Macramé is an ancient art which is believed to originate with 13th century Arab weavers. These artisans knotted the excess thread and yarn along the edges of hand-loomed fabrics into decorative fringes on bath towels, shawls, and veils.
Fast forward to 2020 and Polly Jackson, whom I first met a few years ago when working for Bath Life magazine, starts her new macrame business in the middle of a global pandemic. Macramé, Polly explains to me, means knotting string in patterns to make decorative articles and has be used all throughout the ages and by many different cultures. Sailors used to knot hammocks and make decorative knotted items to sell on markets.
Macramé enjoyed a revival in the 70s and again in the last few years as Boho themed home ware like macrame hanging plant pots, pampas grass and woven baskets & light shades have become extremely popular on social media and in online stores. In addition to making the most delicate and elaborate macramé wall hangings herself, Polly offers online and in person (covid permitting) classes where she teaches her students the art of knotting.
Polly has started her business making macramé wall hangings during the first lockdown in 2020 and has gone from strength to strength since then.
I photographed Polly in the beautiful and airy shared studio just outside of Bath. Making large macramé wall hangings requires a bit of space. Polly, who is originally from Dorset, collects beautiful pieces of driftwood whenever she is by the seaside and she uses those as the base for her wall hangings.
In addition to teaching people how to make the wall hangings, Polly also supplies the material required. She sells these amazing little DIY kits including detailed knotting instruction so you can make your own hanging plant pots.
Polly got published in Bath Life magazine the month after our shoot.
It was important to me to not just document Polly’s products, skills, studio and materials, but to also show Polly, the female entrepreneur, the lady boss, the woman behind the brand. Being a small business owner is not an easy job, particulalry not in the current climate.
A couple of months after my shoot with Polly, she got interviewed and published by Bath Life magazine. It shows again how important good imagery is and how it increases your chances of getting attention through publications, attracting clients and therefore boosting sales.
Website: Whole Lotta Knots
Instagram: @wholelottaknots
“Thank you for a truly wonderful shoot for my new start-up business Betty. I can tell you take such joy in getting to know the face behind the business and what they encompass. Truly professional as well as friendly and the photos were so beautiful, exactly what I wanted!”
Polly Jackson
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