Working together from a distance.
We met at Sheridan College in the Crafts and Design: Textiles program in 2007 and have since formed a truly unique and collaborative relationship. Meghan lives in Halifax and Rebecca in Toronto. We work over Skype and speakerphone, our conversations naturally transition from daily catch-ups to creative problem solving, deciding what and how to make something new.
Each time we decide to launch a new collection, we balance responsibilities and tasks. It starts with each of us exploring materials and themes independently and then bringing finished works to the table, where we self critique and follow our instincts, often choosing a direction based on feelings. Working through options together and sharing our ideas allows both of our voices to be heard and for us to arrive at a place where we wouldn't have without the other.
With so much distance between us, it's always a treat when we find ourselves in the other one's home, working across from each other, sitting on the floor or sinking into a sofa around a coffee table. We drink tea and watch bad tv or listen to a podcast while we play with pastels, watercolours and collage.
SILK 2021
We have loved working with wool over the last few years, and know that as a material, wool really resonated with lots of people. But part of what we do has always been about adapting, adjusting and changing how we work depending on how we feel and the state of the world. These days, we want our production to be closer to home so that we can be more physically involved in the process, and are working with a digital printer in Toronto, Canada.
This upcoming collection began as explorations on paper towels, scrap paper and old fabric, taking inspiration from the marks left by an overloaded brush.
Rebecca’s grandfather, a man who took to painting later in life, would clean his brush against fabric off-cuts and paper towels, calling them his schmatas, the yiddish word for rag, specifically associated with the garment industry. He would admire these schmatas lovingly, appreciating them for their spontaneous bursts of colour and texture, sometimes elevating these swatches into their own final works of art. This collection embraces the rough strokes, loose drips, and smudged lines and is dedicated to his process.
With this collection we’re returning to silk, a material that we used during our very first textile explorations as a duo when we were hand painting and using polychromatic print techniques.
Silk crepe de chine is a material that helps to balance temperature. Keeping you warm in the cold and cool in the heat, it’s a perfect material to wear all year long. Growing softer with each wash and wear, the fabric has a beautiful drape that only gets better over time.
Soft as well as durable, Calica silk scarves can be machine washed and put in the dryer, and air dry quickly too. Treat this special accessory without preciousness. Bring it to the beach, use it as a shawl in air conditioned spaces or pair it with your parka all winter long. A spot of coffee or red wine is disguised by the print and washed without worry.
Bringing the printing of our designs close to home, we’re working with a digital printer and sewer in Toronto, Canada and we’re making scrunchies to match!
We’re excited to share this new collection on February 19, 2021.