Local designer Margaret Hamilton has been creating contemporary textiles and accessories in Shetland for over twenty years.
She writes: "I am fortunate to live by the sea. Its changing moods, colours and shapes are influenced by the weather and are endlessly fascinating. The flotsam and jetsam of objects washed up on the shore turn my walks with my dog Cassie into a delightful treasure trail of inspiration and ideas. The rusting abandoned farm implements and the windblown grasses in the fields, the flowers and mosses clinging to the rocks, all serve to emphasise the effects of the weather. I take photographs and gather objects – these are the starting blocks of my designs."
One of Margaret's designs is named Moder Dy, which is Shetland dialect for a type of underlying reflected ripple created from waves rebounding back out to sea from the shoreline. Old fishermen are said to have been able to detect and interpret the strength and direction of these ripples and used their effect to guide them home from the distant ‘far haaf’ fishing grounds. This pattern was originally designed for an exhibition at Bonhoga Gallery.
Margaret's unique, Shetland-inspired designs are currently available to buy from the Bonhoga Gallery shop.
