WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Supplied
The distinctive patterns synonymous with Skinny laMinx take on a new guise in a collaboration with Mae Artisan Rugs.
Mae Pakdoust is known in the industry for her love of contemporary design, use of bold colour and keen eye for detail. Mae Artisan Rugs‘ latest collaboration marries Mae’s exquisite rug-making techniques with the patterns and shapes of another local textile great, Cape Town-based design studio Skinny laMinx.
“I thought I could imagine what my designs might look like as a rug,” says Heather, “and imagined that what I’d planned on paper would look pretty similar on a rug. To my mind, the rug design was all about composition, colour and scale, but working with Mae caused this misconception completely explode,” says Heather.
Weaving the designs
Mae’s knowledge of and curiosity about the manufacturing process, materials and technique brings texture and dimension to Heather’s visual compositions.
The Skinny laMinx patterns are reimagined in this collaboration with a palette of soft colours, and have been woven into simple kelims, super soft hand-knotted bamboo silk rugs, high-contrast hand-tufted rugs and on rough hand-knotted Jute rugs, too.
When first encountering her designs as rugs in the Mae Artisan Rugs showroom, Heather’s response was to take off her shoes and walk across all of the rugs laid next to one another. “I was so overwhelmed by seeing my colours and compositions brought to life through Mae’s techniques and materials, and found I was only able to synthesise the experience for myself through my sense of touch – through the soles of my feet”, says Heather.
A truly charming feature in this collaboration is that a small Skinny laMinx bird logo has been woven into the corner of each of the rugs. With no pattern supplied for this bird, it was up to each artisan to figure out how to create it in the materials, and the result is that each bird is charmingly, wonkily different.
All rugs in this collaboration are available from Mae Artisan Rugs. Contact Mae Artisan Rugs for pricing, availability and orders.
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