olann knitted wool furniture by claire anne o’brien

‘olann’ by claire-anne o’brien

‘olann’ is a new collection of handknitted wool furniture by irish textile designer claire-anne o’brien. taking influences from traditional ireland, where fishing and knitting were at the heart of village life, the project’s patterns are based on familiar elements such as aran jumpers, fishing knots and willow baskets, re-imagined as a contemporary language of craft. the designs explore scale and construction using the unique properties of knitting applied to simple furniture forms such as a bench, an ottoman and a chair.

each piece is conceived by a team of skilled homeworkers which keep production local and the cottage industry tradition alive. ‘olann’ is made from a british wool, where natural materials such as coconut fibres, unspun wool and duck feathers have been used in place of more common upholstery materials such as polyester fillings and foam. 

cisean top view

fite

lasa

corda

corda top

fite/cisean

cisean

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.