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Leila Atelier: Home linens that elevate the everyday
Leila Atelier began as Crosspolynations in 2018 as a means to craft a life and business with purpose, which fostered connection and a means of ethically aligned creative expression. Founder Leila Walter became fascinated by the history of textiles and the craftspeople who make them while on an extended trip to India in 2018. She became entirely enraptured with cloth and the stories it carries.
AN ANCIENT & BEAUTIFUL CRAFT
The weaving of cloth by hand is an ancient, rich and beautiful history which dates as far and wide as humans ourselves. The brand was started as a platform to explore and celebrate this legacy. Its first iteration was an instagram page and then a Wordpress blog where Leila shared experiences of researching and exploring these traditions physically in India. When she returned to South Africa she continued by digitally researching & writing about traditional African textiles.
A PASSION PROJECT BORN IN THE LOCKDOWN
In early 2020, Leila began weaving lessons in Cape Town, an activity which she dedicated almost her entire Coronavirus lockdown sabbatical to. In July of the same year she purchased her first floor loom and dedicated an unimaginable amount of hours, days and months to learning the craft, developing textiles with integrity and then products which would be both desirable and useful. As the world re-emerged from the pandemic, she decided to throw all caution to the wind, making a break from her previous career as an art director in the film industry and dedicating herself to the burgeoning passion of a life surrounded by beautiful, resonant textiles.
A BUSINESS GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Over the next couple of years Leila outgrew her studio several times, employed a studio assistant and trained her to weave, built up a network of incredible clients and begun collaborating with other local handweavers to craft products. The studio and product range is quickly evolving and expanding to encompass a vast love of textiles and explore their unique beauty, craft connection, sensory experience and simple joy.
TIMELESS DESIGNS, NATURAL FIBERS & INTENTIONAL DETAIL
Each Leila Atelier piece is a sacred offering which embodies the inimitable resonance of natural fibers, intentionally crafted by hand. The products are characterized by distinctive softness and intentional detail which warms both the body and soul through its tactile quality. Leila Atelier throws and cushions are an invitation to rest, to comfort and to reconnect to the sensuous experience of living.
SUSTAINABLY SOURCED & MADE
Leila Atelier designs are informed by the raw materials available locally in South Africa. The cotton is grown & spun in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It then goes to Cape Town where it is dyed by hand using practices which promote community empowerment and environmental consideration through a process of neutralizing spent dye vat water so as to not contaminate the earth.
CELEBRATING HAND CRAFT
Process is central to the Leila Atelier design and craft practice. Rather than concealing the process, Leila chooses to use it to inform the unique designs; the advance of the warp, the changing of a bobbin, a dropped shuttle or snapped end. In this way, she celebrates the inimitable texture of hand craft cloth as both object and archive, embracing the wabi sabi philosophy of perfect imperfection.
WHY WE LOVE LEILA ATELIER
We love that these products have a unique, luxurious texture, but they are also practical and easily serviceable (yes, you can throw them in the machine!). Leila looked to nature and traditional craft for inspiration, particularly materials, patterns and structures. This has created timeless textiles which enrich contemporary living with a deeply resonant, enduring simplicity.
All images courtesy of @leila__atelier