WBG and Seasalt

The Trust is pleased to have provided access to Willie’s work to inspire Cornish lifestyle brand, Seasalt’s October collection. Chairman Geoffrey Bertram explains: ‘We were very excited when Seasalt approached us to feature Willie. We hope partnering with Seasalt will introduce her work to a different generation and make her work more accessible to a larger audience across the country. I’m sure Willie would have been pleased with the Seasalt collaboration. She was always interested in fashion (the manager of their St Ives shop fondly remembers Willie popping in to chat about their latest prints and colours ) and might have been tempted with one or two pieces from this collection.’

This is the third occasion  in recent times that Willie’s art has directly inspired creators in different media; firstly furniture designer Grant Sonnex who introduced her lines into his cabinets, and glass artist Fiaz Elson bringing Willie’s colour to her sculpture.

Seasalt co-founder and senior print designer, Sophie Chadwick, adds: “This autumn, our designers’ scrapbooks and mood-boards were filled with the paintings and sketches of many celebrated local artists. The AW17 collection draws on Cornwall’s artistic heritage and culture, with a focus on the thriving artistic communities that sprang up in Newlyn, Lamorna and St Ives during the 20th century, taking inspiration from strong female artists such as Dod Procter, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham and Sandra Blow. Colours, textures and forms leapt from gallery walls to inform our colour palettes, fabrics and unique prints. Our textile team has explored Willie’s work, with delicately drawn botanicals and tumbling abstract shapes to create some of our best prints yet! And the collection was photographed mostly at St Ives’ Porthmeor Studios where Willie had her studio until the early 1960s.”

The new Seasalt collection will be available to view on the website from the 3rd of October for 4 weeks. www.seasaltcornwall.co.uk