VENUE 45 - Ellen Martin, 33 Rossie Place
Printed Textile Designer
Ellen Martin is a designer specialising in printed and dyed textiles. With a focus on hand-drawing, collage and repeat pattern, her work captures details found in her surroundings, often when visiting new places. She uses a combination of traditional and contemporary techniques including digital printing, screen-printing and katazome, a Japanese resit-dyeing method. With an interest in fashion and interiors, she likes to produce versatile designs that can be used in both contexts. In spring 2019, she spent four months studying at Kyoto Seika University in Japan, where she learned traditional Japanese textile techniques while gathering research and inspiration for her graduate collection at the Glasgow School of Art. The experience she had in Japan has greatly informed her approach to design and continues to inspire her work today.
After graduating in 2020 with a First Class BA(Hons) in Textile Design, she launched her first collection of digitally printed silk scarves with a Japanese influence. Her catalogue now also includes a range of wool and silk blend scarves with prints inspired by broken pieces of china beach-combed on the Isle of Mull. Alongside these digitally printed collections, she produces small batch, hand-dyed home accessories.
She recently returned to Japan to receive tuition to expand her knowledge and skills in the katazome resist-dyeing method and to learn how to dye with indigo. The experience has given her an insight into a different way of working and will inform and inspire her for a long time to come.
