November 24, 2017
Black Friday?
Black Friday? We LOVE colour and pattern, but find out more about why we don't take part...
November 20, 2017
Christmas Events 2017
August 28, 2017
Studio Sample Sale
If you're in Glasgow this weekend, please join us for a special sample sale at the studio where we'll be selling slight seconds, samples and end of line products.
August 21, 2017
Täkänä Exhibition at CraftCorner, Helsinki | 7 - 8 Sep, 2017
Täkänä Exhibition at CraftCorner, Helsinki | 7 - 8 Sep, 2017.
June 15, 2017
India Street Workshop at Comar, Mull | Saturday 3 June
India Street is an exhibition/project curated by Katy West that has been on going since 2014 and I am delighted to have been one of seven designers invited to take part since it began.
The exhibition is now on tour and currently residing in Comar arts centre in Tobermory on Mull until Friday 7th July. I was thrilled to be invited to host a screen printing workshop as part of the events programme running alongside the exhibition's new outing.
May 10, 2017
Täkänä Research Trip | PART FIVE | Inside the Lappeenranta Museum's archives : Laura Korpikaivo-Tamminen | Back to the studio
It was a long four hour drive to my next museum but it actually went by in a haze. I think my brain was whirring over all that I'd seen and experienced so far and thoughts were forming. I think a lot of my best thinking happens when I'm on the move…in the car, on a bus, riding my bike…maybe it's because it's somewhere no one can get me? I'm busy pedalling or steering or something which means my brain can think things over, it's just how it's always worked for me. I just need to make sure I grab a pen and paper as soon as I stop to catch the thoughts before they're gone.
April 27, 2017
Täkänä Research Trip | PART FOUR | An unexpected trip to Pulsa
If you ever find yourself heading towards the Russian border in the south-eastern corner of Finland, I encourage you to take a detour off the main road to this incredible (and I mean incredible) place called Pulsa. It was recommended to me by Elina earlier in the week (Elina and Petra, the owner of Pulsa are both textile designers and friends) and I had a last minute change of plan so thought I'd give them a call and I'm so glad I did.
April 20, 2017
Täkänä Research Trip | PART THREE | Learning to weave with Ritva : Inside the Finnish Craft Museum's archives
Today involved more travelling and learning...this time to a small village north-east of Jyväskylä called Hankasalmi. A chance introduction with a lovely textile designer called Anna-Kaisa whilst doing some solo exploring in Finland last summer led me to this exciting part of my trip. I'd been trying to find someone who still weaves täkänä through the other contacts I have but it was proving difficult. Täkänä is no longer a popular form of weaving in Finland and has disappeared significantly off the weaving landscape in the past thirty years.
April 13, 2017
Täkänä Research Trip | PART TWO | Helsinki Conversations: A trip to HAM : Jyväskylä Conservation Centre
Today was a day on the move…leaving Helsinki for Tampere but first a Finnish friend of mine had put me in touch with a Helsinki based designer called Elina Helenius. Elina seemed really interested in my project in her emails and had suggested we meet at a café in the centre of Helsinki called Cafe Aschen Jugend. Sadly this was shut (Elina wanted me to see the architecture) so we went to the nearby Kappeli – a beautiful building on the Esplanade that first opened it’s doors as a café in 1867. Elina was an inspiration to meet. Her career spans several decades and has also crossed over from print to weave. She’s worked with many companies I admire and has a warmth and openness that was wonderful to be around.
April 03, 2017
Täkänä Research Trip | PART ONE | Inside the Design Museum's Archives
So I am just back (well it's been a week now) from an incredible trip to Finland supported by a Creative Scotland Open Project Funding Grant to research and learn about the Finnish form of weaving known as Täkänä to inspire some new work and new thinking. The trip was an intense ten days of reading, talking, learning, travelling, listening and absorbing information and experiences to develop new things.
© 2020 Laura Spring.
