In The Spotlight: Beatrice Larkin

For the second blog of our In the Spotlight series, we’re chatting with the lovely London-based textile designer, Beatrice Larkin who specialises in wonderful woven textiles, accessories and other interior products. Read on to learn more about her process, inspiration and some very exciting launches coming soon!


Who or what inspired you to become a textile designer? How did you start out and how did you get to where you are today?

Both of my parents are in that industry, so it didn’t really take much! My dad has an interior design company and my mum studied embroidered textiles, so growing up I was surrounded by fabrics. I studied textiles all through school, before doing Textile design and Woven Textiles at BA and MA and finished my master’s with a collection of woven throws.
Since graduating, I always knew I wanted to design under my own name, so after a couple of years I launched my company properly around 2016. I started off hand weaving before realising I wanted to sell to bigger retailers, like Heals, and hand-weaving didn’t really work for that. Now, I work with a mill in Lancashire to produce these lovely Jacquard woven fabrics made from Italian-spun Merino wool, which then gets washed and finished in the Yorkshire Dales. However, I do really miss the process of hand weaving, I don’t have a loom at the moment but hopefully I'll be able to do both one day.

What does your design process look like, is there a stage you particularly enjoy? 

Most of my textiles feature geometric patterns, which predominantly come from my drawings; I love a pattern that has a hand-drawn quality, for example when a line of the geometric is slightly off. This is then juxtaposed by the machines used in the production process to create an interesting effect. The Jacquard loom allows me to take little imperfections from my initial hand drawings, such as odd lines or inky blotches and take them right through the production process, so you can still see them in the finished product. The designing is the bit I love the most about the process, but it’s also the most stressful bit because you don’t know how long the journey will take.

“I love a pattern that has a hand-drawn quality, for example when a line of the geometric is slightly off.”

Your designs include a combination of beautifully paired back colours and soft, geometric patterns. What’s the inspiration for these colours and patterns, is it to do with the process at all?

I always find it quite difficult to define where my inspiration comes from because it’s a real hodgepodge. Every weaver says this but, Anni Albers is a huge, HUGE inspiration. And then also West African textiles like mud cloths which are hand-painted geometrics, they have the same hand-crafted quality I was talking about earlier. The weaving itself has always been a source of inspiration. I love playing with all the capabilities of the loom I'm working with, as well as the traditions of weaving. I let things happen organically, often ending up with happy accidents - that can be the best way to work.

“The weaving itself has always been a source of inspiration. I love playing with all the capabilities of the loom I'm working with, as well as the traditions of weaving.”

Within your work, you seek to create timeless designs. How do you design pieces that are going to last?

I’d like to think all my pieces have a timeless quality to them. My colour palette has always been quite monochrome, but that wasn’t necessarily intentional, it was partly to do with keeping production simple. But in the end the monochromatic quality is something I really like and something that can fit in anywhere. I’m exploring bringing in colours for my next collection, but you have to be careful and choose shades that will outlive any trend; that’s something I’m focussing on a lot right now as I really want my fabrics to last. I’m also launching an upholstery collection made of woven, recycled cotton that is suitable for general domestic use, so I’m really excited about seeing my textiles being used in ways I wouldn’t necessarily have thought of!


What has been the most exciting moment of your design-career so far?

I was asked to design a collection of throws and cushions to be sold in the Tate Modern gift Shop for the Anni Albers exhibition. She’s my weave hero, so it would have to be that.


The Quick Five

We’re doing a ‘quick fire’ question round to get to know all of our guests, to get to know a little bit more about you. So, we have 5 quick questions for you…

1. What is your earliest memory of design? 

I remember being very small and visiting Habitat. I used to love running in and out of the hanging rugs on display and hiding from my parents. 

2. What room or item in your home do you love the most, and why?

I have a 675 Robin Day chair. I worked with Heals and the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation, who asked a few different textile designers to upholster their classic 675 chair. As a thank you, they sent me a chair in the post which I wasn’t expecting, so when that surprise arrived, it was the most exciting thing ever!

3. What is one thing you believe can elevate or transform any room?

Textiles - I particularly like a minimalist look with patterned and accent textiles added for interest.

4. Best or worst design decisions you’ve made?

I want everything to be top quality all the time. Sometimes I notice things that no one else would notice. But I think it’s a good thing to keep your quality high.

5. What will the next item you purchase for your home be?

I love kitchenware and I’m dreaming of a future kitchen filled with cutlery,  and lovely earthenware. As well as doing textiles, my mum buys and sells vintage pieces so she has a huge collection of Kitchenalia and whenever I go home to my parents’ house I’m like “Yeah, I'll be taking that one day!”


Thank you Beatrice. To learn more about Beatrice Larkin, take a look at her website + Instagram