Meet the Maker | Erin Thompson
J&M Davidson have a long history of supporting makers and craftspeople – our heritage is built on it! We asked maker Erin Thompson to give us some insight on her fabrication of the oversized flower piece designed by Tina Vaia that decorates our SS21 windows!
What was your inspiration behind the piece?
ET: This piece was designed by the fabulous Tina Vaia, and I’m really the maker of it, my objective was to get it as like Tina’s drawings as possible.
How did you gather this information?
ET: I had a few WhatsApp sessions with Tina and we talked about the scale of the overall item and how we wanted it to look, from the use of different fabrics and how much padding to use and how many petals to have. It really was a collaborative effort, to get to the end result
How would you describe the piece to someone who hadn't seen it?
ET: It’s titled “Floppy Flower” and it’s a huge, over 2 metre long patchwork flower, that is with a mix of fabrics from J&M Davidson’s spring/summer collection. It’s definitely hand made, and has a hand hewn vibe to it.
What reaction would you like people to have to it?
ET: It’s happy making - a big spring flower that I’d like to think will make people smile.
How did you plan which piece of fabric would form which part of the sculpture? Or was it instinctual?
ET: I knew which fabrics Tina wanted where and also which her favourites were, so when I added petals, I used those, plus the blue floral, which joins all the other fabrics up, as it’s such a lovely mix of pinks and blues.
Why do you think craft is important in 2021?
ET: I think it’s fascinating how craft has evolved in recent times and is now viewed through a very different lens, as something aspirational. Now more then ever, the emotion and connection inherent in a crafted item has so much more resonance. People are drawn to this, almost instinctively.