After graduating with a BA (Hons) in Woven Textile Design at Winchester School of Art, Emma Swinburne moved back to Cardiff to explore the woollen industry in Wales. After spending time researching and visiting the abandoned and working mills, Emma set up Woolly Mammoth Fabrics. Visiting the mills had a significant influence on the choice of material Emma uses in her work today. With signs of growth again in the industry, Emma hopes to help support the local industry through partnering with local weaving mills and promoting the use of wool in her own hand-woven work.
Emma creates soft furnishing and fashion accessory products from her home studio in Cardiff. The geometric shapes within architecture and traditional Welsh culture are the main inspirations behind Emma’s designs. High quality wool is used to ensure textile longevity. Wool is renewable, biodegradable and has a natural resistance to dust mite and bacteria – making it great for the environment and a perfect finishing touch to any home or outfit!
Woolly Mammoth Fabrics is striving to use resources carefully and make as minimal impact on the environment as possible. To help decrease yarn wastage and unnecessary offcuts, Emma weaves designs to size, allowing complete control over the amount of wastage material produced.
Commissioning a piece of work is really exciting – it is a chance to have something made especially for you and an opportunity to really engage in the creative process.
Perhaps you need accessories to go with a particular outfit or a piece of furniture to fit a specific space in your home. We can work with you to design something truly unique. You’ll be able to discuss your ideas, likes and dislikes with the Maker and together create a piece of craft, handmade for you.
This is just a first step, so don't worry, there’ll be plenty of chances to discuss details before finalising a commission.
