Up and coming eco homeware designers

In November 2011 Living in Space styled ‘The Deco Affair’, a top industry showcase of exciting new designers. This year’s ethos was that sustainable design can be super high-end and luxurious and can sit alongside any top luxury brand in an interior. We were thrilled to work with some of Britain’s best up and coming designers of luxury yet sustainable textiles and soft furnishings, and 2012 is already proving an industrious year for them all. We’d like to take this opportunity to introduce them to the readers of Real Homes... these are names to watch in 2012!

Jude Cassidy, one of Ireland’s only textile designers dedicated to hand weaving and currently working with David Collins, will soon be launching more stunning eco yarns, including bamboo and recycled sari yarns which will capture the effect of light reflecting and travelling through the layers in fabrics. As well as her existing range of high-end throws and cushions, she will also be working on her first lower price pointed range of eco friendly cushions.

Mumo, originally born out of a passion to help protect the Amazonian rainforest and other parts of the world, as well as creating and developing supply chains that support its people, are producers of organic, hand crafted and recycled textiles – current collections include jute, silk and the softest most beautiful fish leather! Mumo have just embarked on 'The Cotton Project', the aim of which is to create, promote and help sustain fair-trade/organic cotton supply chains in the textiles industry. Two tonnes of organic cotton from farmers in the North East of Brazil has been bought based on fair trade principles, paying almost double the market price, setting quite the example for others in the industry. It’s a small step towards fair trade for cotton producers in what is an unbelievably exploitative market.

AO textiles creates bespoke, sustainable textiles, floor cushions and bedspreads for interiors and couture, using combinations of natural dyes, embroidery, marbling, digital print and jacquard weave. They also recycle unused fabrics from Gainsborough silks – in their words, ‘recycling is upcycling’! AO are currently developing a stunning marbled design that is superimposed onto a Gainsborough damask weave due to be launched this Spring – certainly something we’ve never seen before and bound to be a great hit.