SMALL IS THE NEW BIG
Image: Iseabal Hendry’s workshop. Courtesy of Iseabal Hendry.
Born and raised in the Highlands of Scotland, Iseabal Hendry is inspired by the traditional craft skills that surrounded her in childhood; from basket-weaving, to boatbuilding, to roof-thatching. Her work honours those traditional techniques and materials, weaving environmental values, with a modern aesthetic. Her first collection celebrates the slow process of hand craft, and the landscape that continues to inspire her.
Image: Iseabel Hendry, Full Moon, in Tablet and Biscuit. Photo: Gabriella Silveira
Iseabal says, "I grew up in a rural village in the Scottish Highlands and spent every summer holiday in the Outer Hebrides. We'd often stay in thatched roof houses and come back home with beautiful, round baskets, handmade locally.”
Image: Iseabal Hendry, The Barrel Bag, in Saltire and Tablet. Courtesy of Iseabal Hendry
Graduating in Textile Design from Glasgow School of Art, Iseabal launched her eponymous brand in August 2020. She was named by The Crafts Council as one of the 'Top 10 Makers to Watch in 2022'. She still recalls the moment that inspired her practice: “In my second year we were given a sustainability project and were presented with a table of leather offcuts, and while everyone rushed to secure the largest pieces, I started wondering what would happen to all the slivers deemed too small to use. It was with these remnants that I began plaiting, twisting, weaving, and combining to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Zero-waste is still my goal today, and this is where my entire practice originated."
Image: Iseabel Hendry, Half Moon and Full Moon, in Merlot. Photo:Gabriella Silveira
By weaving thin strips of Italian, vegetable-tanned leather with cotton, she can make use of an entire hide with almost no wastage. All her materials are sourced within Europe, and Iseabal handweaves each and every bag in the Highlands, working with another maker to construct the woven panels into their final forms.
Image: Iseabel Hendry, Swing Case, in Tenement Green and Tablet. Photo: Gabriella Silveira