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| Lori O'Neill
Artist's Statement Lori O'Neill creates a line of exquisite accessories and clothing
out of the finest jacquard tapestry fabrics, hand dyed trimmings,
semi-precious stones and unique bead detailing. Our handbags, vests,
and jackets show our passion for new forms that function, but
demonstrate a fresh approach to the classic purse or clothing form.
As artists, we design our fabrics with an emphasis on color and
free-form patterns. The evolution of a fabric is a combination of
influences; century old pieces from the archives of our European mills,
woven images from ancient cultures or free-spirited adaptations of our
own drawings.
Lori has been an artist and craftswomen for over 25 years.
She graduated in Ceramic Sculpture from the University of California,
Santa Cruz. She crafted ceramics until 1986, when she turned her
creative interest to fabric. As a young child, she developed her
passion for design, fabric and sewing from her Grandfather Halb. Lori's
grandfather was a designer and tailor of women's fashion in his native
country of Austria. Lori grew up wearing and playing with his designs.
Lori carries on the family tradition in all her work.
Technique
Our patterns and color waves are sent to Belgium, Germany and Spain for
custom milling on jacquard looms. They blend the natural yarns of
cotton and chenille, which enables us to use a material that is rich,
beautiful and strong. These jacquard fabrics are shipped to our studio
in Northern California where we begin the next process in the creation
of these handcrafted pieces.
Each piece is cut individually from the fabrics to create the unique
styles and designs that become wearable art. We dye
our piping and cording to match our tapestry fabric and detail each
piece with a variety of findings. We make these findings with a
combination of semi-precious stones, antique African beads, ancient
Chinese coins, European beads, glass, and unique pieces we find all
over the world.
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