The walls of the house I grew up in were covered in textiles and wall hangings – each with a story. Some were carefully packed up and brought to America from my parent’s homes in India, the others were made by my mom for our home. I remember laying on our couch, staring at one particular macrame piece in awe as a kid, not understanding how it all worked and hung together. (I appreciated my mom’s skill even more as a teenager when I became obsessed with friendship bracelets and hemp necklaces and realized she could teach me new knots!) Although my tastes are quite different than my parents, I’ve always loved textiles and wall hangings and have been happy to see them come back into fashion over the last few years.
I knew I wanted to incorporate some textile pieces into our bedroom but was struggling to find an option that Matt also liked and that made sense in the space … I came across Trilby Nelson‘s wall hangings and fell in love – her use of natural materials and pops of color make her work feel more modern and casual than the pieces I grew up with and I knew they would brighten up our dark bedroom. Luckily, Trilby was open to a custom project, awesome to work with, and created amazing pieces that I could never have even imagined – but that make me happy every time I enter our room. Unfortunately, Trilby and I have yet to meet in person – I’d love the chance to meet her and see her studio! Thankfully, she took the time to answer some questions about her work… read on for an interview with Trilby, and check back next week for more wall hanging (and weaving) goodness!
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND:
I studied Fine Art at Scripps College and Environment Design at Art Center College of Design. After school, I worked in exhibit design and branded environment design. For the past several years I’ve worked for Free People and Anthropologie designing and crafting window and interior displays.
WHY DO YOU MAKE YOUR COLLECTION?
I’ve started to make custom wall hangings as a way to work with some of my favorite materials. I love making compositions of color and texture with very tactile materials like fabric and rope. My boyfriend, Jon, and I make log planters because we enjoy the process – finding and collecting the prefect logs, boring into the wood, and planting a pretty succulent in each one. We feel good about making something simple that doesn’t create any waste in the process.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
The outdoors and nature. The landscape of the Southwest. Colors and textures of different cultures. Movies and fashion of past eras. Hardware stores and all the materials that can be repurposed. Visiting new places and revisiting familiar places.
WHERE ARE YOU MOST INSPIRED?
In the morning. The beach, the mountains, the desert, on the road. Where the sky and landscape are big and vast. Always in California.
WHAT MAKES YOUR DAY?
80 degrees and sunny.
WHERE DO YOU ESCAPE?
On the weekends we like to drive out to the hill country surrounding Austin and find a small town to explore. We find a local diner for an early breakfast and spend the day wandering the town. We call it “small town saturdays.”
WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT?
Growing my work and collaborating with others in Austin. I’m also excited about summer and everything that comes with it – swimming, road trips, vacation.
WHAT IS NEXT?
More projects using fibers. Possibly an online shop. An exciting collaboration with my sister.
Photography of Trilby’s studio by Chelsea Fullerton of Go Forth Creative, thank you! Photo of our home by http://www.ashley-sullivan.com.
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