About Us

Designed with Skill; Woven with Integrity.

The Bristol Weaving Mill is the vision of two textile designers who set out to create a space in which fabric manufacture is curated using the skill and unique perspective of a hand-weaver.

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Our Story

The Bristol Weaving Mill was established in 2015 by Juliet Bailey and Franki Brewer, owners of the renowned textile studio Dash & Miller; their vision was to create a space in which the lines between the industrial processes and the craft of woven textiles would blur.

A 2013 grant from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust allowed the duo to take time out from designing to visit fibre and textile processing plants and manufacturers across the UK, making invaluable connections and researching the industrial processes behind textile manufacture to inform their practice as hand-weavers. During this time the concept of an industrial weaving loom both operated by and managed by skilled hand-woven textile designers was borne.

Our story

With the support of the ERDF they purchased and renovated a retired 1985 Dornier dobby loom, lovingly named 'Dorian', breathing life back into the old piece of machinery and learning how to operate it along the way. This loom still forms the backbone of their sampling facility in Bristol today.

Six years on and the Bristol Weaving Mill now designs, samples, and manufactures woven fabric, throws and cushions for some of the UK's leading home interior brands, as well as producing limited edition small-run and hand-woven production orders for designer-makers, flock owners, couturiers, artists, interior designers, and many other sometimes more avant-garde and unusual projects.

How We Work

We understand that every project is uniquely important no matter its scale, its beginnings, or the intended outcome. We will work with you to thoroughly explore the most suitable options available within a given budget and timeline, sourcing yarn and proposing design solutions to fit your brief.

Our team are able to work on both CAD software and utilise hand-looms to propose woven designs, translating your vision into a viable product. Our facility in Bristol is set-up to handle small orders, hand-weaving, and sampling and then by working with commission weavers in Yorkshire we are able to scale-up production to meet bulk demand.

We rely on a highly skilled network of spinners, dyers, fabric finishers and cut and sew houses in the UK to help us deliver beautifully finished products. Contact us to find out more.