5 Minutes With… Wendy Morrison

How about we delve a little in to the world of rugs? Here’s our 5 minutes with rug designer, Wendy Morrison…

Tell us about the first place you called “home” and how did you make it your own?

Oh my word, what a question!  When you have moved as much as I have and experienced so many homes this is where you start to question home……

Wherever I have moved to I have always loved making home – from my first room at college, my first bed-sit and my first flat, to our first house where our children were born, needless to say it has not been progressive in the most straightforward of ways.

The first flat we bought was where I was finally allowed the freedom to create a home rather than working with other people’s colours, wallpapers etc after living in rental properties for many years. This flat was part of a ground floor tenement in the west end of Glasgow, a good position just up the hill from nice shops and restaurants and a riverside walk and park, which was important as we had just adopted our dog Jamie, shortly followed by the cat, Crosbie.  And I as write I realise this is what makes a home, who you share it with.

Currently we live in a rental house, I call this home, it has many white walls that I have decorated with pictures and objects, windows with curtains I have made and of course many rugs on the floors. I share this home with my husband, 2 boys and a dog, and should any of us be away at any time it certainly does feel like someone is missing!

What’s been your biggest design challenge to date and which completed rug are you most proud of?

I think my biggest challenge was getting my designs into John Lewis, although I have encountered many design challenges along the way, this one has been good because I feel like I have since received some recognition for what I do. I do love the ‘Crocus’ rug I created for JL (as below), although this is not a best seller like Blossom Tree, I do love the colours and the fact it has been accepted commercially.

A lot of your designs are very intricate and graphic, has there ever been a time when you’ve found it difficult to bring a design to rug-form?

To be honest, no I haven’t.  Admittedly I am always challenging the tufter but the reality is the designs always come to life as they take on the new dimension of the rug, I love seeing the artwork recreated into the rug, it never disappoints!

We read that your work is inspired by your surroundings, what’s currently inspiring you for 2015? Can you give us a taster of upcoming collections and projects?

2015 has very much been inspired by the French Art Deco movement. The last brief from John Lewis was on this subject and along with a lot of time spent visiting the French and Swiss Rivera this year you can’t help but be in awe of its beauty. However I am now feeling the need for some colour, I have been enjoying a book on the artist Henri Rousseau and also looking into the neighbouring design movement Bauhaus. The following collection will be colourful again, as much as I have enjoyed working with the rich neutrals, I do yearn for colour.

Finally, for those interested in getting in to the world of textiles, or more specifically rug design, what advice would you give them?

Enjoy what you do and be true to yourself!  

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A lovely piece of advice to finish on!

Thank you so much to Wendy for sharing with us about her work – and we couldn’t agree more that a home is who you share it with.

To find out more about Wendy, her designs and to keep up-to-date on upcoming collections, head here.

David & Mark x