MEET OUR MAKERS

SUZANNA JAMES

​textile designer / Dylunydd Tecstil

About

Ethical and environmentally sustainable practice underpins the way in which I make and the materials I work with. I source yarns that fulfil ethical and sustainable criteria with a focus on Fairtrade, organic and British wools. These materials include Peruvian Fair-trade Alpaca, hand spun Icelandic wool bought directly from artisans, wools from the Shetland Isles, and organic Danish wool.

These yarns play a vital part in my unique and bespoke knitwear, and my products range from clothing and homeware to wearable art and jewellery, bordering lines between fashion, craft and fine art. My inspiration comes from the geographical homes of worldwide textiles, and having studied the connections between a place or region and what has been made there, I amalgamate my research into my textiles designs, which are about this connection between the designer maker process and where that happens.

My fascination in these connections came about as I realised the integral place of inspiration from the great outdoors and travel within my own work: having grown up in Carmarthenshire and now working from my studio here in Cardiff, the landscapes of Wales have often been, and still are one of my biggest sources of inspiration.

Mae gwaith moesegol ac amgylcheddol cynaliadwy yn sail i fy ngwaith. Rwy'n dod o hyd i edafedd sy'n bodloni meini prawf moesegol a chynaliadwy gyda ffocws ar wlân Masnach Deg, organig a Phrydeinig. Mae'r deunyddiau hyn yn cynnwys gwlân Alpaca masnach deg O Beriw, gwlân o Wlad yr Ia wedi’u greu â llaw yn uniongyrchol o’r crefftwyr, gwlân o Ynysoedd y Shetland, a gwlân Daneg organig.

Mae'r edafedd hyn yn chwarae rhan hanfodol yn fy nwyddau a gwisgoedd unigryw, maent yn amrywio o ddillad a meddalwedd cartref i gelf a gemwaith, gan ffinio’r llinell rhwng ffasiwn, crefft a chelf gain. Mae fy ysbrydoliaeth yn dod o gartrefi daearyddol tecstilau byd-eang, ac ar ôl astudio'r cysylltiadau rhwng lle neu ranbarth a'r hyn a wnaed yno, rwy’n cyfuno fy ymchwil i'm cynlluniau.

Daeth fy niddordeb yn y cysylltiadau hyn o ysbrydoliaeth yn yr awyr agored a theithio’r byd. Wedi tyfu i fyny yn Sir Gaerfyrddin ac yn awr yn gweithio o'm stiwdio yma yng Nghaerdydd, mae tirluniau Cymru wedi, ac yn dal i fod yn un o'm mhrif ysbrydoliaeth.

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Photography by Chloe Grayson

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​Accepts Commissions?
Yes

Workshops?
No

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