Roger Oates
“We always design products that we like and would want in our own home.” If it weren’t for Roger and Faye Oates, Victorian striped stair runners may not be so representative of a chic home interior. Since the 1980s, when the pair were commissioned to reproduce an early nineteenth century flooring fragment, they have come up with their own method of Venetian flatweave flooring.
The wool they use is spun and dyed in Yorkshire to their own palette of colours ranging from neutrals to brights. They then produce a sample on a traditional Swedish loom, interchanging threads and colours until they reach the final composition. Later each carpet is painstakingly hand-finished back in the workshop where the narrow widths can be joined by hand to create distinctive, one-off rugs, coverings and furnishing fabrics.
The term ‘Venetian Flatweaving’ has no connection to Venice, but is just a generic term for this type of twill-based woven flooring (popular in the 17th century and the main method of rug production before pile carpets took over). The entire process happens in the Roger Oates Design Studio at Eastnor, until finally it is taken to the mill to be woven on narrow Dobby looms.
To meet Roger and Faye and see their beautiful coverings and rugs, come to Selvedge's Artisan Christmas Fair at The American Museum in Bath on the 12th December.
The wool they use is spun and dyed in Yorkshire to their own palette of colours ranging from neutrals to brights. They then produce a sample on a traditional Swedish loom, interchanging threads and colours until they reach the final composition. Later each carpet is painstakingly hand-finished back in the workshop where the narrow widths can be joined by hand to create distinctive, one-off rugs, coverings and furnishing fabrics.
The term ‘Venetian Flatweaving’ has no connection to Venice, but is just a generic term for this type of twill-based woven flooring (popular in the 17th century and the main method of rug production before pile carpets took over). The entire process happens in the Roger Oates Design Studio at Eastnor, until finally it is taken to the mill to be woven on narrow Dobby looms.
To meet Roger and Faye and see their beautiful coverings and rugs, come to Selvedge's Artisan Christmas Fair at The American Museum in Bath on the 12th December.