Caitlin Hinshelwood

Caitlin Hinshelwood produces distinctive collections of illustrative, hand-worked, printed textiles. She is interested in the narrative possibilities of textiles; how textiles can be used to communicate and how they can act as repositories of personal or social history. Her interests lie in the natural world, ethnographic collections, folk traditions, ceremonial textiles and the craftsmanship of the unknown maker, inspiring her imaginative and skilfully drawn work.

We first met Caitlin at a craft fair in Brick Lane, London, a few years ago. Her intricately printed silk scarves, with their bold and unexpected colour palettes and compositions, stood out from the crowd. Visiting her show ‘Kissing the Shuttle’ at the Cecil Sharp House earlier this year cemented the idea of approaching her to design a wall hanging for Sessions & Co. Something with an unusual form and composition, to appeal to both children and adults alike. Tend the Land was first designed as a large, frieze-like collaged paper cut artwork and then translated into print by a brilliant small-scale fabric studio in South London on a hot summer's day. Here's a film of the process...