British textile artist Margo Selby visited refugee camp in Greece to collaborate with Syrian refugees on a new range of homewares.
*Every item includes an orange strip from the life vests found on the beaches of Lesvos
*Each time you buy a product you’re supporting a refugee and their family as they begin to rebuild lives shattered by war, one stitch at a time.
Social enterprise Love Welcomes has collaborated with the renowned British textile artist and designer, Margo Selby, to produce a wonderful collection together with a group of refugee women in the camps in Greece.
Each item in the collection is handwoven by refugees out of strips of life vest material and upcycled blanket fabric. By purchasing these wonderful designs, you will be directly supporting refugees.
Margo Selby - who has collaborated with a range of creative partners, including; Tate Galleries, the British Museum & the Royal Opera House – visited the refugee camp in Greece in April 2019 and worked with the women to create the new collection. She said:
"It was an honour to weave with such a resilient group of women. In my family, women have always made textiles in the home and I have spent my life turning woven textiles into a career. It has been so rewarding to share my knowledge, and to see first-hand how the production of this collection is impacting real lives in such a positive way"
Margo travelled with Abi Hewitt, (Love Welcomes Co-founder) to their workshop and worked with the refugee weavers, further developing their technical skills and teaching them to weave a set of products developed in the Margo Selby studio.
One of the women we work with in the camps in Greece said “Margo showed us how to weave a new style we had never done before, and we love it”.
Love Welcomes is a small, creative social enterprise that helps refugee women begin to stitch their lives back together. They take the life vests and blankets worn by terrified, exhausted Syrians as they wash up on European shores. The team of refugee women then transform them into beautiful, handmade welcome mats (and more), that are sold all over the world.
Love Welcomes co-founder Abi Hewitt said “We can’t stop the Syrian refugee crisis that has forced millions of men, women and children to flee their homes out of fear for their lives. But we’re not helpless either. We can help some of those who arrive in Greece to weave a better future for themselves and their families, one which is full of hope and purpose. We think big but we act small, and we change one life at a time. “
Margo Selby is a renowned British textile artist and designer. Her design philosophy is focused on pushing the boundaries of weaving to create contemporary stylish fabrics for a range of textile applications, uniting the very best weavers and high quality fibres to produce beautifully crafted products