Glam up your Glamping Interiors with Tiny Bird Textiles

Ailsa Wilson tells Glossy Glamping about her recently established company called Tiny Bird Textiles…we think her lovely products would greatly enhance any glamping interior! The below article describes her journey…

Even now, as a well traveled, forty-something with two children of my own, my most enduring memories are of my childhood. Of summer days spent with my brothers, wellies sloshing with water, jumpers tied round our middles, adventuring in woods, playing in streams, running for miles in the hills and camping under canvas. We loved it, we still love it and now our kids love it too. There is nothing quite like spending long summer days rattling around this glorious countryside of ours. Rain or shine, it made no difference to our fun.

Life moved on, but I never lost the love of green trees and blue sky. I headed to art college and completed a design degree at Manchester Poly’. I worked in the brand design industry as a ‘suit’ for years and my creative inner voice fell silent. Then after years of city living, I found myself in Dorset after my husband relocated with his job. Having children gave me the perspective and opportunity to make the break and set-up on my own.

My original inspiration for waking that inner voice of mine and following my creative dream came from a trip to Mexico. In a city in the mountains, well know for its creative and artisan traditions, I came across a mother of two, busy weaving animals and birds from discarded packing tape, while her small children played. I bought a couple of birds and they have hung on my wall ever since. Years later when I came to take my creative leap of faith, I named my company Tiny Bird Textiles, as a reminder of her creativity and resourcefulness.

I flippantly call my style ‘Modern Country’ which sounds like a musical movement from Nashville. My designs are completely original and greatly inspired by my adventures in the countryside and love of the outdoors, but have a modern, graphic, paired-down style, that works well in bright, eye-popping colours. I am by nature a magpie of all things natural and colourful. I can’t walk down beach without filling my pockets with pebbles and shells or through a wood without gathering leaves and flowers to take home to paste into my scrapbook. Inspiration sometime comes from unexpected places. My rose-like Pak Choi design was created when I sliced through the Chinese vegetable making my tea one night. I thought it would look rather beautiful as a print and I’ve now applied the design to cushions, mugs and a tea towel. My Eucalyptus Leaf design was inspired by the overlapping shapes and colours I could see above me, having taken refuge in the shade of a eucalyptus tree, one hot day. The Oak Tree design started life as a doodle. The colours were inspired by watching the leaves of my neighbour’s tree transform with the seasons.

My creative enterprise has very little in common with a Mexican street corner, (more an urban street of semi-detacheds) but the sentiment of resourcefulness and creativity endures. Most of my work is silk-screen or lino’ printed by hand, by me on a homemade print-table, using traditional British arts & crafts skills learned at art college. I use the stencil method to create my designs, cutting the patterns from film or waxed paper that creates a barrier between the fabric and the ink being forced through the screen. Each piece is then carefully machine-sewn and immaculately hand-finished by me. I take a genuine pride in producing work, the quality of which I would be happy to have in my home. I only produce three or four printed pieces at a time, each telling the story of their inspiration and production. Each piece slightly different, unique, special and totally hand-made.

As demand for my work has increased and I have needed to extend my range of products, I have co-opted the help of a couple of small Dorset based producers to help me with my mugs and tea towels. Living as I did in the heart of the country’s once vibrant textile and pottery industry, I feel passionately about supporting British based manufacturing. It would be great to one-day feel that my enterprise has made contribution to its resurgence – however modest, which I think is a honourable ambition.

Inspired by George Clark’s Amazing Spaces I’ve just bought a 1950’s beach hut that I had craned into my back garden that we will renovate and will eventually become my print studio. Having a permanent creative space and print room is going to make all the difference to my creative story. One thing is sure about the next chapter – it will feature more adventures in the great outdoors.

To contact Ailsa, please visit her online store:  folksy.com/shops/tinybirdtextiles

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tinybirdtextiles

Twitter: @tinybirdtextile