Harris Tweed, for those of us unfamiliar with it’s rich history, is a luxurious cloth handwoven by the islanders of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. This local industry grew up in the late 1840’s under the mentoring and marketing of Catherine Murray, the Countess of Dunmore. While almost all of the textile industry in Europe switched over to mechanisation in the late 1800s, Harris Tweed retained traditional manufacturing processes and their high standards of quality. Today, the brand is protected by its own Act of Parliament stating that it cannot be produced in any other locations if it’s going to carry it’s distinctive Orb trade mark.
The tweed produced in the Hebrides was characterized by subtle flecks of color, derived from the vegetable dyes, which included, interestingly enough, lichen dyes called “crottle.” What a synchronicity with Elin’s products.
Besides the depth added by the tweed material, I also noted the use of brighter beaded details in many of Elin’s pieces. When asked if beading was a large portion of her creative process, she responded “I’m not a huge fan of beading on it’s own; but used as an accent within crochet pieces, it can make the details more interesting. I think with the imitation of coral, you have to get across the jewel-like quality of coral somehow. It’s so seductive. Also, I prefer to work with yarns which have a matte surface quality and the texture can look a bit flat unless colour variation is an integral part of the piece–beading can provide good contrast.”
Elin discusses on her blog and Etsy site about her desire to learn from nature and try to recreate the natural form. She also mentions “the limitations of the materials” and I can see such lovely complications arising from pushing classic simple stitching and crochet towards the messy natural world. I asked if her joy in the process was part of an Explorer side to her artistic personality. “ Yes, I’m always pushing forward. I have an eclectic nature. I’m a magpie, easily distracted by all things bright and sparkly. A good example is I have a lot of books about mind-blowingly complex crochet techniques which I just look at in admiration. The fact is I only ever really use four basic crochet stitches in my work. I tend to concentrate more on the design and colour side of the process where my creativity can engage fully. ‘One day’ I’ll master some of those fiendish crochet stitches!”
I, personally, find no fancy crochet stitches needed in these quirky, top quality pieces. Clicking on the photos here will take you to Elin’s Etsy site, which has several growing moldy options. ELINtm Jewellery is featured at the Museum of Craft in San Francisco, The Black Swan Arts Centre in the UK, and at Form Contemporary Craft, also in the UK. Her blog, found HERE, has additional links to many beautiful pieces of jewelry via an image on its left-hand navigation.
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