JESSICA LIGHT FOR BLUEBELLGRAY

Our latest exciting collaboration is with Scottish textile and home wares company, Bluebellgrey. We have produced an exclusive capsule collection of key tassels and tiebacks in Bluebellgrey's signature fresh and vibrant colour palate.

Above, the key tassels.

Below, the tiebacks.

Above and below,

images from Bluebellgray's recent Lets Do Lunch event in New York

Images ©Bluebellgray

I was introduced to Bluebellgrey by a mutual customer who told them my tassels would really compliment Fi Douglas's vibrant water-colour-esque abstract floral prints. They started by using our key tassels on cushions and their stand at Maison Objects, Paris. I then went on to make a bespoke tieback for the last Bluebellgrey catalogue. Sometimes good old fashioned word-of-mouth can work more magic than social media.

Above, our bespoke tieback,

Below, hanging very happily next to Bluebellgrey's Tetbury linen.

Image ©Bluebellgrey 

Key tassels and tiebacks available only from 

Bluebellgrey.

DULUX COLOUR FUTURES 16 AT TENT LONDON

There are times when amongst all the newsletters and enquires from Chinese companies asking me if I want to mass buy LED lights that something really exciting drops into my inbox and the invition from Dulux to be part of their Colour Futures 16 exhibition at Tent London was one such hurrah moment.

The premise was that four creatives would each be given one of the Colour Future trends and a small shed, and by means of an instillation interpret this trend in their own inimitable style.

I must say I was in amazing company as the other three artists/designers were Mark McClure, Anthony Roussel, and Zoe Murphy as well as the hudgly talented surface designer, Kit Miles, who was representing the colour of the year pallette by installing a dynamic vinal floor that streaked across the whole exhibition.

Above, Kit Miles' fabolous floor

Below, the space and Anthony Rousou's shed.

Below, a close up of Rouseau's  instillation.

Above, 'The Grid And Letting Go' trend by Mark McClure

Below, detail from McClures shed.

Above, Zoe Murphy's calming 'Words And Pictures' trend.

Below, a detail

Above, 'Dark And Light' by yours truly.
Below, our tassel peeking out from the dark.

I wanted to create a nightscape that used light to highlight the tones of colour darkening, and to illustrate the way dark and light affects our perception of colour and mood. I love the way the dark mutates light’s bright blaring colours into hundreds of muted dusky hues that get lit intermittently by the silvery shine of the moon and stars.

Even as a child I loved the dark. I’ve always found it a place of safety where the spaces amongst the shadows allowed one to hide and bide one’s thoughts or slumber peacefully. A warm place to hibernate from daylight’s perils.  As an adult the psychological and spiritual connotations that go with these two states fascinate me. We talk about light and dark representing good and evil, black magic, white magic, the dark arts even the dark recesses of our minds; AS Jung said ‘ To know your own darkness of your mind is to understand the darknesses of others’ but in an ever-increasing lighter world where the city’s light dims the stars and the sky never deepens past a murky violet haze the idea of the benefits of darkness are being re-addressed.

Above, my concept sketch.

Above and below, the making of our instillation.

We also gave a sell-out presentation for Tent Supertalks about our the inspirations behind our pieces with Rebecca from Dulux explaining each trend first and process of trend forecasting.

Massive Thanks to;

Rebecca Williamson , Marianne Shillingford and everyone from Dulux,

Holly Smith and Jennifer Barnes from Mischief PR

Jimmy Macdondald and the Tent team,

My amazing co-exhibitors Zoe, Mark, kit, and Anthony.

and everyone who came to both the exhibition and talk

JESSICA LIGHT AT LDF 15

DECOREX

This year, for the first time, we'll be swishing our tassels and tasselating our trims at Decorex.

Decorex is the show aimed at the luxury top end interior sector and this years theme is Future Luxury. 

