Woven textiles, characterised by inky line drawings and broken geometrics
Founded in London by designer Beatrice Larkin, the studio specialises in modern woven textiles, accessories and interior products. Not driven by seasonal trends, Beatrice’s distinctive, softened geometric fabrics have a timeless quality that is designed to be enjoyed and appreciated all year round.
The design process begins in Bea’s East London studio with her drawings taking inspiration from traditional weave structures, grids and graphs, West African textiles, The Bauhaus and Brutalist architecture. She then turns these sketches into jacquard weaves, playing with scale and repeat, focussing on the structure and design of cloth in equal measure.
All production takes place in England and Beatrice works with well-respected, highly skilled manufacturers who understand the care and attention needed for the high-end textile market. The fabrics are woven in small runs at a jacquard mill in Lancashire and then washed and finished in the Yorkshire Dales. They are then sent to London to be made into throws and cushions, labelled and packaged, every step carefully considered.
The Italian spun merino wool used in Beatrice’s fabrics is more commonly used in the fashion industry for high-end knitwear. Called the ‘Rolls Royce of merino’, the fine, soft fibres of the merino sheep give a beautifully soft and luxurious handle.
Bea comes from a family in the textile industry; her father, an interiors consultant and her mother, a textile designer. She was lucky to grow up surrounded by beautiful fabrics. This led her to study weave at Chelsea College of Art and Design, followed by a masters at the Royal College of Art. At Bea's graduation show in 2013 her woven fabrics were spotted by a buyer from Heals. It took a few years to source the right yarn and manufacturers but in Spring 2016 she launched her first collection which has now been stocked in Daylesford Organic, Heals, Folk Clothing, Kent and London and Tate Modern.