When the name Donna Wilson is mentioned at Òr silence descends upon the soft office chatter, we put down our coffee cups and our undivided attention is given. There is little explanation needed as to why Donna is a heroine of our shop; a pioneer and leader of the design world with a collection that spans two decades, she seems to have cracked the secret of combining talent and doing what you love for a living. Donna’s imagination is as unbound as the drive behind her success - her pieces capturing a dreamlike lilt of childhood adventure and curiosity.

How would you describe your style to our readers?

I design distinctive, colourful products for people and their homes, all with a pinch of whimsy and the handmade. From knitted creatures, cushions and accessories, to blankets, sweaters and ceramics - the list grows each year! I always try to be unique and create products which have my distinctive handwriting and a warm personality. It's important to me that people can relate to them and that my designs evoke emotion - maybe a feeling of nostalgia, sentimentality, or happiness. Even if they just induce a smile, I feel I have done my job.

Who/what first inspired you to become an designer?

Ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to spend my days doing something in art and design. I was always drawing and making things, and was always most happy with a pencil in my hand. I was very much influenced by my granny. She was very inspiring and always encouraged me and my sister to look at things really closely. She taught me how to draw and paint. In fact, my granny was a bit of an amateur artist herself, so she would get our little doodles and drawings framed and sell them in local art shows in the nearest town. So from quite an early age I realized that you could sell your work and make money from it. Now that I’m a mother I’m inspired to encourage creativity in own my kids, and love seeing them getting all messy and using their imaginations, even if it does mean a lot of tidying up afterwards, it’s worth it!

Tell us about your journey to get to where you are today?

I originally studied Textiles at Gray’s College of Art in Aberdeen, graduating in 1999 before moving to London where I worked as an assistant designer at a knitwear company for a year. I realised quite quickly that this wasn’t the life for me – I didn’t want to work a regular office job, and I knew I wanted to be my own boss! After that I went back to college to study for an MA at the Royal College of Art, where I specialised in Mixed Media Textiles. I had fantastic tutors there – in particular, Freddie Robins and Karen Nichol. It was Freddie who suggested that I show my designs to some shops to see if they’d be interested to stock them. My very first customer was the London boutique, Couverture and The Garbstore. Freddie gave me the confidence to approach them – I think before that I’d have probably been too shy. I took my dolls into the store and they asked me to leave them there so they could show them to the boss. I got a phone-call pretty soon after saying, ‘We love them and we’ll take them all!’

It's taken a few years but my company has now grown to a team of eight. We’re a pretty creative bunch of women! I still remember working on my own when I first started out, and I did everything from designing, making, packing orders, press, and going to the post office. It was more of a lifestyle than a job. I loved those days but I wouldn't want to go back to that now. I really love our team, and everyone has different skills to offer so that we run an efficient working studio. I still do the designing, and it's the hardest thing to communicate what I want, as most of the work is done by trying things out and seeing what works. I don't want to lose the signature personality of our style.

Who are you most inspired by at the moment?

I like Alexander Girard, Stig Lindberg, and my grandma is an ongoing inspiration! Another designer I admire is Hella Jongerius - I love the sofa she did for Vitra a long time ago with the odd buttons! I'd never seen anything like this and I love the way she uses textiles and colour a lot in her work. Her designs are clever and thoughtful and have that human element.

What do you find the most rewarding aspects?

Designing. I used to design in my own spare time - on the back of an envelope on the bus - but now I like to make sure I spend a few weeks’ at a time making mood boards, sketching and trying things out on the knitting machine. It really reminds me why I love what I do! Being creative is a fantastic feeling, and I’d recommend anyone to give it a go. I also really enjoy making things that make people smile!

Do you have any tips or tricks to spark creativity?

My inspiration comes from all over the place – the landscape, music, dreams, magazines, ceramics, Scandinavian design and people. Sometimes I just see a tiny snippet of something which triggers an idea, which is then developed into a product. I find inspiration everywhere; it can be a tiny piece of cloth, a picture in a book, or found object from my travels. Nature is also a big inspiration for me, particularly the plants and animals in the British countryside.

It’s also really important to take some time away from work, for the sake of both your sanity and creativity. Earlier this year I took some time away on my own in a little cottage on the Scottish coast. I didn’t put myself under any pressure to produce anything, but in between long walks by the sea I gave myself the space to experiment – drawing, painting, and enjoying the freedom of watercolour and the fluidity of ink. This resulted in a new body of work - my AW19 ‘Carefully Considered Confusion’ collection, and my ‘Abstract Assembly’ furniture collection. Both bodies of work feel like a breath of fresh air, a new direction, as my figurative designs have been given the time to evolve into more abstract representations, inspired by the large, organic shapes found in nature.

Donna Wilson, we take our hats off to you. You not only inspire us to follow our passions and dreams, but to enjoy the journey and not take ourselves too seriously along the way. We can’t wait to see what new creations you come up with!

Find Donna on instagram at @donnawilsonltd

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Donna Wilson, Pioneer & Leader Of The Design World