Beata Wietrzyńska

Weaver

A conversation with threads

Beata is one of the founders of Nów, the New Craft Poland association
She has collaborated for years with the Polish fashion designer Magda Butrym
Her specialties are bead leno weave and deflected doubleweave

Beata Wietrzyńska is a psychologist by profession. Her path to becoming a professional textile weaver is a story with an almost 20 year interval. "My grandmother used to make rugs and linen cloth on a traditional loom. Needlework was always present in my family home," she says. After graduation Beata won a scholarship to spend a month at Lily Wesigerber Peters’ weaving studio in Luxembourg where she first learned to weave in 1993. "It was a revealing experience. The fabrics created there, though made in a traditional way, differed from folk fabrics I knew. They were more contemporary," she explains. When she came back to Poland, there were no institutions with the same modern approach to her beloved craft, so she focused on her work as a psychologist. In 2010, weaving appeared once more in her life, only this time it became her profession.

Interview

How did you return to weaving?: Throughout the years I always had it in the back of my mind. After the classes, where I learned all the work related to weaving, I bought my first floor loom. At first, I treated it as a return to a hobby, but it soon turned out that I was drawn to it more than to my previous work.
When did you first collaborate with the fashion world?: I was contacted through my blog about weaving by a fashion designer Magda Butrym. She was looking for artisans to work on her collections. The first textiles I made for her had a traditional weave, yet were use in a modern design. It was through this collaboration that I could take my weaving in such a contemporary direction.
What weaves are most often used in your fabrics?: I work on floor looms, which can have up to ten shafts. This allows me to use various weaves and create more complicated patterns. For wool scarves I use deflected doubleweave. Another group of techniques I study is lace weaves such as bead leno, and I am also passionate about the phenomenon of iridescence in fabrics.
How do you feel when your textile is finished?: This is one of the most exciting parts of this craft. When I try something new and I can see this pattern that starts to appear on a loom, it is a very pleasant feeling. Especially knowing that this fabric will go on to be used by someone.

Beata Wietrzyńska is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2010