Bea Uprichard and Ruth Farris of Fishbone and Sycamore are the sole designers of heritage Jacquard handloom silk in the UK, and they have dedicated themselves to restoring, weaving and perfecting lost skills alongside the innovative restoration team at Paradise Mill in Macclesfield. Here time has stood still since the Industrial Revolution, when Macclesfield was the world’s largest producer of finished silk. Paradise Mill is the only remaining relic. Built in 1862, the mill continued producing commercially until the weavers and tacklers finally dropped their tools in 1981, and their tools have barely moved since.

 

Silk weaving is on the Heritage Craft Association’s red list of endangered crafts, and Fishbone and Sycamore is the result of Bea and Ruth’s resolve not only to preserve, but to breathe new life into the craft. They design and produce 100% silk products using deadstock silk yarn, and only traditional processes, passed down through generations since Macclesfield’s global notoriety for silk began in the 18th century. Their designs are playful and joyful, rooted in tradition, and celebrate the intricate marriage of technology and beauty in the Jacquard mechanism, whose binary system once inspired the first computer.

 

Always 100% handmade in the UK.