Not enough can be said of the incredible Donna Wilson and I was so enamored of her wooden dolls. She is super famous for her knitted creations but of course, now has an enormous and varied range of gorgeous products.
This family of hand-painted wooden dolls was inspired by Donna’s travels to Japan and Scandinavia – all these dolls each have a name and embody various people Donna has met and known in her life.
Donna Wilson started in the beautiful countryside of Aberdeenshire, where she spent her childhood growing up on her parents’ farm. During these early years, she developed a love for the natural landscape, wildlife, and of course, making things – mostly from textiles using handcrafted techniques like felting, sewing, knitting, and wrapping. When she was old enough, Donna packed her bags and set off for London where she honed her home-taught talents at the Royal College of Art. It was there that she knitted her very first creatures and began selling them to local shops in the city.
Fast forward to being named ‘Designer of the Year’ at Elle Decoration’s British Design Awards, exhibited a solo show of knitted sculptures and paintings entitled ‘Endangered Species’ at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, created a line of childrenswear for UK retailer John Lewis and most recently her own line of womenswear.
Go to the Donna Wilson website and have your socks knocked off by the wonderful things on there!
