Granite + Smoke Pop Up in Our East London Showroom

Granite + Smoke, homewares designers and makers will be showcasing their products within our East London showroom space throughout April and May.

The studio uses traditional techniques to create homeware pieces with a contemporary feel, each being woven within the UK in historic mills within Scotland and England, using ethically sourced cashmere and recycled wool materials.

Granite + Smoke is Lindsey Hesketh and Claire Canning, life-long friends and design professionals. The studio, founded in 2019, draws from their multi-disciplinary backgrounds, Lindsey in architecture and Claire in interiors and textiles.

As well as traditional craft skills, we’re inspired by modernism and the Bauhaus movement and artists and designers like Anni and Joseph Albers, architect Le Corbusier and furniture designers like Charles and Ray Eames. Similarly, like many designers over recent years,

The Memphis group from the 80s has influenced our preference for an optimistic palette and bold graphic designs, from architect Ettore Sottsass to designer Nathalie Du Pasquier. We’re also very much inspired by contemporary artists and designers such as Yinka Iloria, Patricia Urquiola, Peter Haley, Bridgett Riley, David Hockney, Hella Jongerius…the list goes on!

Our first collection was inspired by architectural forms, repetition and geometry, we translated these into patterns & placements. In the creative process we explored these rhythms to evolve our work.

Our blankets, cushions and wall hangings are made from ethically sourced cashmere and recycled wool, each item is woven and hand finished by specialists in limited runs on jacquard looms at socially responsible, historic mills in Scotland and England.

We choose partners who support local supply chains and prioritise communities and worker well-being. Our lambswool and cashmere throws are crafted at a Scottish mill dating back to 1866, we also work with a heritage weaver in England dating back to the 1850s. The combination of traditional techniques and modern production meant we could create a sustainable collection of luxury products with an uplifting contemporary aesthetic.

Using sustainable materials and working responsibly was a huge learning curve for us. We took time to visit our factories and research our yarn and supplier accreditations. Our recycled wool yarns are made with 100% recycled post-consumer textile waste from the fashion industry, with a mix of 70% recycled wool and 30% recycled other yarns.

Our lambswool and cashmere yarns are also accredited and traceable, completely natural and renewable, ethically sourced and certified to meet the highest standards of animal welfare, environmental care, and social sustainability.

Colour plays an integral part in our work and is often the starting point in our design process. Colour has the ability to lift our moods and therefore enhance our lives. We use a balanced palette of joyful and optimistic colour combinations.

Our products have been used in both modern & traditional spaces and are a simple way to bring a splash of colour & warmth to an interior scheme. Our blankets look great as wall hangings and we recently installed them at Universal Music head offices in Kings Cross & at Birch Hotel Members Club in North London.