Work from an Orkney-based textile design studio is taking centre stage at the London Design Festival this week.
Hilary Grant’s ‘St Ives’ wall hanging and an accompanying blanket are on display as part of ‘The Future of Home by Local Heroes' exhibition at the event, celebrating Scotland’s contemporary design scene.
Over 40 new products from 15 studios and brands have been brought together for the special collection, which marks five years since the first Local Heroes exhibition.
"The two pieces we're exhibiting were designed primarily as a colour exercise, so it's great to have the chance to show these in a real life exhibition, where people can experience the colours interacting and the textile themselves rather than on a screen," said Hilary Grant from the studio. "It's a really tactile, beautifully curated show and we're thrilled to be part of a small group that is representing design in Scotland at this time."
The St Ives wall hanging and blanket are inspired by the unusually strong colours of mid-century Welsh tapestry blankets. Both pieces are designed in Orkney and knitted and hand-finished in Scotland.
‘The Future of Home’ exhibition coincides with the launch of the new Hilary Grant autumn/winter collection, which features a fantastic range of beautiful blankets and bedthrows, hats, scarves and gloves, including the St Ives blanket.
“I think this year the collection is a little more introspective in the ideas and inspiration that have influenced the designs," said Hilary. "We've not had opportunities to see new things and go new places, so a lot of the initial ideas have come from looking at art we enjoy in books, watching the light and our surroundings change throughout the year, and looking back to ideas that we never quite felt we had fully resolved.
Some of the pieces from the new Hilary Grant collection - images by Elliott Hatherley
"There have been a few issues in supply for yarns and fibres this year but the mills we work with have been absolutely fantastic and we're quite proud of what we've been able to achieve despite the challenges. The response we've had in the few days since the new collection launched has been absolutely brilliant and obviously makes it all worthwhile."
The St Ives wall hanging will be available to pre-order in the coming weeks. Visit the official Hilary Grant website for more information and to view the new autumn/winter collection. You can also find Hilary Grant on Instagram.
‘The Future of Home’ by Local Heroes is on display at Brompton Design District as part of the London Design Festival until 26 September.