Passion #2: Texture
Close your eyes …. Run your hand over the nearest surface within your reach. Is it smooth? Is it knobbly? Is it spikey? Imagine your hands caressing a surface – what texture would feel comforting? Have you ever thought about it?
Our senses are formidable. When I was little, my grandmother would blindfold me and ask me to identify items by touch. I thought that it was a bit silly at the time, but I learnt that there is a marked difference between touching dried corn, dried wheat and dried rice. To this day, I’m not sure why she did it, but should my life depend on it, I’d give it my best shot to identify something by touch.
Texture can give comfort. I remember my boys when they were little – they loved touching their cotton blankets and their favourite soft toys. They would run their little fingers over the woven fabric, and they would find it soothing and comforting.
In the fashion world texture is a huge part of design. Think of touching smooth silk, then roughly woven linen, then tactile cotton – what do you feel? What do you like? Soft and smooth textures tend to be body hugging and will emphasize the natural outline of the body. Some of us love that, others not so much. Crisper, more unyielding textures will provide more space between fabric and the body, they may offer a more angular shape, which again, is a matter of individual choice. There is no right or wrong, it’s all personal.
All the same rules apply to jewellery and handbags. If your hands search for smooth surfaces to give you pleasure, then the fabrics in your attire should match those desires. If, however, you enjoy the unknowns of textures of components such as wire, metal, glass, wood and more, you may long to have these near you to touch. Many of the jewellery items I make involve wire work and textured elements, and as such, as I mention in the product copy, some items have a mind of their own, especially the wire crocheted necklaces. These pieces will not lie flat against your skin, they elect to find their own space and create their own shapes. If you embrace this characteristic, you will savour the joy of an undisciplined free spirited piece of jewellery.
As for handbags, well…. texture and colour are the first thing you will notice in my handbags. Habit has dictated my choice in handbags for years - I grew up thinking that nothing could come close to the timeless classic leather handbag. Suede feels so velvety, soft and full grain leather is tough, stylish and durable. I still have a couple of bags I bought decades ago, and they look gorgeous to this day. Then, just before COVID, my husband bought me a black knitted woolen bag for my birthday - that’s when I realised that there are plenty other interesting materials out there used to manufacture handbags. The lockdown period afforded me the opportunity and time to experiment with various threads and natural recycled ribbons and I now use these wonderfully textured materials in my handbag designs.
I believe that texture is a vital feature of our environment. Simply touching something which evokes a memory is sufficient to lighten your mood. I’ve watched many women in so many different situations play with an earring, the link of a chain, a textured bead in a necklace, a tassle or a smooth wedding band - and every time the texture of that object did its magic.
To me, texture is something I see with my eyes, I feel with my hands and imagine in my soul. I love to choose something to wear with my eyes closed, simply by touching it…
Close-up of one of the beautiful textured upcycled Sari Silk Handbags - “Fuchsia”