Childhood: that magical place where imagination and reality is wonderfully confused. Monsters, aliens and curious creatures of all shapes, sizes and colours run riot. Everything is soft, smooth and friendly – the good guys always succeed eventually, and the story ends happily. What a delight it is to live in such a world.
It is the innocence and imagination of childhood that inspires Donna Wilson’s AW16 collection. The Scottish-born designer grew up on a farm in rural Aberdeenshire, and spent much of her time playing outside. An old hen house became Donna’s special hiding place, where she would create sculptures out of twigs and branches and play make-believe games.
From a humble beginning, Donna has created a name for herself in the design world: today her soft toys, homewares and textiles sit on the shelves of shops in more than thirty countries. Yet despite the great popularity of her brand, Donna refuses to have her work mass-produced. Instead, she supports the UK’s own craft and manufacturing industry, wherever possible employing people to produce her designs here on home soil.
Donna’s creative use of colour and shapes make a celebration out of weirdness and imagination. In the thirteen years since starting her business, she has developed a distinctive style that speaks to the child within all of us, whatever age it might say on our passports.
www.donnawilson.com
