Dedicated to the traditional craft of hand weaving and concerned for our environment.

My story

My name is Suzanne Townshend, I am a handweaver and have been experimenting on my loom with fibres, colour and texture for more than two decades. I enjoy the challenge of designing and making items unique to me using mainly natural fibres including wool, silk and linen. 

Inspiration for each design has its origins in distinctive features of the English countryside. Textures and colours I find while walking in the fields and woods around my home provide inspiration for the one-off textiles which I weave in my home studio.

I am always looking for opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of my craft. I dye many of the yarns I use with plant-based dyes and I use natural fibres as far as possible.

A smiling woman with short gray hair wearing a blue sleeveless top and a multicolored striped handwoven scarf, standing outdoors in a lush garden with green trees and plants in the background.

From my loom bench …

From my loom bench I am lucky to have a fabulous verdant view down the length of the garden. In the spring and early summer there are always birds feeding, tending fledglings or settling down for the night to roost.  Butterflies, bees and dragonflies are frequent visitors providing colour and life.

On a summers evening the sun shines directly through my loom, from back to front, backlighting the shafts as I pass each thread through the individual heddles in the correct order in preparation for weaving. 

Open door to a room with potted plants on shelves, wall art, a wooden weaving loom, and a textured rug, with climbing plants outside.
A lush green garden with various plants and flowers next to a brick house wall.
Close up of wooden weaving loom and thread.

A slow handcrafted process

I am proud to use the ancient craft of handweaving to create beautiful textiles with only a small impact on the environment.  Enjoying the challenge of designing and creating one off items, sometimes using luxury fibres, mainly using natural fibres, often using natural dye extracts to create my colour palette.

The process of hand weaving can be slow and meditative.  It can take several days to wind a warp and dress the loom ready to weave and start the meditative to and fro action of the shuttle throwing the weft from left to right and back.

A wooden loom with colourful warp threads in blue and yellow, in weaving studio. The room has shelves with yarn, plants, and artwork on the walls.
Close-up of a roll of woven fabric with a dotted pattern, lying on the loom.
A woman in a sleeveless blue shirt and jeans in a weaver's studio, standing next to a wooden weaving loom with multiple threads. Behind her are shelves filled with spools of colourful yarn. She is holding threads and preparing to weave.

Nature inspired

My experience and experiments over the years feed into the craft skill demonstrated in the unique pieces I create.  The colours and textures of the natural history and countryside around my home inspire my approach. 

For most of my adult life I worked in the field of nature conservation, but I have had more than a passing interest in natural history since I was a small child.

A large tree with a thick trunk and spreading leafy branches under a clear blue sky.
Close-up of tree branches with green leaves and brown flowering catkins against a blue sky.
Close-up view of three colorful textured towels with a wavy pattern in shades of blue, green, and yellow.
Close-up of a multicolored woven textile with twisted yarns in yellow, blue, white, and green, creating a textured pattern.
Close-up of a multicolored woven textile with twisted yarns in yellow, blue, white, and green, creating a textured pattern.

Gallery

Woman sitting at a weaving loom, working on a colourful woven textile with green, yellow, and blue patterns. The background has plants, yarn spools, and wall art.

My Story

Three spools of yarn, one blue, one yellow, and one orange, placed on a weathered wooden surface outdoors with green grass in the background.

Events

“Unlike industrially produced objects, handmade heritage crafts carry with them the fingerprint of human ingenuity. They embody values of patience, sustainability, and resilience.”

- Weald & Downland Living Museum