Donna ReadVenue:
Email: Website: I studied printed Textiles at West Surrey College of Art and Design before starting my own business designing, hand painting and selling my unique velvet scarves. I now work predominately from my London based studio producing both large scale orders for fashion retailers - such as Barney’s New York & Japan and also creating one-off individual commissions. The techniques I use to create my designs were all developed by me, as the fluidity of a hand-painted artwork on fabric, was impossible to achieve using already developed processes. Screen-printing just didn’t give me the freedom or expressive quality I wanted for my work. So I started hand-painting straight onto velvet like a blank canvas, devising ways to fix and remove colour as I please, a practice unique to me. Since beginning my craft on velvet, I have diversified, experimenting with many different fabrics and adapting my techniques to them. I now produce work on silk, linen and fine wools and well as velvet, each with their own individual look and feel. My work is mainly floral and plant-based. It might be a twig set against a blue sky, frou-frou cherry blossom or vivid orange lichen on a tree stump; I can find inspiration in almost anything. I love old textiles, quirky 1930s prints and clusters of vintage buttons. Colours and shapes form the basis of my designs which have now branch off into accessories and home wear. I currently live in south London with my husband Will and my daughters. I’m passionate about gardening so if not in my studio or in the greenhouse I can be found up my allotment. |