BETHAN LAURA WOOD
Bethan Laura Wood has run a multidisciplinary studio since 2009 characterised by materials investigation, artisan collaboration and a passion for colour and detail. Residencies and location-based projects have become an important factor in her design process, often working in response to her travels and in collaboration with local manufacturers to create work that reflects the visual and material culture particular to that area.
Bethan is fascinated by the connections we make with everyday objects that surround us and, as a collector herself, likes to explore what drives people to hold on to one particular object while discarding another. Bethan explores these relationships and questions how they might become cultural conduits. She is interested in critical approaches to achieving sustainability within mass consumption and the production-driven context of the design industry.
BETHAN LAURA WOOD X TEIXIDORS
From this new collaboration between Bethan Laura Wood and Teixidors comes Soft Focus. Geometry, repetition and colour begin with graphic research and are transformed into a textile piece to be touched, explored up close and, in a way, inhabited. Geometry becomes soft, and pattern becomes more than just an image. The collaboration brings together Bethan Laura Wood’s interest in colour, materials and cultural references with Teixidors’ expertise in handweaving, translating the designer’s creative universe into the language of textiles.
This new collaboration introduces a series of textile pieces, including throws, blankets and cushions. The throw is the first piece in a collection that will soon welcome new creations. Featuring 11 colours and 4,700 metres of yarn, each throw requires 32 hours of work, 15 of which are spent weaving, and involves the hands of nine people. The handweaving process requires up to 36 stops to measure colour changes precisely and control the insertion of each yarn. The result is an exquisite 320-gram cashmere piece whose lightness embodies the precision, care and craftsmanship behind its artisanal production.
It all begins with observing.
Some designers begin with a shape. Others, with a material. Bethan Laura Wood could begin with a colour, or, better still, with two that, in theory, don’t go particularly well together.
Bethan’s work is based on a wide range of inspirations. She observes, she keeps objects, she researches. And she lets some things mix with others without reservation. There is something of a tenacious collector in her practice. Inspiration can come from anywhere: a market, a façade, a handcrafted object, a piece of fabric, an exotic fruit. Flashes in the eye and objects that may seem completely unrelated… until they arrive at her studio and enter into a dialogue.
She has always treasured objects. If she finds a reason to keep something, she will. There seems to be very little difference between collecting objects and gathering ideas. She likes to be occupied, to hold things and look at them closely. Her collection works as a living archive that can be touched and that provides constant learning. The objects that enter her life remain in view, they interact with each other and, over time, some end up reappearing in her designs, transformed.
Discover the publication nº5
Nº5 Colour as a Thread – BETHAN LAURA WOOD
In this issue of TRAMA, we step into the creative world of Bethan Laura Wood, where colour, curiosity and a passion for objects intertwine. An insight into how she collects inspiration, explores materials and collaborates with artisans to transform unexpected references into pieces full of character.
