Neisha Crosland: Pattern That Lasts
I first noticed Neisha Crosland's work through her fabrics: repeating patterns, confident colour and a drawn line that always looks as though a hand made it. Years later, reading her book, I realised I had used one of her designs in my degree project in 1990 without knowing whose it was. That says a lot about her work. It stood out to me as a student, and it still looks right nearly forty years on.
Crosland trained at Camberwell and the Royal College of Art, and her work was first noticed at her graduation show in 1986. Since then she has designed wallpapers, fabrics, scarves, rugs and tiles, and in 2006 she was made a Royal Designer for Industry. Her work is in the collection of the V&A.
The cushions on Cushionbank are made from her fabrics in my Devon workroom, and between them they show how wide her range is: woven silk, embroidered linen and taffeta, printed linen and needlepoint.
The quiet ones
Sea Thistle. A woven silk, so the pattern changes with the light. In cream porcelain it reads as a plain silk from across the room and as a pattern from the next chair. In silver grey it is matt from one angle and softly lustrous from another.
Zig Zag. A narrow chevron worked tone on tone, so the pattern is structural rather than loud.
Cactus Paisley. Gold and bronze embroidery on cream linen, all tone on tone, so the texture of the stitch does the work. As a square or an oblong.
The bolder ones
Birdtree. Embroidered flowers in cream, pink, magenta and olive along chocolate branches, on a dusty rose silk taffeta. At 40 x 95cm it is almost a bolster, lovely across a bed or a long sofa.
Small Zebra. Her zebra stripe drawn small in fuchsia, brown and black, pigment printed onto linen so the pink stays chalky rather than sweet.
Hollywood Grape. A grape motif with real graphic confidence, decorative without being fussy.
Moorish Circles. Needlepoint, interlocking circles with just enough irregularity in the stitch to stop the repeat looking mechanical.
Putting them together
The quiet designs mix easily: Sea Thistle with Cactus Paisley gives you cream, ivory and gold, with texture doing all the work. For more colour, put Small Zebra or Birdtree in front of a plain linen and let one pattern lead.
Every cushion is handmade in my Devon workroom from limited lengths of her fabric, and some designs are down to the last few. See them all in the CB Collection. If you would like a different size, get in touch and I will check whether I have enough of that fabric left.