Abi from Dipwood Studio
Founded by Abi Nicholson, Dipwood Studio creates unique, artisanal homewares using antique linens and locally foraged plant dyes.
Drawing inspiration from folklore and animal symbolism, Abi works with natural textures and tones to craft distinctive motifs and designs through patchwork and appliqué, resulting in contemporary and mindful pieces.
Find our curated collection of Dipwood Studio's beautiful handmade cushies here.
Where are you based?
In the North East of the UK, in a village called Rowlands Gill.
Do you have a morning routine / daily ritual before arriving to your studio?
Yes I do, I usually start the day by brewing a pot of earl grey, setting down my cush on the floor and doing some kundalini meditations, followed by morning pages. I try to leave enough time to do this at a leisurely pace so that I can really centre and ground before the day ahead. I will do this outside if it’s sunny!! Sometimes I end up in a big rush but I really do try and sit with myself for at least 10 mins.
What does a typical day at your studio look like?
This has evolved in recent years! As I used to be up there full time, now I work on Dipwood at weekends mainly as I’m teaching during the week.
What I have learned it that I’m terrible at sticking to the same routine so I like to work on different things for a few hours then move onto something else, I will also often be dictated by the season/temperature.
If it’s sunny I’ll find something to do outside so I can be in the rays. Although, I can become very engrossed in an activity if I’m listening to a good audio book, I always remember Madeline Miller’s Circe when I was working on the ‘Circe’ bags, which of course inspired the name.
How did Dipwood Studio begin?
I had previously worked in fashion in London, had ended up back at home after struggling to find my place in a competitive industry. I had really lost my confidence and forgotten what I loved about design.
Slowly but surely my creativity came back to me and I let go of any expectation or pressure around outcomes, I began to value the process of creative expression more than anything. Being back near the woods where I grew up, I reconnected with nature and my intrinsic urge to create came back to me as I began reconnecting with myself.
Anyway, my Dad built me a studio, I turned some drawings I did into T-shirts and people started requesting them, hence Dipwood Studio was born and I’ve been making garments/homeware/artwork ever since.
Where do your materials come from?
I have an amazing lady I get my antique French linen from. I will sometimes trawl eBay for end of roll secondhand fabric. I’ve also been very lucky to receive some high quality deadstock from a friend who works in the fashion industry.
How long does each piece take to make?
The construction depends on the detail, some appliqué will take up to an hour as I tend to work quite instinctively, but sometimes across a few pieces at once.
Dyeing takes a while, there’s the foraging for materials like bracken and nettle, which I will take my basket out into the woods for. The mordanting process involves ground oak galls from the garden, it feels very kismet that the oak tree provides these. I usually leave linen in the mordant and dye bath for at least a few days.
The dye process can take up to 6 weeks, if I can I will leave fibres in as long as possible. I haven’t done any indigo baths for a while now but that would normally take a few hours, to dip and re-dip the items for a deeper blue.
I am often at my happiest outside covered in indigo listening to music. In the end I always feel like a Pictish warrior covered in woad with blue splashes all over my face!
Did you study design or did you naturally fall into this work?
I studied fashion design at Kingston University.
Plant dyeing I have learned mainly from the internet and books and experimenting, and a lovely lady called Cia who taught me indigo after meeting me at a pop up shop. That will alway stay with me because she was so generous for no other reason other than she wanted to pass on her skills and knowledge. Equally, I was holding a pop up in Wildflower, a gorgeous flower shop. Again, with the owner Hannah being so generous to share her space for me to promote my brand.
I love learning from people and am always so grateful when people share their knowledge and resources. It has a feminine energy to it, like wisdom being passed on.
How does your design process work from idea to finished product?
First I will sketch ideas, then yeah start by sampling something and testing it myself. With motifs and textiles I usually do some sketches, have some inspo images on the wall and then work intuitively with them there as a prompt.
I like that most things turn out different to what I maybe initially thought, I’m open to things unfolding throughout the process. I get my ideas from books and Pinterest.
I love finding second hand books in charity shops with clues for my next creative direction. Or one of my favourite things about working at a college is access to the Art and Design section of the library, the internet is great but you can’t beat the unique curation of the images found in a book! I always tell my students that as well!
Who inspires you?
I’m most inspired by people who live authentically and are carving a life that isn’t necessarily what society would tell us we should be doing. Creatives who are making it work! It’s not easy! (Or maybe it is to them and that’s why I’m so obsessed with how they do it!)
I love Instagram for seeing people who really play to their own tune and for beautiful aesthetics. Rachel Saunders, Desiree Pais and Zoe Johnston come to mind.
I would love to do a podcast/interview series where I talk to creative people I know about their processes, a bit like this interview! I’m so inspired and in awe of how people make their living doing what they love. Like you are with C et C too! I’m very inspired by you!
For Dipwood I have always been influenced by my favourite artists, often just as much by their lifestyles and environments as their work. For example Georgia O’Keeffe and her ranches and connection to the New Mexico landscape, or Alexander Calder and his playful approach to invention, working with a range of materials in his studio.
Where did the inspiration for your pieces on the C et C website come from?
I hadn’t produced anything for Dipwood in a while when you approached me (I had been focussing on teaching full time). I wanted it to be a product I believed in (of course) and as I use my own cushies every day and have been for years I knew this is what I’d like to return with.
I remember my initial sketches were very natural tones, simple patchwork pieces, I wanted to keep things very soft and natural. Then as is often the case I had the urge to do something more colourful, I was feeing bold colours like red and pink come through, some colourful patchwork ideas started to materialise.
At some point I was looking at Bauhaus Textiles and at the same time I kept seeing fish everywhere. Oh and Hilma Af Klint, some of the shapes and colours from some of her paintings, the house shape on the Hilma Cush came from that.
How do you overcome creative lulls?
Surrender to the lull!
What is your favourite material to work with and why?
Linen, it dyes well. I also love the different shades of ecru it comes in without dyeing it. It’s lovely to sew, it’s breathable for garments, and just feels trustworthy, if that makes sense!
Do you have other projects in the pipeline?
Well, I’m in the process of coming back to my practice. As I have other professional commitments, I’m not putting too much pressure on myself as I figure out what the future of Dipwood looks like, but I’m feeling the call to create products/spaces that are grounded in wellness, nature and creativity.
This year, I’d like to start a Substack, and my podcast idea for interviewing others about their processes. A friend suggested I work on some different shaped cushions so that there’s more of a range so that could be my next practical step in terms of products. In future I would like to return to loungeware and relaunch my online shop.
What are you reading at the moment?
Ahhh, I just finished A Court of Silver Flames, if you know you know! I’ve just started ‘Letting Go, The Pathway to Surrender’ which I’m hoping is a useful read for the start of 2025! One of my favourite books from the last few years I always recommend is ‘The Dance Tree’, such a beautiful story and references a historic dance craze that happened in Strasbourg.
What dream would you still like to fulfil?
To live creatively and fulfilled, a life of connection and expression through honest and instinctive practice.
Find our curated collection of Dipwood Studio's beautiful handmade cushies here.
