The wonderful Sally Campbell (pictured above) has made textiles, old and new, her life. Her home and showroom are testament to her passion as cushions, throws, curtains and wall hangings give the space a richness and character entirely her own. Karen McCartney takes a tour and learns a thing or two about the fabric of Sally's world.



Have textiles long been your passion?
I used to work in film as a set and costume designer and covered lots of different periods and cultures.  I learnt, through travel, and I became more passionate and more knowledgeable about the wonderful old fabrics I could buy. While I am influenced by textile designs all over the world, India is where I work, and I travel to Japan a lot and buy vintage fabrics, particularly from an exquisite market in old temple in Kyoto.



What did you do with the pieces you bought?
Originally I would have them remade and wear them. I was an outrageous dresser at one time. Once I was in Thailand walking in the jungle and came across the Karen tribe – who were as startled to see me as I them. They were dressed in exquisite hand embroidered pieces and we simply swapped clothes and parted ways with everyone happy. More conventionally I would use pieces as throws – over sofas and beds, wall hangings, cushion covers – whatever I could.



The business – Sally Campbell Textiles didn't come about until 8 years ago. What made you want to have a business in textiles?
After a period of serious illness I didn't want to work in the stressful world of film. I thought it would be simple to design a range, go to India and get my first collection off the ground without too much stress or fuss. I was completely naïve. Back in Sydney I rented a gallery and invited all my film friends and it sold really well. I thought I could kick back, but to ensure quality control I now make four trips to India a year and have 2-3 shows.



What was your initial experience of working in India?
I simply had no idea of how it would work. I took designs my art director friend had drawn up and tried to impose western working methods, which didn't work at all. I went to Rajasthan to find the best artisans - into the desert for block printing, sourced hand-embroidered appliqué and drove 5 hours outside Calcutta to a specialty weaving and hand-stitching village. I really loved the experience.



Did you have any particularly difficult moments?
The delivery truck with our completed order was meant to take 48 hours and we waited in Delhi, and waited and waited.  Three weeks later it arrived. We were very anxious as all our life savings were tied up in that order. The driver had decided to stop at every village to celebrate the Ganesh festival!



Did anything in life prepare you for this?
Actually I see my background in film as preparation, as in that business you needed to be inventive and spontaneous. It was the best training for quick thinking and adaptability. Now I am always open to learning about natural dyes and different ways of printing and weaving, which I can adapt in my own way.



What are the most exciting moments in your travels?
I love to find one off vintage pieces. Some are very valuable and are bought by interior decorators, or serious collectors of old kantha or Japanese indigo. In India I visit particular dealers to source the kind of thing I like. Some dealers are like warlords located out in desert – with giant trucks with men with AK47s and textiles piled up behind them. It can be quite an intimidating experience. But it is like a drug to me – I love it all. There are always new things to find as tastes change. For example we are now seeing interesting things coming out of Uzbekistan - rare appliqué and old embroidery that I adore.



What is the secret of your beautiful muted colour palette?
I love natural dyes –I particularly love indigo, and yellow and ochres from eggplant, and a dark moody red from madder plant.

As well as restoring old, character pieces, you create wonderful new designs. What is your philosophy here?
I like to meet the demand for new but by applying the same qualities in that each piece is hand woven, dyed, spun and stitched – adapting the kantha running stitches to create a modern version. I make pieces reversible so that are versatile and use 100% cotton muslin inside so that all layers are natural.



You seem to have a tremendous range of products. What are they?
I like to do anything that works in a fabric - throws for beds, sofas or chairs, cushions, toweling ranges based on my grandmother's towels, natural dye towels, scarves, quilts, tablecloths, napkins, curtains, hangings.  I haven't tackled furniture yet but I have seen some quite wild pieces – chairs and bedheads – that clients have created with my patchwork fabrics.