Lark and Bower is the brainchild of Sarah Ward, UK based hand weaver most known for her work as The Aviary Studio.

Most of Sarah’s weaving career since 2010 has been spent producing seasonal collections of hand woven swatches, working closely with brands to develop woven concepts and colour stories for their collections.

The 2020 lockdown provided Sarah the gift of time. This ‘enforced pause’, though initially turning the studio on its head, was an opportunity to evolve and diversify, to re-evaluate her place in the industry.

The idea of ‘off-loom’ weaving was conceived during this time, when Sarah didn't have access to her loom or studio. Desperate to weave, she started using leftover yarn and a needle and thread to make small studies of woven structures; twill, herringbone, houndstooth, hopsack.

Now, despite having access to both studio and loom, she has continued to work on these small, extremely long winded offerings, whilst pondering why woven structure isn’t more celebrated.

Rejecting the constant demand for newness and instead supporting slow-design and sustainable practice, Sarah plans to use these woven pieces to raise awareness about the impact of the textile industry on the environment, and to shine a spotlight on craftsmanship and woven structure as an art form in its own right.

‘Hand-weaving is an often forgotten art, and one which deserves to be appreciated without necessarily being part of a functional or 'throw away' item.

As an ancient craft, weaving is deeply connected to what it is to be a human. Like music, weaving developed in many parts of the world simultaneously, long before civilisations had communication with one another - an idea often forgotten in our new digital and industrial world.

My eyes have been opened to the sheer quantity of new yarn and virgin cotton that is produced to support the fast fashion industry – an industry in which much of what’s made and sold is quickly discarded. The impact on our planet is too great, the waste and throw away culture comes at too high a cost. 

So instead of participating in this I intend to use mill waste yarn, sustainable plant-based fibres, dead stock or surplus yarn from mills that have shut down, or left over yarn from old projects.’

Drawing inspiration from historic French, Japanese and Indian textiles, there is a constant cycle of learning and reworking, whilst maintaining the utmost respect for the craft.

‘Looking at traditional textiles from different parts of the world can teach us so much about history and culture, wars, greed and social injustices - it is a window into another time, but one that educates us about how our products today are a direct result of that history.’

The studio consists of three old 4-shaft WeaveMaster looms, originally made and used by war veterans for work and therapy, one 4-shaft Louet table loom and one large computerised 24-shaft Dobby floor loom.

On these looms, Sarah weaves large Double Ikat pieces, and lengths of hand woven selvedge denim using mill waste cotton and natural indigo, dyed in a non-toxic, plant based dye vat.

‘These projects are born not just out of love for weaving but also out of concern for the way in which the textile industry has been shaped in recent years by the fast fashion mentality, and how that impacts our planet and our future. I intend to use these pieces as a way to raise awareness about that.’

- Sarah Ward

Copyright © 2020 Sarah Ward