Brought up in Ennerdale, textile designer and maker Sophie Wilson moved to Keswick originally to further her music studies. Ultimately, she went on to university to study electronic engineering, but retained her musical and textile craft interests. In 2015 she and husband Luke bought and renovated the premises they opened in 2019 as creative hub The Makers Mill. As SEW Design, Sophie creates soft furnishings, bags and some knitted items.
Running The Makers Mill is my main job: programming its workshops and gallery. For SEW Design, I make both commissions and speculative work for the gallery and for Cable & Blake, in Kendal, with hopefully more galleries later this year. I also still work in engineering two days a week and do a little piano teaching.
My soft furnishings and upholstery often feature ‘circuit stitch’ – a design from my engineering background – and I change colourways to suit private commissions, as with my bags. I also knit small batch items like hats. I spend a lot of time marketing Makers Mill on social media too and spend every September planning next year’s workshop programme.
Creating the Makers’ Mill has been just the best thing, although making circuit stitch cushions for L’Enclume’s guest rooms is up there too! Being part of Craftsmen at the Priory last year was good too, but on a personal level, just completing a rucksack, bag and purse collection or a circuit stitch range feels like a real achievement.
The iterative process of design is the thing that I love. It’s also the most challenging as I often decide what features I want before knowing what I need to do to make it a reality: I know what I want, but how do I get there? I enjoy the journey, though learning new techniques can be challenging.
I do a lot with my time. It’s a lifestyle business, so you can flex. But actually I don’t see my making as work, while the gallery excites me. Music is hobby as well as work – I play and sing with local band The Kasios – and I try to get out running, cycling or wild swimming when I can.
We’ll be having our second Open Bench Day at The Makers Mill in November. It’s a great opportunity for people to come for advice, tools, equipment queries etc. Come with your sewing question! I’ll also be exhibiting at Lancaster design shop and gallery Arteria in December and January.
My mission this year is to raise the profile of the gallery and make ourselves more visible in Keswick. As part of that I’ve just started a blog and will also be joining tourism websites and doing publicly visible creative projects locally: I’m really passionate about us on the map.
Makers Mill Open Bench Day, Fri Nov 1
themakersmill.co.uk
Instagram: sew_design_textiles
cableandblake.co.uk
