As another busy summer season draws to a close here in Shetland, it feels like the perfect time to look back at the last few months — and what a lovely way to finish, with the colour, creativity and excitement of Shetland Wool Week.

Every summer seems to disappear in a whirlwind. Between welcoming guests to Easterhoull Chalets, opening my studio and garden, making new artwork and jewellery, keeping everything stocked and somehow finding time to get out with my camera, the months fly past.

By October, I’m usually ready for things to slow down a little. But before that happens, we have one big finale: Shetland Wool Week.

A Very Busy Week for Buttons!

This year I had been busy creating new button designs, including pieces inspired by the colours and textures I see underwater around Shetland.

I spend a lot of time in and around the sea. Snorkelling and underwater photography have become an important part of my creative life, and I’m constantly fascinated by the colours beneath the surface — seaweeds, shells, rocks, tiny marine creatures and combinations of colour that you might never notice from the shore.

Bringing some of that inspiration into my buttons felt like a natural progression.

And Wool Week certainly kept them busy!

I sold lots of buttons throughout the week, with visitors choosing them for knitting and textile projects or simply taking them home as a little piece of Shetland. There is something particularly satisfying about making a small, functional item and then imagining it becoming the finishing touch on somebody else’s handmade creation.

Seeing so many of them heading off to new homes was a wonderful way to end the season.

An Unexpected Moment at Helen Robertson’s Patron Talk

One of my highlights of Wool Week was attending the patron talk by Shetland designer Helen Robertson.

I had already been looking forward to hearing Helen speak about her work and the different creative projects she has been involved with over the years. I came away feeling incredibly inspired by the way research, place, heritage, nature and making can all come together within a creative project.

But there was also a very unexpected moment for me.

During the talk, Helen showed some of the inspiration behind her Wool Week hat design — and I was absolutely delighted to discover that one of my underwater photographs had been used as colour inspiration for the hat.

It was such a proud moment.

Underwater photography is something I do because I genuinely love exploring Shetland’s coastline and seeing the world that exists beneath the surface. Many of those photographs go on to influence my own artwork, so seeing one of them inspiring another Shetland maker’s work was incredibly special.

It also felt like a lovely circle of creativity: the Shetland sea inspiring my photograph, the photograph inspiring colour choices, and those colours eventually becoming part of a knitted design being made and worn by people around the world.

Inspiration for What Comes Next

Helen’s talk left me thinking about my own work in a slightly different way too.

I have always drawn inspiration from the place where I live — from the sea, beaches and underwater world to my garden and the plants I grow here in Shetland. But hearing about Helen’s projects reminded me that there are so many possibilities for exploring those subjects more deeply.

Rather than simply making something inspired by a place or a plant, there are stories to uncover: where things came from, what they mean to people, memories attached to them, local history and connections between people and landscape.

Those thoughts are already beginning to develop into ideas for a winter creative project.

Time to Slow Down… Slightly!

For now, though, Wool Week feels like a fitting finale to another incredibly busy season.

My regular summer studio and garden opening is coming to an end, the days are getting noticeably shorter, and Shetland is beginning to settle into autumn.

There will still be plenty happening behind the scenes — artwork to make, ideas to develop and preparations for what comes next — but I’m looking forward to having a little more time to create and experiment over the winter months.

Finishing the season with so many of my buttons heading out into the world, and discovering that one of my underwater photographs had played a small part in Helen Robertson’s Wool Week design, has made this year’s finale particularly special.

Sometimes the nicest moments are the ones you weren’t expecting.