Studio Sessions with Katrina & Nadine Wilde

Each week for the next ten, alongside our journal, we are speaking to makers, artists and all kinds of creatives about their practices. We will be asking who and what inspires them and their reasons for making.

This week we caught up with Nadine and Katrina Wilde aka Wilde Studio. I (Lydia) first met Katrina when she reached out to me for some advice on applying for some funding. As soon as I saw her work I fell in love with it and invited her down to the studio for a cuppa. We chatted about finding our way as artists, refining our practice, learning new techniques and trying to make London make sense. Since that first meeting we have collaborated on naturally dyed clothing for ourselves and as commissions for other projects. I was so excited when I saw Katrina was teaming up with her sister Nadine to set up their own textile studio, I wanted to ask them some questions about how it was going…

Lydia: What do you make?

Wilde Studio : We make functional textile pieces for the home, textiles to wear, we host workshops and often collaborate with other practitioners on a wide variety of projects. Nadine is a hand weaver and textile maker, and Katrina works with plant and mineral colour for dyeing and printmaking. We're forever drawn towards natural materials and seek to utilise what's already out there: pre-loved, salvaged and remnant yarns/textiles. 

Lydia: Who or what most inspires you in your making?

Wilde Studio: Bulgaria is a huge anchor for us. We're half Bulgarian/half English and we both always find ourselves coming back to that. We also have so many magically talented friends that are an endless source of inspiration. But also some classics; Anni Albers, Barbara Hepworth, Lenore Tawney, Matisse,Sheila Hicks, The Quilters of Gee's Bend, Vivien Suter, the Weavers of Chiprovtsi.

Lydia: If you were to work in another discipline what would you choose?

Katrina : Ceramics hands down.

Nadine : Definitely something with my hands - it's a tough call between woodwork, furniture design and ceramics!

Lydia: Introduce us to another maker whose work you love...

Wilde Studio: It's so hard to pick one - we absolutely love Jo Rance - an artist and weaver who creates the most beautiful landscape paintings, drawings and textiles.

To see more work by Wilde Studio head over to www.wildestudio.co.uk

and follow them @wildestudio_

Lydia: What do you love about working together as sisters?

Wilde Studio: Most definitely the sister sister intuition/telepathy. Being able to say something without having to actually say it because the other one just 'gets it' is such a good feeling and helps with the flow. And being able to be honest without it feeling uncomfortable. We’re really close and it's special to be able to share experiences, bounce ideas off each other, watch our practices grow individually and together, whilst supporting one another along the way. And plus, we've always shared a room so sharing a studio is a breeze!

Lydia: Please share with us a favourite text/song/poem? Or all three.

Wilde Studio:

Text: "Braiding Sweetgrass Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants" by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Song (a total pick-me-up): All Saints - Pure Shores

Poem: W.O.M.A.N (Warrior Of Man And Nature) by Kashmira Bechoo (@kashmirabechoo)