About the weaving studio
My studio is part of the steading where we live, in the Highlands of Scotland. The historic farm buildings are surrounded by fields, forest and sheep – some of our own and some belonging to neighbouring farmers.
The importance of location
I weave using a vintage floor loom, working very directly with wool that is almost completely unprocessed.
The location of my studio allows this because most of my materials are grown literally outside the door, by my sheep.
And I also have access to the interesting fleece produced in the Highlands by other rare breed flocks.
How it began
The abundance of beautifully coloured fleece produced by a friend’s flock of sheep got me wondering how I could use this wonderful resource.
Especially because, at the moment, wool often has little financial return for British farmers.
Meeting this flock led to my first experiments working with raw fleece and, ultimately, the beginnings of my weaving studio.
With weaving, I could make textiles using wool straight from the sheep and without any complicated or expensive processing.
A weaving studio with resident sheep
Quite soon after these initial makings, I set up my studio.
Not only did I acquire a fairly large loom, but I also became the owner of a small flock of sheep!
In fact, my Shetland-Soay sheep are the ones whose fleece had first piqued my interest.
Functional art textiles
As soon as I had assembled my vintage loom, I knew I wanted to make something for the home. Something functional but beautiful.
I started with rugs and my making has now evolved to include decorative wall hangings.
At the moment, I work with a natural spectrum ranging from creamy whites through fawns and silvery greys to rich browns and natural black.
Read more about my process from flock to loom.
Loom
My floor loom is a 1960s 8-shaft model, the Liisa, made by Finnish family-run weaving business Toika.
In storage for many years, it was couriered from Cambridge to Glasgow, then to a Highland depot. After winter eased, it finally arrived with me – in pieces on a wooden palette with an old tangled warp still attached.
Over a weekend (armed with a black & white photocopy of the original manual) I reassembled and got it up and running in full working order – a hugely satisfying experience and a big learning curve in itself!
My studio practice
Developing a studio practice has become very important to me. I like to sit down for at least a couple of hours or more to feel like I am making progress.
I am at my brightest and most focused mid-morning but also very happy to work in the evening when the opportunity arises. Making by hand imposes limitations time-wise and in such a busy world I am grateful for this; being a naturally rushed person I find the process a grounding counterbalance.
The main principle of my work is truth to materials.
I find inspiration in many places but particularly admire the work of textile artists Rachel Scott Bowling and Monika Correa – and their use of materials.
Finding the flow
I am never calmer or more at peace when I have the loom fully warped up – this is a challenging process which gets easier with time – and ready to weave.
Mixing the colours, deciding on a pattern or going completely freestyle is such a joy and puts me deep in the flow state.
Biography
Julia Rebaudo
WEAVER / FIBRE ARTIST
Having left London city life post-pandemic, my family and I are happily settled in the Scottish Highlands on part of an old hilltop farm.
I have fully embraced the outdoor life – gardening, keeping chickens and my small flock of sheep.
Varied textile making
Although I weave with unspun wool, in the photographs of my studio you’ll see many cones of spun yarn and – in addition to my loom – other bits of textile-making equipment.
These include a hand-operated knitting machine and a Hague linking machine (for putting together knitted garments).
My Scottish grandmother taught me to knit and I kept it up through the years as a way to wind down and as an outlet for my creativity (I crochet, too). Without fail, I always have a pair of socks, hats and a jumper on the needles.
My quest to create the perfect jumper is an ongoing journey – I am currently working on a design in Tunisian crochet.
In a different life
My childhood was spent in Copenhagen, followed by high school in Edinburgh. And I stayed on in the city to study philosophy and politics at university. After postgraduate studies, I moved to London to take up a job in book publishing.
I moved on to journalism and, in my 20s, began a freelance career writing for magazines, newspapers & online publications.
My passion for digital publishing and photography led to starting a lifestyle & photography blog and running Olympus Pen camera workshops. You can see some of my old interviews & editorial articles at juliarebaudoarchive.com
“Julia’s intellectual depth and flexible mindset bring a rare quality to her work—allowing each project to develop in a deeply considered and multidimensional way.”
My work
I weave ready-to-buy collections and also work to commission.