‘Being on a loom keeps me driven and inspired’, says Margo Selby, one of Britain’s leading textile designers. For a maker who has attained so much commercial success, this outlook might come as somewhat of a surprise to those who don’t weave themselves, but for artists familiar with the handloom it’s a sentiment that’s perfectly understandable. At Marks and Tools, an exhibition opening in London’s Oxo Tower next week presented by Design-Nation, Margo returns to her first love by displaying a selection of hand-woven framed works.
After graduating with a postgraduate degree from the Royal college of Art in 2001, Margo went on to establish her own studio designing textiles for interiors. From framed woven artworks to rugs, curtains, cushions and upholstery, she has worked on a plethora of exciting interior design projects. Since setting up her studio, she has worked on collaborations and commissions for private residences, hotels and museums from the UK all the way to Australia. Still with a handloom in her busy London studio, it’s imperative to Margo that she keeps using it in the wake of all her success.
Weaving on a handloom at first, Margo then uses computer aided design to develop each of her pieces, exploring the playful patterns and lively colour combinations that have become so synonymous with her name. ‘It’s so important for me to keep hand-weaving,’ she explains, ‘since the business has become commercially successful.’
Fans of her work will not only get the chance to view her beautiful framed woven works at Marks and Tools, but will also be able to see her in conversation during the show’s opening with Michael Ruh and Hannah Tounsend, discussing the exhibition’s theme surrounding the marks and tools of the maker. Opening as part of London Craft Week, it's sure to be one of the programme's highlights. Marks and Tools, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank, London, SE1 9PH Exhibition 4 - 7 May 2017 www.margoselby.com http://www.oxotower.co.uk/events/design-nation-marks-tools/