Your cart is currently empty!
Stepping forward
Passion Ignited, Influences Shaped
From her earliest memories, Liz Christy had a passion for colourful textiles. Playing under the table in her neighbour Molly’s house, Liz remembers feeling bewitched by the fraying fabric scraps and the coloured threads passing over and under each other. The weave had captured her imagination; little did she know then, the path her life would take. Liz’s influences come from memories of picking blackberries with her mother and asking the weighmaster about blackberry dye to being introduced to Monet by her art teacher. Student life allowed Liz to explore and develop these passions, and to learn her craft while honing her design skills.
Gathering Momentum
Early Career, Key Influences
and Support
Liz’s textile design and hand-weaving career began at the tender age of twenty. She set up her first loom in what used to be the showroom of Troscan Furniture by McElroy Brothers, in Castleblayney. The state agency for training in the 1980’s was AnCo. With them, Liz completed a ‘Self Employment as a Career’ course after graduating from Art College. There she learned that “problem equals opportunity”, a mantra that has stayed with her and seen her through many challenges. During the market research coursework, Liz met Mrs Joyce of Cleo Ltd who became her first customer, and good friend and mentor.
“Embrace challenges; they reveal your true creative path and purpose”
Gaining clarity
Australian Experience,
Factory Challenges,
Creative Revival
In 1989 Liz and Pat went to Australia for a year where they travelled and undertook various jobs. One such job was in Thomas Carr’s Spinning Mill, an industrial spinner of carpet yarn. At that time every carpet in Australia was beige and Liz topped and tailed miles of beige carpet yarn, vowing never to have beige in her life again. On their return the following year, Liz worked as a stitcher twin-needling the bust seams of bras in Warner’s factory, in Keady, Co Armagh. She planned to work there for six months until after their wedding. Suddenly it was six and a half years later and she knew she needed to leave the factory if she were to find her creativity again. As it was she questioned her abilities as her confidence seemed to have deserted her. But when Liz took delivery of her first box of cotton yarn, she reached for inspiration in her Monet books, and her life and soul purpose finally became clear.
