Crozet
Artisan Depot

Gillsies was born back in 1996 because of the wish to be able to work at home while her family grew up. By applying the  fashion design and pattern drafting skills she learned in college while still in England, she began designing her own patterns and creating the accompanying sizing options. She produces classic designs made of colorful, high-quality cotton prints and florals.

 

As a continuation of her love for color and texture, she began to research and experiment working with silk fabric and dyes.  In November 2009 her line of hand-dyed silk scarves was introduced. She has developed a variety of ways to fold and manipulate the fabric to produce wonderful patterns in the resulting scarves.

The dyes are all non-toxic and permanent, therefore the scarves are washable in cool water and can be hung to dry.

 

As a way to create even more texturally exciting pieces, her latest endeavor is to add soft wool fibers and yarns to the silk scarves by a method called nuno-felting. This technique actually bonds the wool fibers to the silk base fabric, creating a soft flowing and beautiful scarf.