reminded me of those patterns from our holidays.’

Investment Pieces, Designed to Last

These are high-quality products, designed to last. They are certainly beautiful and soft, and the two colourways – a blue peacock and a vibrant multi-colour with fuchsia – add warmth and cheer to any grey autumn day. ‘They are an investment,’ says Bonnie, ‘and I hope that with all of the details, storage bags and boxes we include, people will look after them and store them away over summer if they don’t want to have them out. I’d hope they would be kept and passed down to the next generation. It is very much not a throwaway product.’

Greenwich Collection

This new Greenwich Collection is so-called because Bonnie originally designed it when living in that part of London. However, she grew up in our local area, living in Witham on the Hill and attending Stamford High School. After moving away to study, gaining a Masters from the Royal College of Art, then working for the likes of Designers Guild and Paul Smith, she set up her own studio in Greenwich, designing fabrics for different brands and textile mills.

The collection is an exciting new venture for Bonnie, allowing her to put her own name into the world after designing textiles for clothing, homewares and even packaging for perfumes, for other high-profile design houses. ‘I’ve always designed for other people,’ she says. ‘I’ve taken the opportunity with having the children to use this time to develop my own brand and put my own name on it.

‘It is hard, as you are competing against brands who are mass producing in other countries. I don’t want to do that, I want to keep it in the UK and I want to keep it to a limited run, as I don’t want to have waste,’ explains Bonnie.

Bonnie Kirkwood cushions and throws / Photos: Yeshen Venema

Rutland Life

Bonnie has now moved back to the local area, working from her home in Empingham, around raising her two young children. ‘We really wanted to get some space out of the pollution, the noise and the busyness… We looked around the whole of the UK trying to find somewhere we wanted to live. Nothing was really sticking when we were visiting those places, but we were coming up here to see my parents and we loved being close to Rutland Water… We explored lots of different villages, but decided we really like it here.’

It has become a homegrown, family affair, with Bonnie’s mum, Janet, herself a designer-maker, sewing all the cushions, dust bags and labels. Bonnie hopes to find local stockists for her products and expand her range to include woven scarves and rugs. ‘I’ve also got some woven art pieces that I’m developing at the moment, which I’ll get framed.’

Now that Bonnie is happily settled in the area, I wonder if there might be a ‘Rutland Collection’ in the near future. ‘I think so,’ says Bonnie. Watch this space.

studio@bonniekirkwood.com | 07813 666907
www.bonniekirkwood.com | @bonnie_kirkwood