TALENT SPOT
Showcasing her debut collection at this year’s Decorex show, weaver Camilla Thomas creates beautiful hand-woven soft textiles inspired by the spectacular scenery of the North Wales coast. A collection of merino wool throws and cushions, Tidal Sands seeks to capture the magical, multisensory experience of Camilla’s favourite place, Anglesey, from ‘the evocative light, rippling off the waves and shapes of the landscape, to the palette of soft sea blues and stony greys studded with the dark orange of the crab dotted pebble coastline,’ she says. ‘Even in winter I could watch the sea and the sky for hours. It can be really dark and dramatic, especially in a storm, and we can just hear the lighthouse bell tolling above the roar of the wind. I’ve been visiting since I was a child and now we have a family holiday home there.’
While the pieces are creative expressions of a single moment, the technique itself took longer to discover, as it was only in her forties that Camilla first sampled hand-weaving, during a textiles degree at Manchester Metropolitan university.
‘The realisation that I was making a fabric from just yarn and a loom was intoxicating and I was hooked from then on.’ Passionate about the heritage behind the craft, Camilla uses the traditional process and chooses high quality, natural fibres, such as merino wool, so that the pieces can be cherished for generations. (camillathomastextiles.com).