LEILA ATELIER is a hand crafted textile studio based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Inspired by the rich global legacy of textiles, time honored craft practices and natural fibres, we seek to craft cloth which nourishes the soul by elevating the every day to a ritualistic, sensory experience.

We honour a deep sense of connection, to tradition, the environment and the internal landscape through our unique, timeless designs.

Each LEILA ATELIER piece is a sacred offering which embodies the inimitable resonance of natural fibres, intentionally crafted by hand. Our products are characterized by distinctive softness and intentional detail which warms both the body & soul through both its tactile quality and nostalgic homage to a simple form of luxury.

In our collections we pay tribute to the body;
of the maker, the earth, and the reciever,
an invitation to rest, to comfort and to reconnect to the sensuous experience of living.

Throughout human history, textiles have always held symbolic power, regarded as deeply sentimental heirlooms and playing an important role in cultural ceremony.

Our primary offering is a collection of homeware textiles which are handwoven in our Cape Town Atelier using 100% African Cotton which we offer as a means to elevate the experience of the everyday. These products have unique luscious texture, timeless designs and are easily serviceable
( yes, you can throw them in the machine! )

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We also craft original and limited edition wall art and other lifestyle & home textiles which use natural fibres & hand craft technique. Always with a focus on tactile experience and elevated hand crafted details.

Please get in touch to request a catalogue of currently available artworks or to discuss a custom work for your space or interior projects.

CONTACT

LEILA ATELIER began as Crosspolynations in 2018 as a means to craft a life and business with purpose, which fostered connection and a means of ethically aligned creative expression.

By delving deep into the history of textiles and the craftspeople who make them while on an extended trip to India in 2018, I became entirely enraptured with cloth and the stories it carries. 

The weaving of cloth by hand is an ancient, rich and beautiful history which dates as far and wide as humans ourselves. The brand was started as a platform to explore and celebrate this legacy. Its first iteration was an instagram page and then a Wordpress blog to archive & share my experiences of researching & exploring these traditions physically in India. When I returned to South Africa I continued by digitally researching & writing about traditional textiles African.

In early 2020 I began weaving lessons in Cape Town, an activity which I dedicated almost my entire Coronavirus lockdown sabbatical to. In July of the same year I purchased my first floor loom and dedicated an unimaginable amount of hours, days, months to learning the craft, developing textiles with integrity and then products which would be both desirable & useful.

As the world re-emerged to some semblance of the before, I decided to throw all caution to the wind, making a break from my previous career as an art director in the film industry and giving my all to the burgeoning passion of materialising a life surrounded by beautiful, resonant textiles.

Over the next couple of years I've outgrown my studio several times, employed a studio assistant and then trained her to weave, built up a network of incredible clients and begun collaborating with other local Handweavers to craft products through which we hope to share the beauty of this craft, and the deep love that resonates in it.

The studio is quickly evolving and expanding to encompass our vast love of textiles and the various manifestations through which they can serve to express unique beauty, craft connection, elevate sensory experience and spread natural, simple joy.

Thank you for joining us on the journey,


with love and gratitude,

Leila