Meet our Maker of the Month

Each month our shop features the work of an emerging or established maker, along with offering 10% off selected pieces of their work.

Our Maker of the Month for March is: KAREN ERLEBACH

How and why did you become a maker?

After working for over 15 years in an office ‘shuffling paperwork’ I had to escape! I had completed two correspondence textile courses through the Open College of the Arts and had started tapestry weaving. It was time to see where pursuing my passion for fabrics and textiles could take me.

Did you have an inspirational teacher or mentor?

I’m probably best described as being largely self-taught. After I started weaving tapestries I joined the Dorset Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and then did a 2-day beginners course in how to warp up and weave on a 4-shaft loom. Reading lots of books and lots of experimenting (not always successfully!) followed. I definitely have a favourite books list and I’m grateful to all of them and friends at the DGWSD for sharing their knowledge. I bought a copy of Janet Phillips’ book on Fabric Design when I was in my late teens, I just loved the cover on it, and twenty years later I finally understood it!

How would you describe your work?

Tactile, textured and colourful. A few pieces are flat but they are still very patterned and full of colour. I hope that my textiles are fun and pleasurable to wear.

What type of material do you prefer to work with?

Most of the fibres I use are natural fibres: wool, silk and cotton. They have to be a high quality and have a luxurious feel when woven into a fabric.

What would you most like to make that you haven't so far?

Larger items of clothing, probably combining different weaving and dyeing techniques to make something that could be thought of as a ‘wearable piece of art’.

What are the benefits and disadvantages of being a maker?

Being a self-employed maker, and weaving all my own fabrics, means I have control of what I make and flexibility of arranging my work throughout the week.
However, any item that is woven is an investment of both yarns and my time, the risks and decisions involved in production lie with the maker. It is only when a design is sold that it is proven to be commercially viable. Finding appropriate sales outlets can also be challenging. There are far more fine art galleries, some of whom deal with sculpture, ceramics and jewellery, than there are craft galleries which feature textiles.


You can see and purchase Karen's work in the Walford Mill Crafts shop all through March.