West Elm - Interiors Collection
Wallace Sewell is delighted to share the story behind their collaboration with West Elm—a creative journey that brought together the studio’s passion for weaving with West Elm’s contemporary vision for the home.
The project began with a deep exploration of West Elm’s ethos. The Wallace Sewell team immersed themselves in the brand’s themes, gathering reference imagery and developing early ideas through paintings, drawings, and woven samples from the studio’s archive. One concept was selected in collaboration with the West Elm design team, forming the foundation for a new collection of pillows, throws, and rugs.
Wallace Sewell has long believed that great textile design is as much about structure and touch as it is about visual composition. Their work often makes an immediate impression through bold patterns and vibrant stripes, yet closer inspection reveals intricately woven textures and details. This duality reflects their collaborative design process: Harriet brings a focus on visual pattern, while Emma explores innovative structure and technique—together creating work that balances both aesthetics and construction beautifully.
A lasting inspiration for the studio is the Bauhaus, particularly the work of Anni Albers. The movement’s blend of handcraft and industrial methods closely mirrors Wallace Sewell’s own approach—developing ideas on handlooms before scaling them for production. The bold, asymmetric blocks and clean geometric forms typical of Bauhaus textiles continue to influence the studio’s use of colour and layout.
The collaboration with West Elm proved to be both fast-paced and creatively invigorating. It encouraged the team to push beyond their usual parameters in exciting and unexpected ways. Notably, the rugs were produced at a Fair Trade–certified facility in India, marking a rare departure from Wallace Sewell’s UK-based production model. For a studio deeply rooted in weaving, it was a rewarding experience to see their designs translated through different craft traditions and manufacturing techniques.
Wallace Sewell continues to draw inspiration from many sources—art, architecture, nature, and the rhythm of the built environment. They remain energised by the evolving connection between fashion and interiors, where lifestyle and home increasingly overlap, offering new opportunities for textiles to take centre stage.
