Made in Scotland: Agate & Ayre
Welcome to this month’s Made in Scotland Blog! Who could pass by the gorgeous products from this small business without being stopped in their tracks? This month we are chatting with the lovely April from the geology inspired business Agate & Ayre! April designs and creates scarves, scrunchies, bags, fabric lined books, pillows, sweatshirts, headbands and pouches all in Scotland. We had to hear more about her natural inspiration and which product she just loves!
April from Agate & Ayre
Can you tell us how your business got started?
I studied Fashion and Textiles at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, and during my final year my graduate collection was based around my fascination with rocks and minerals. Having always had an interest in the North-East coastline, I wanted to combine my love of nice looking rocks and my own design language. For as long as I can remember I have loved spending time at the beach, and growing up in Aberdeen surrounded by granite it seemed like the natural thing to do, to be inspired by my surroundings. After graduating I pursued a career in visual merchandising but when the pandemic hit and I lost my job, I decided to take a leap of faith and founded Agate & Ayre. Almost 3 years later I’m still doing what I love for a living!
Some of the beautiful products made by Agate & Ayre
Where do you look for inspiration when you are designing new products?
I now live in Glasgow which has a distinct lack of beaches, so as often as I can I travel to the coast to hunt for pebbles and have recently taken up agate hunting of my own! However even in the heart of the city you have buildings like the City Chambers and The Mitchell Library which are filled with fascinating marble. I’m working on a project at the moment inspired by The Scotsman’s Steps in Edinburgh as well. Anywhere there’s bonnie rocks you’ll find me with my camera!
I am lucky enough to have my work stocked in some incredible geological areas of interest around Scotland, such as Sheila Fleet in Orkney and in 2024 I hope to travel around as much of the Highlands and Islands that I can to gather new inspiration.
Can you tell us a bit more about how you make your products?
My textiles are digitally designed – I usually start by bringing multiple photos onto one digital canvas and play about with contrast, composition and colour until it begins to come together. It can take months for me to be happy with a final composition and I only tend to release one or two new designs a year. Once my fabric is printed I sew almost all Agate & Ayre products from my studio in Glasgow and the rest is outsourced to a few trusted craftspeople. I keep my products simple, but functional and most importantly tactile so you will love wearing them or seeing them in your home everyday.
What are your most popular products and which are your own favourites?
When I began making my plush velvet infinity scarves I couldn’t believe how quickly they were selling. They are ridiculously soft and my favourite thing ever is seeing reactions to them for the first time in person. I think they feel like a cosy hug around your neck, and the velvet shows off my prints so beautifully. I seriously underestimated how many to make during my first festive period and kept selling out so lesson learnt. My favourite product to make is probably my silk scrunchies, the silk is so lovely to work with and I enjoy getting into a wee rhythm of sewing and pressing them. They make a lovely gift, they’re so comfortable to wear and I have mine in every day so I think this is my favourite product.
Plush velvet infinity scarves from Agate & Ayre
If you had to pick one place in Scotland to recommend that people visit, where would it be?
We are absolutely spoiled for choice in Scotland for places to visit and I could rattle off hundreds of beaches and magnificent bits of coastline but I’m going to say Footdee or ‘Fittie’. It’s a lovely wee area at the South end of Aberdeen beach which historically was a fishing community and I could spend hours walking around it looking at all the cute houses and sheds. The people who live there now take such pride in making their houses look lovely and homely, and I always make a point of visiting if I can when I’m up North. There’s always a friendly cat or two looking for a pet!
Which other Scottish Makers do you love to recommend?
I’d like to recommend two other artists inspired by Scottish landscape and geology – Eorna Pottery and Rocks On Paper
Thanks so much to April for taking the time to chat with us about her delightful and colourful designs! Make sure to check out her Website, Facebook and Instagram to find out more and get shopping for all the occasions you have coming up!