Leila Atelier

Our designs are informed by the raw materials available to us locally. Our homeware products are woven using cotton which is grown & spun in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It then comes to Cape Town where it is dyed by hand using practices which promote community empowerment and environmental consideration through a process of neutralising spent dye vat water so as to not contaminate the earth. For our original artworks we use a selection of locally sourced, handspun mohair & wool as well as other other vintage, natural fibres.

Process is central to our design and craft practice. Rather than concealing the events of the process we choose to use them to inform our unique designs; the advance of the warp, the changing of a bobbin, a dropped shuttle or snapped end. In this way we celebrate the inimitable texture of hand craft cloth as both object and archive, embracing the wabi sabi philosophy of perfect imperfection. We look to nature & traditional craft for inspiration, particularly materials, patterns and structures which have stood the test of time to create timeless textiles which enrich contemporary living with a deeply resonant, enduring simplicity.