Simon Marks Textiles | BIOGRAPHY

My passion and fascination with textiles began soon after I journeyed to the Orient. Having studied Theatre and Costume design at Central St Martin’s School of Art and Design, London, I spent many years working with costume on various productions in theatre, dance, musicals, opera, and the circus – Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Cirque du Soleil among many others.

Touring with these shows gave me a taste for the nomadic life and, in 2002, I embarked on my first voyage to the East, where I became more and more seduced by the amazing array of costumes and clothing that I saw in China, India, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, and the textiles from which they were made.

This fascination turned into an addiction to learn all that I could about the process involved from conception to completion in creating these textiles.

The result? I now travel repeatedly to India, Thailand and Indonesia, researching local natural dyes about natural dyes, block-printing, batik and embroidery. I then put these techniques into practice, by working with local artisans. I specialise in creating hand-blocked fabrics, scarves, bedcovers and one-off pieces. I also source unique fabrics for film, TV and theatre.

Recently I have been working with weavers using Mengudu & Indigo on Sumba to produce my own special Ikats. Going to Leh in Ladakh to buy local sheep, Pasmina, & Yak wool to weave into unique pieces of fabric for printing and scarves.