About

Penelope's Loom, in its infancy, brings together garments, accessories and decorative items, made by hand and with love by a small group of makers. Our pilot collection, The Wool of Ithaca, pays homage to a number of things: my Greek-Ithacan heritage; the mythological connection of my name to the weaving motifs of Penelope, Queen of Ithaca and wife of Odysseus; and, of course, to the incredible artist behind the items in the collection – Brigitte Moraitis, who spent several days with me on her terrace overlooking the bay of Kioni, teaching me to spin wool and to weave on a tapestry frame, and thereby kicked into motion my own venture into the world of fibre arts and craft.

On another level, Penelope's Loom is an attempt to give form to my search for and commitment to quality, and to what comprises quality. It took Robert Pirsig and Christopher Alexander entire novels to do the same, and they got pretty damn close. But sometimes it just needs to be seen and touched – and worn. The lengths that Brigitte goes to in order to bring her pieces into the world, some of which I observed firsthand, showed me the importance of context and of the craftsman or woman in determining whether a product can be said to be "of quality". The continuity of her pieces with her environment – raw wool from her and her husband's own sheep and wood from their own olive trees – as well as the patience and ingenuity of the maker herself, lead to products that are alive. And it is that "living" feeling that some supposedly inanimate objects exhibit which gives them their claim to quality.

It is my hope that this project connects me with other talented humans, working in their own unique ways to create beauty and quality with their hands. If you are interested in collaborating, please reach out: penelope@penelopesloom.com.au