Hello! I’m April Hay, a Scottish textile designer and owner of Agate & Ayre. In 2021 I launched my brand celebrating the wonderful, vibrant geological landscape of the UK. I draw inspiration from rugged rocks found in the most remote parts of Scotland to the intricate marble that adorns many of our best loved museums and galleries. I sew a range of textile accessories from my designs, allowing you to bring a piece of the outdoors, in.
I was chosen by Aberdeen Art Gallery to deliver a very exciting bespoke project which has led to my most commercially successful design so far: The Tall Ships Collection. This blog dives into why there is immense value for both cultural associations and creatives to collaborate on retail lines together and what I have learned through designing four bespoke collections in the last two years.
Last year, The Tall Ship Races returned to Aberdeen after almost 30 years, drawing over 400,000 visitors to the city. Ahead of this momentous event Aberdeen Art Gallery, funded by the UK Government, commissioned six local artists to commemorate the race through their creative practice.
For my collection, I proposed collecting sand from all of the race route stops. With the help of the University of Aberdeen I was able to photograph these sands under different types of microscope to find inspiration for distinctly different textiles inspired by each stop.
Joanne MacFayden of Tea Green Events, an events company which has been providing Scottish makers with exceptional selling opportunities in cultural spaces for over 10 years, was one of the panellists tasked with selecting which maker proposals would make the cut.
When I asked her about the decision to look to local creatives to design the collections, she said: “Cultural spaces can benefit greatly from working directly with local makers. The opportunity to develop bespoke collections that respond to exhibits, events, local inspiration and more allow these spaces to ensure they have unique, authentic and engaging products that can be appreciated by their visitors. This increases the overall visitor experience as well as creating vital opportunities and networks for artists and designers.”
This was the second collection that I designed for the art gallery and I found it helpful to start at the end. The first collection was inspired by the Aberdonian granite pillars found within the gallery main hall, and I used social media to ask those who had purchased from this collection why they had done so.
Visitors to the city thought the bookmarks were a great, compact memento of their time in the gallery and visually the textiles were something that would always remind them of their trip. Locals wanted to show the love of their home city by wearing a scarf featuring granite.
Others said that they loved the idea of being able to take a piece of the gallery home with them and that the items were genuinely practical. As well as being a treasured souvenir they would actually wear a bamboo neck warmer, or frame a fine art print. They also valued the story behind my brand, appreciated that I was a local artist and they were buying something made in the UK.
The ‘Aberdeen’ bamboo neck warmer has been the best selling product for Aberdeen Art Gallery, RRP £38. I asked Susy Bell, retail manager at AAG why she thought the collection had been such a success at the gallery: “April’s Tall Ships Collection has been incredibly popular. Visitors love how it celebrates Aberdeen and the amazing event, with designs that tell a story and spark a connection. Each piece is distinctive yet practical—perfect as a keepsake or a thoughtful gift. It’s been incredible to see such enthusiasm for something rooted in local inspiration.”
The Tall Ships Collection has had four restocks at Aberdeen Art Gallery in the space of a year, totalling around £7,500 worth of product. It has also totalled direct to customer sales of over £6,000 for Agate & Ayre.
Agate & Ayre is a textile design brand celebrating geology and the great outdoors in all forms. Find out more at agateandayre.com.
