Artist Bio
Mourne Textiles is a design-led manufacturer of woven products based in County Down. For three generations their master-weavers have produced the mid-century visions of Norwegian design pioneer and founder, Gerd Hay-Edie. Now led by Gerd’s grandson Mario Sierra, Mourne Textiles creates contemporary home furnishings inspired by a rich weaving heritage, rooted in the landscape and community of Northern Ireland – but with a contemporary, international, collaborative outlook. By harnessing the skills and traditions of the past with a modern, contemporary aesthetic, Mourne Textiles creates woven scarves, rugs and homeware products that acknowledge the rich heritage of weaving in Northern Ireland while always maintaining modern relevance.
QEST supported Mario’s training in yarn spinning and development from Joan Johnston and Mark Lightowlers. Mario also sought training in Hattersley loom tuning, weaving and maintenance. They are powered by small motors, yet weave a tweed much like a handloom with a woven selvedge. Mourne Textiles had four in the studio, but no means of getting them working – now they are operating, the range of fabrics and products they can make has expanded considerably.
In 2021, Mourne Textiles announced their collaboration with interiors gallery twentytwentyone and The Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation. To mark their twenty-fifth anniversary, twentytwentyone have released a limited series of the iconic Robin Day Reclining Chair, one of Day’s most successful and iconic designs, upholstered in the Mourne Textiles Cloughmore fabric.
