David Irwin

Kin

2019

Kin celebrates the impact of human touch within machine production, the maker's mark, and the mastery of processes inherent in textile manufacture.

Using the fingerprints of Bute employees a fluid and dynamic pattern has been created. The arrangement possesses the appearance of motion in unison, a collective mass swirling in an almost hypnotic display. The unique characteristics of a fingerprint are further enhanced with nepp yarn, adding contrasting flecks of colour to increase texture and variety throughout the weave.

The pattern has the additional aim of aiding upholstery, with its multi-directional nature and consistent pattern density, the need for perfect seam alignment is reduced, helping navigate intersecting planes and tricky junctions.

Kin and Clan make up the Identity collection which, alongside Strata, are the first Jacquard weaves to be produced in the company's 70-year history.

Both the Identity and Strata collections were awarded the Design Guild Mark in 2021.

The collections also received the Johnathan Hindle Prize – an additional award presented to the most outstanding of the year’s Design Guild Mark awarded pieces.

MATERIALS: 68% Wool, 21% Polyamide, 11% Silk | ABRASION: Martindale 175,000 cycles | PATTERN REPEAT: W 140cm x H 160cm | APPLICATION: Suitable for upholstery and drapery in both heavy-duty contract and domestic applications | BUTE DESIGN TEAM: Rachel Evison and Kirsty Neil

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To create the pattern for Kin a fingerprint was taken from everyone who works at Bute Fabrics. These marks provided the graphical source material with a direct link back to the people who create the product. Each individual print was then blended to form an overall base image, upon which digital artwork could be created and later translated into a suitable weave structure.

Kin’s palette, informed by the primary colours and motifs of heraldic shields, contain punchy contrasts as well as softer, tonal partnering’s. Greens and reds of the Stuart tartan are also referenced in Kin, offering a nod to the past whilst providing a contemporary update.

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The Origin of Bute Fabrics as a company is rooted in its people. The mill was founded in 1947 by the 5th Marquess of Bute with the sole purpose of providing employment opportunities for service people returning home from the Second World War.

Today, the mill is one of the biggest employers on the island and is still supported by the Bute family. Together they share a continued commitment towards the local community on the Isle of Bute.

Despite modern weaving being such a mechanised and industrial process there’s still a clear appreciation for tradition, so much still relies on the knowledge and experience acquired through an individual’s sense of touch.

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