I’ve mostly shied away from sharing much of myself or anything from my personal life when it came to my work, always hiding behind a brand name and colourful designs so when I was asked to take part in the documentary it felt like a very big, slightly terrifying step! I worried about a lot of things that I’d never really thought about before, how I sounded, how I looked and if I'd be able to talk about my craft practice in a way that would be succinct and meaningful. My hope was that my work and the values of my business would come across in an honest and thoughtful manner, something I think has been achieved perfectly.
Working with Danny, Guy, Kate and Jack has been great. They were open to any ideas I had before and during the filming and were happy to listen to my rambling tangents about wool, sheep and weaving! I think the documentary is important in that it gives an insight into a side of the modern makers practice which is usually reserved for those involved in the making process. It brings a layer of context to the designs and connects them to the landscapes they’ve been created in.
My practice has become a hybrid of handcrafted artworks, functional interior pieces, workshops, commissions and consulting. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to share how these many different aspects of one makers craft practice can come together to work as a self-sustaining business. It was refreshing to be able to talk about the lows as well as the highs of Arra Textiles and to show that it’s not always quite as idyllic as social media portrays. Saying that, maybe it’s not so bad to show the face behind the fabric every now and then!
Stream the documentary here, I'd love to know what you think!
If you would like to see more from We Are Makers they have a beautiful publication which goes with the documentary series. You can save 10% on ordering any of the editions by using the referral code MACDONALD48 at this link here.
Comments