Hello from your maker!
Hey howdy folks! I’m Carly, the one woman show behind Lorelei Textile Design. Everything under the Lorelei brand was sourced, designed, dyed, cut, and sewn by my own hands.
Born and raised in Winnipeg, I made the leap to BC in 2016 to pursue my fibre loving dreams by attending the KSA Textiles Program in Nelson. There I was enriched with a deeper knowledge and reverence for sustainable textiles production through natural dyeing and weaving.
I grew up in a household that regularly shopped at yard sales and thrift stores through necessity and for pleasure. Those early experiences really shaped how I view and engage with consumer culture. It’s deeply ingrained in me to shop secondhand, repurpose, and reuse before buying new, so it only came naturally to incorporate that ethos into my textiles practice. My Mom is an incredible seamstress who has always mended our family's clothing and made use of secondhand fibres. I spent many hours as a little human watching with curious eyes as she snipped and stitched. Often she would reserve a bag of scraps for my sister and I to experiment with when we were little ones. My Mumma and my Aunty are/were avid gardeners, and because of them I have many core memories amongst the blossoms, berries, bees, and butterflies. When you grow up around women who love flowers, and vintage linens, and making something new from the old, it is a gift to the future you. As I have blossomed as a textiles artist, those early influences are always near to my heart and mind. Those two women are my forever muses. In case you can’t tell, I’m an incredibly sentimental person! A vintage linen can bring tears to my eyes without warning.
Today, I get to work with second hand fibres and natural colour on the daily and I am so so grateful that I am able to share my passion with all of you. This practice is an essential part of me; endlessly fascinating, inspiring, and comforting. I can’t imagine living any other way; steeped in botanicals and soft, soft cloth, carrying on family practices started generations before I was born. When I’m not puttering in the studio you can usually find me at home; stretched out in a sunbeam, cooking delicious food, cuddling my dear old cat, or out and about in Victoria teaching workshops on eco printing.
