Asta Barrington

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I recently came across the decorative Folk art trays of Asta Barrington in Elle Decor and was instantly enamored with these little beauties. Intrigued, to find out more about the woman behind the designs, I did a little internet research. I discovered this British textile designer has a far more extensive collection of work. Asta also designs embroidered scarves, throws, shawls and cushions. She is also the designer behind the new homewares line, Alabasta. Based out of Bath, England, the designer, has a well pedigreed history. After graduating from The Royal College of Art in England in 1995, Asta created fabrics for English designer Matthew Williamson and Italian fashion label, Marni. You can read her complete biography here! Her most acclaimed work to date is a commission in 1996 to create the curtains for the drawing room windows at Belsay hall, English Heritage owned stately home, Northumbria as part of “Living at Belsay” exhibition. I am sure this is just the beginning of Asta’s career and we will see much more of this young designer.

The Folk Art Stripe trays were designed for Ary, the Swedish laminated birch wood manufacturers. The trays are hand painted and made from the finest Scandinavian birch wood in Sweden. Although Asta gives kaleidoscopes credit for inspiring her tray designs, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my time, as a child playing, with my super spirograph. (I actually went online to see if they are still available and am happy to report a vintage 1969 Super Spirograph on is available on Ebay. They aren’t cheap but they are available. The new spirograph pails in comparison to the original version, so if you are interested in getting one for your kids, make sure you order the original version or forget it. The new ones only have one blue pen. )

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Let’s look at some of Asta’s other designs. This embroidered textiles major shows her true mastery with her beautiful scarf collection. The handmade embroidered ladies scarves are made of wool, cashmere and silk. Notice the intricate edgings she adds to her scarves. These edgings are what make her scarves so identifiable and unique and set her apart from the typical scarf offerings. She loves color and personally controls all the dying of the scarves. Applying the trims before the dying process is another reason this designer’s work is unique. This method creates variances and depth in color with how the textures receive the dyes.

All I can say is beautiful!

She also has incredible throws, but her photographs are copyrighted so i could not borrow for the blog, but you can click here to view on her website. If you are like me, you will be trying to figure out how to purchase one for yourself!

The blog Alabasta has more info on Asta’s work if you would like to read more.

The Folk Stripe trays are available at:SCPLifestyle BazaarFortnum and Mason, London (not online)Homer, Edinburgh (not online).Hus and HemTheoBerry RedHen and HammockThe Linen Worksand online in the US from Gretel and in Canada from Galerie CO.