We'll be launching Ceylon, a brand new passementerie collection, and Botany Bay, a new concept of outsize room trims that incorporate walnut and coconut elements, speciffically designed to decorate interior spaces. Didn't you know just trimming a cushion or having curtain ties is just so last year darling!
We will also be showcasing a tri-collacboration with Elle Decoration Design Award 15 winner, Liam Treanor and chair caner, Rachael South. This will be an ash bench with a hand-woven braid Box Weave seat which is not to be missed!

Above, braids and rosettes from our new Ceylon collection.

Stand C46,

Decorex,

Syon Park,

20-23 September

DULUX COLOUR FUTURES AT TENT

It seems very fitting in my jubilee year of making that I'm returning to the show where I launched my first paasementerie collections under my own name in 2008, Tent London.

I'm delighted to be involved with the Dulux Colour Futures exhibition at Tent where I, with four other creatives, Kit Miles, that Miss Margate Zoe Murphy, Anthony Roussel and Mark McClure will be interpreting with an instilation and talk, the four major trend stories and the 2016 colour of the year.

Tent London,

Old Truman Brewery,

Brick Lane,

24-27 September 

Talking of jubilees here are my next picks from the last 25 years…
GOLD PASSEMENTERIE
This started as a play with some passementerie techniques to create rigid forms and went on to be the staring point for other projects. One such project was with jewellery designer Lesley Vik Waddell on a colection that incorporated elements of this type of passementerie as well as Dorset Button style covered rings in subtle dusky pinks, whites and a hint of magenta . Unfortuately I have no images of this collection as it was fabulous and went on to be one of Lesley's best selling collections.

THALES' BENCH

Tools of our trades

A sum of three unique specialised skill sets combine to produce Thales’ Bench, a seat to sit and contemplate. Named after the first Ancient Greek philosopher to accentuate the importance and growing luxury of quiet thought and the amount of rumination taken to bring this project to fuition. This tri-collarboration unites the talents of contemporary furniture designer and maker Liam Treanor, upholsterer and third generation chair caner Rachael South, and one of the countries last passementerie weavers Jessica light.

The result is a beautiful design-led ash bench with a hand-woven grosgrain linen braid Danish Box weave seat which will be launched at Decorex 20-23 September 2015, Syon Park, stand C46. 

Above, braid being woven.

Below, 120m braid in waiting.

Above, detail of bench.

One of the reasons I wanted to do this project, apart from working with two very talented creatives, was to show how versatile passementerie, with a bit of vision, can be. It's not just about curtain ties and trimming cushions but can be used for many applications, the construction of furniture being just one.

25 YEARS…. VIVIENNE WESTWOOD.
You can't move for macrame at the moment, but back in the dark days of 2007-8 just the mention of the M word would bring anyone who thought they had taste out in 70's plant hanger hives. But there were whisperings of revival and, after a neighbour had given me an old book on the subject, I had begun to play with the techniques.

Above, some linen macrame samples 2007

Then, as if the planets had aligned, I got a call out of the blue from Laurent Rivaud, Vivienne Westwood's accesorary designer, asking if I made macrame as they were wanting to do belts and bracelets for their up-coming SS08 menswear collection.

I had meet Rivaud through jewellery designer Lesley Vik Waddell, who I had been making tassels and passmenterie for her own label collections in 2005-6. She had sent him to pick up one of her orders from the Urban Croft and he was very interested in my work.

I went on to make a collection of brightly coloured macrame accessories for the catwalk show. I loved this project for two main reasons. 1. Laurent was a pleasure to work with. He was very courteous and always knew exactly what he wanted and the best way to utilise my skills; and 2. I had become very disheartened and bored with the direction my work was going and this project brought back my spark. It led onto other things and was the twinkle in my eye to set up under my own name.

 Westwood samples [unfortuately I have no catwark images]

Below, a textile sample incorporating marame for Johanne Mills shown at Indigo 2008.

 Above, our Tashkent macrame tieback from the Formosa Collection 2008

Below, our Taiwan tieback from our Formosa Diffusion range 2012.

I did other work for Westwood, most notably the jewellery and belts for Westwood Red Label SS10

 Above, beaded and feather necklaces and belts.

Below, Westwood Red Label SS09 catwalk show.