MAKER RESIDENCY with Bec Briar
Studio 10 Project Space
04.04.2026 - 07.06.2026

Bec Briar is a local shepherd, spinner and weaver living and working on the edge of Exmoor in Somerset. Her practice is driven by a range of ecological and material concerns, such as the traceability of wool, regenerative farming and the building of community through craft.

Bec keeps her own flock of rare-breed sheep, which she hand-shears to ensure high animal welfare standards and fibre quality. She then hand-spins her own wool and incorporates natural dyes made using plants foraged from nearby fields, hedgerows and moorland terrain. By combining these materials and processes, Bec creates textiles that celebrate the local landscape, highlighting the interwoven connections between land, sheep, fibre, and people.

During her residency in Studio 10 Project Space, Bec will create work using her 10-shaft countermarch loom, spinning wheels and other textile equipment. She will take inspiration from Somerset’s peripheral position — geographically, culturally, and ecologically — working with fleeces and yarns whose origins lie in often underrecognised rural fibre systems. Through this new body of work, Bec hopes to encourage us to question the ways in which textiles, craft, land use and community might create a more resilient and planet-friendly future.

Between her time spent weaving and tending to her sheep, Bec will be leading a series of workshops with members of the local community. Participants will be invited to come and explore a range of textile making processes, including yarn spinning, band weaving and natural dying.

Visitors will also be invited to contribute their own threads and stories to a second loom set up in the space. This collaborative textile — created using locally sourced materials imbued with a sense of place and provenance — will be gifted to the local community at the end of the project.

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