During Artweeks 2023 I will be showcasing my new handwoven collection of throws and cushions, alongside my recently launched handwoven artwork. The 'West Coast' collection was inspired by a trip to British Columbia, Canada where observations of salmon migration and rivers flowing in circular patterns are interpreted in the designs. Colours were inspired by salmon and the surrounding forests and rivers.
Visitors can expect a selection of throws, cushions, lampshades and artwork available for sale from the current collection as well as popular pieces from previous collections and one off pieces (for more work visit www.cassandrasabo.co.uk). The Oxford Frame Loom (my own unique, frame loom design), yarn packs and kits will be available from my upstairs studio, The Oxford Weaving Studio (www.oxfordweavingstudio.com). Information about on-going workshops will also be made available.
Cassandra Smith is a Montreal-born designer and hand-weaver working with natural materials to create luxuriously warm and tactile interior products, artwork and lighting. She draws inspiration from nature, working with blends of materials that layer colours and textures to create one-of-a-kind, sustainable textiles to soften interior spaces, often working closely with her clients to create the perfect colour palette for their interior.
Her design aesthetic explores fibre craft techniques and processes and introduces them into her weaving, often drawing upon her engineering background to solve design challenges at her loom. Wool roving features in each collection, with the ‘waste’ by-products of her weaving process hand-spun into new yarns that are then used to create new handwoven designs. Her passion for hand-dyeing, hand-spinning and hand-weaving her products creates a sustainability cycle that Cassandra is passionate to develop.
Cassandra is also founder of The Oxford Weaving Studio, her community-based weaving studio that she set up in 2019. She invites visitors to her studio learn this exciting craft through weaving workshops, drop-in creative sessions and by offering unique weaving kits, tools, yarn and her original design of frame loom, ‘The Oxford Frame Loom’.