LOTUS BELLE TENTS blog october ‘18

22nd OCTOBER 2018

MEET THE ARTIST kulu textiles

JAMAICA ST STUDIOS. STOKES CROFT. BRISTOL

This week we went and visited our ridiculously talented friend at her studio in Bristol. Emma Fallon has worked with us before to design roof covers. Her style is one of intricate geometrical detail, painstakingly sketched designs that make you want to crawl into them and explore. Her studio looks out over Stokes Croft in all it’s chaotic, graffitied glory. We pored over Emma’s work while she told us about the projects she’s been working on and we made plans for the next series of design we are commissioning from her.

In Emma’s unique style, a new design for Lotus Belle tent roofs. Art to stretch over our boutique bell tents.  

IN EMMA’S WORDS…

‘My patterns are mainly inspired by geometry and mathematical patterns in nature.’

‘I love the fibonacci and the flower of life, and mathematical sequences that govern natural form. And I love Escher. That connection is an obvious one I think when you see my work, but also I love Bridget Riley and I like the combination of optical illusions with classic geometry.’

ENGROSSED IN EMMA’S SKETCH BOOKS, although sketchbooks feels like the wrong way to describe these books, where ever page is an intricately detailed work of art.

Emma prints her designs onto clothing, books, bags and in our case, roofs for glamping tents. She has also been spending time in the Himalayas…

Where do you get your work made?

Avani-Kumaon…

‘I work with a fairtrade weavers co-operative in the Indian Himalayas. They are hand weavers working in ecologically built premises. They provide employment for over 100 people full time, but over a 1000 people with outreach work across a few centres. So it’s in a really remote area of the Himalayas, set up by a couple. I think they did a degree in third world development, they are locals who got some initial funding to set it up and the projects grown over 15 years. They basically specialize in natural dyes and hand weaving, they train women to weave by hand using the traditional skills of that area. It provides employment and a basic income on top of maternity pay, sick pay, accomodation and food is all provided for. It’s in an area where the only other option for work is pretty hard core work as a farmer, which none of the women want to do as it’s really awful hours and they don’t get looked after at all and the money is terrible. They also educate the children, they have a small school, all the women who are part of the co-operative can send their kids to the school for a really small fee. It’s a weaving co-operative but it’s also an NGO.’