THE STORY BEHIND THE HONITON COLLECTION

All my passementerie collections have stories behind them, often a mixture of references nd I can always visualise the outcomes and where and how in an interior setting the trims, tassels, tassels, tiebacks and rosettes would be utilized. I invent characters, places and situations that all feed into my passementerie and the new collection, Honition, is no different.

There is no set pattern or design process. Sometimes the colours come first, other times it's the concept or materials, or everything converges at once. I tend to design as I make or weave as I feel this makes the design process more organic, less laboured.

The Beginning

Honiton was inspired by those lyrical collections of random objects that trigger wistful reflections of other times.

A scrap of antique lace.

A porcelain figurine.

A worn out book.

A piece of faded curtain chintz.

A shell that if you put it to your ear you can hear the sea.

An old bottle of Devon Violets scent.

A pebble with a hole through which you can view the world.

An heirloom amethyst brooch.

But how to make them connect together as source inspiration for a coherent collection was proving tricky until I stumbled across the Spanish surrealist artist, Maruja Mallo, a contemporary of Dali. I arranged my objects into surrealist assemblages, photographed them and everything fell into place.

The First Middle. Paintings by Maruja Mallo

The Second Middle. Surreal Assemblages by Jessica Light

From here I could start to visulise the trim and tassel designs and the next move was to take those mental images and turn them into made and woven samples. This stage is sometimes the most exciting as it is an organic journey as not everything I see in my head translates into reality, so there is trial and error, but new possibilities that I haven't forseen can also present themselves.

I wanted to create a decidedly delicate and pretty collection that would bring a quiet, floral, almost surreal aura to any interior. Apart from the patterns and colours of the designs, I used a mixture of hair-fine matt rayon and linen to lend a fragility to the passementerie and the overall result was one of whimisal but calm effect.

The Third Middle, The Neo-Classical Colours.

The colour palette for this new passementerie collection was initially formed by drawing out hues from a couple of seascape studies I'd painted when I visited Sidmouth but I also drew colours from the neo-classical interiors of Robert Adams, specifically from Osterley Park and Syon House, both in West London.  I felt the colour palate should be sightly off-kilter, but exude a subtle sweetness and not go with obvious combinations.

The last part is editing what I have made, taking designs away, tweeking them and making sure the dimensions are harmonious. When I feel the collection is complete in all aspects, that is when it is ready to launch.

The End.

Concept x Colour x Materials = Jessica Light Passementerie.

You can view the whole collection here.

Honiton

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