LONDON DESIGN FAIR - TENT LONDON
DESIGNER INSIGHT: Carmen Machado and Rowenna Mason
Last week I attended London Design Fair at the Old Truman Brewery in East London to support Carmen Machado and Rowenna Mason from Cockpit Arts Deptford. Both designers are weavers with a focus on sustainability - Carmen's designs aimed to spread awareness about the overfishing industry, and Rowenna's to celebrate the craftmanship of British weaving heritage.
Both Carmen and Rowenna studied MA Textile Design at Chelsea College of Art, UAL where the course had a focus on creating sustainable textiles. It was here that Rowenna was awarded the Textile Environmental Design (TED) award for Sustainable Design and Craftsmanship in 2015.
Rowenna's designs are inspired by urban architecture, and she uses natural British wool to weave her brightly coloured creations into vibrant homewares such as cushions and rugs. She was also awarded the Campaign for Wool award 2015 and most recently Silver in the Etsy Awards New Talent category.
Rowenna's colourful cushions
One of Carmen's luxury beach chairs
Carmen Machado
Through her love of marine life and animal welfare, Carmen Machado creates awareness of overfishing issues by cleaning up discarded fishing equipment and waste that are a danger to marine inhabitants. By actively cleaning up beaches, she uses the found materials to create her beautiful beach chairs. Carmen has also received the Cockpit Arts Clothworkers' foundation award earlier this year and now has a studio space where she creates her inspiring designs.
Be sure to check out their websites below!