Agate & Ayre

Edition Four Feature
Words by: April Hay
Location: Glasgow, UK 
Photo Credit: ©Rhiannon Louden @smallfishbrandco 

I am a digital textile designer and seamstress, and the one-woman operation behind Agate & Ayre. I work from my home studio in Glasgow, UK, creating slowly made accessories that feature my textile designs inspired by Scottish geology. My work is sold through my website and in selected galleries across Scotland. 

The primary inspiration for my textile designs is my own photographs of rocks and mineral textures found around Scotland. Each design is named after the stone or geological process that inspired it, and through social media, I delve deeper into the details, sharing knowledge in a way that is accessible and interesting. I believe very strongly that science is for everyone, irrespective of academic ability or background. I’m a very visual learner and I hope that my work ignites a passion for geology in a way that a textbook never could for me. 

My journey really started in 2016, while I was in my last year at Gray’s School of Art, when I began to explore the relationship between science and design. I wanted to take a science subject that I loved and turn it into a beautifully visual collection of textiles to be appreciated by anyone. I grew up in Aberdeen and my summer holidays were spent exploring Scotland’s beautiful ‘ayres’ (shingle beaches), so it made sense in every way to use my experience of geology to inform my work. 

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