Hand weaving studio in Somerset
KULU textiles designer Emma Fallon completed a BA (hons) in Textile Design at Falmouth Collage of Arts in 2006 where she trained in print and weave and specialised in weave. In 2009 she went on to set up a textiles studio in Bristol, building a louet floor loom and weaving fine silk fabrics for fashion and accessories. She worked freelance for Salt studio in London, weaving bespoke window dressings for international clients.
In 2017 she enrolled on an MA in Fashion and Textiles and during the MA she was awarded the international travel scholarship to travel to India and work with a fair trade textiles cooperative researching natural dyes and sustainable textile production. She spent three months working with Avani and designed a collection of handwoven natural dyed homewares and accessories in collaboration with the project. She was awarded the Bath Spa entrepreneurship award to launch the collection in the UK. On completion of her MA in 2019 Emma launched KULU textiles. In addition to designing and making Emma is now represented by Studio Bodhi a sustainable woven design studio who act as an agent, exhibiting Emma’s woven and printed designs at international trade fairs.
Inspiration
The main inspiration behind her work is landscape, clouds, water and a love of detail, intricate pattern and Japanese design. Journeying across the British Isles by bike she documents the landscape using photography and drawing and develops this primary research into textile designs. She works in weave and print creating fabrics using both traditional techniques and digital processes to create contemporary textiles that merge antiquity with the modern.
Awards
On completion of her MA in 2019 Emma was selected for Texselect, a national industry program that selected the top 24 UK graduates giving the opportunity to exhibit in London with industry and at Premier Vision in Paris. Emma gained commissions with international clients at Premier Vision, she was nominated for the best interiors prize and came highly recommended by Woolmark.
In 2020 Emma was selected by the crafts council for HotHouse, a business mentoring program for emerging makers. During the program she become a member of Design Nation and launched “the Storr Collection” a range of hand crafted furniture made in collaboration with J Pryor featuring mill woven silk fabrics by KULU.
Values
Emma believes that in creating with our hands we can make meaningful objects that enhance our lives. When we hold a beautifully hand crafted item, it brings a sense joy that makes it so much more than an inanimate object. Hand weaving fabrics brings a deeper connection to our heritage. Through a consideration for the environmental impact KULU uses only natural, and biodegradable fibres. Natural dyed eri silk, wool and linen are sourced from Avani- a fair trade textiles cooperative in India specialised in sustainable textile production. Yarns are sourced from fairfield yarns who supply redundant yarn stocks from the Textile industry and the Jacquard production is made from Italian spun silk and cotton, woven in a Lancashire mill in the UK.
KULU strives to create meaningful textiles with a story that can be cherished forever, through creating cloth that connects us to nature through a carefully considered narrative and origin of materials.
