Claire Smail Designs

Ingenious kits for making up highly original and contemporary tea towels and aprons yourself

A graduate from Swansea Metropolitan University in the summer of 2010, Claire Smail works from her home in Devon. We are proud to present her first commercial collection, which has been developed from designs we were hugely impressed by at her degree show. Claire hand draws, paints and embroiders directly onto fabric to create the original designs for her pieces which are then printed up into kits for customers to make up themselves.
What motivates you? A complete and utter desire for the world around me to be filled with sun, sea and sewing. After I graduated I really wanted to encourage people to take up sewing and make something special themselves. It’s such a great feeling!
What’s the inspiration? A love of the ocean and passion for fabric. I gather ideas in sketches from the shorelines of south Devon, Swansea and Portugal. I then combine and layer these drawings into designs at home, embellishing them with colour and embroidery.
What’s special? I collect contemporary imagery and combine it with very traditional embroidery techniques such as blackwork and cross stitch. The result is a collection of fresh, clean designs perfect for beach living, touched with a hint of nostalgia.