Scottish designer Mhairi Wild will be showcasing her first textile collection alongside Blair Sorley's latest creations this August.
Blair Sorley are an Edinburgh based design duo specialising in handbags, purses and accessories. These tactile works will be shown alongside each other’s at this August’s Maker of the Month Exhibition on Broughton Street.
Mhairi Wild graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in 2003, with a first class honours in Interior and Environmental Design. Since graduation, she completed a variety of projects before developing her textiles collection - which includes a range of scarves, home wares and a showpiece cape made from felt and Harris Tweed, lined in hand dyed silk.
"Working with fibre and fabric in one form or another has been part of my life since learning to knit and embroider pre-primary school," she explains.
Mhairi uses locally sourced luxury lambswool to create individually felted and hand-dyed pieces for her collection. There is no batch dying. Even the merino pre-felt embellishments are dyed specifically for each piece.
Her ‘Gather’ collection is inspired by the rugged Scottish coastline and the communities who live and work alongside it, while the pattern and colours of peat stacks and burning peat fires form the core of the design for her new tea cosies, egg cosies and cushions.
Blair Sorley both come from a costume design background, and have over 25 years combined experience of working in theatres throughout the UK. They are influenced by costume and fashions from the 1930's - 1970's, updating classic designs with a beautiful range of coloured Italian leathers and suedes, combined with a range of metal and perspex fittings, creating contemporary pieces with a very subtle element of the past. Oversized baubles on shiny metal purse frames illustrate this twist on the traditional, playing with our sense of proportion and scale.
Blair Sorley are exhibiting a range of accessories; small brightly coloured coin purses, soft leather zip clutch bags, metal frame clutch bags, perspex handle bags, structured leather box bags and cute brightly coloured sporran bags.
Mhairi Wild and Blair Sorley’s work will be on display at Concrete Wardrobe from 1st to 31st August 2011. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 12 -4pm.
