About Us
About Us
weston naturally exclusive is the brand name for fabrics produced by richard weston studio, a multidisciplinary design consultancy.
Richard Weston divides his time between his studio and teaching and research as Professor of Architecture at Cardiff University. As part of the FutureWorld exhibition at Milton Keynes he designed and built Radiant House, a tour de force of structural glass that was hailed as ‘the star of the show’ in the national press. He has exhibited on several occasions in the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts and is now designing his own house and studio near Cardiff as a demonstration of the potential of the naturally exclusive fabrics to help forge a new relationship between architecture and nature.
A well known author, Richard's books include Modernism, winner of the International Book Award of the American Institute of Architects; Alvar Aalto, winner of the Sir Banister Fletcher Prize; and what was described in Blueprint as possibly the finest monograph ever produced about an architect, on the work of Jřrn Utzon, architect of Sydney Opera House.
His passion for mineral images began when he bought an ammonite that cost more than the scanner he was then using. The results were dreadful, prompting him to buy a professional-quality machine: the images it yielded were captivating and a wide range can be seen at www.earth.uk.net: what began out of a fascination with the beauty of natural materials gradually grew into a unique range of digital design possibilities, as seen here and at www.richardwestonstudio.com. In Autumn 2010 the development of his first silk scarf collection for Liberty will be featured as part of a new BBC2 television series.
Sophie Shardelow joined the Studio in 2009. A graduate of the School of Fashion Design at the University of Wales Newport, her final collection ‘Alchemy’ was shown at Canary Wharf’s Creative Capital showcase in May that year. During her studies she worked for five consecutive seasons for the couture and ready-to-wear label ‘Julien Macdonald’, assisting the design team and contributing to collections. She also had the opportunity to help with designs for private and celebrity clients, including Shirley Bassey, and on the now celebrated outfit worn by Cheryl Coles for her debut ‘Fight for this love’.
In October of 2009 Sophie showed her summer/spring collection ‘Tectonic’ at the Welsh Designers Show held at the Vale Resort Hotel in the Vale of Glamorgan. In addition to assisting with all aspects of the Studio’s day to day work she designs and makes bespoke garments for our growing clientele.
Based in Como, the traditional heart of the Italian silk industry, our printers Maver have been at the forefront of developments in digital printing since it became commercially viable in the 1990s. With their extensive previous experience of screen-printing they combine high-quality traditional cleaning and finishing processes with state-of-the-art digital equipment and software to offer a flexible, world-leading fabric printing service.