About Us

Sarah Johnston started her business under the name Digitata towards the end of 2004, when she returned to Orkney after studying textiles at Glasgow School of Art. With an interest in both printed and woven textiles, Sarah decided to initially focus on creating a collection of commission woven jacquard fabrics which were then made into her range of cushions and throws back up in Orkney. This initial collection was followed by her hand-printed collection which includes a wider range of products including fashion accessories, and kitchen & dining textiles as well as interior accessories.

At the beginning of 2009 Sarah decided to rebrand the business at Marram Studio, named after the marram grass which grows on sandy shores in Orkney and has been one of her many sources of inspiration.

Although retaining a small design base in Orkney, Sarah has moved her studio facilities to Glasgow, where she undertook her original textile studies, giving access to wider collaborative and market opportunities.

Inspiration

The inspiration for many of Sarah’s designs still comes from the Orkney environment - the striking scenery, the varied forms and patterns in nature, and above all, the unique quality of island colour and light. As her work has progressed Sarah continues to find inspiration working with botanical forms, from wild Scottish flowers to exotic tropical blooms which she combines with a fascination for repeating patterns and manipulation of scale and colour to create her contemporary, stylised prints.

The Studio

The business is now based in a unit in a former school building in Govan (Studio 29, Six Harmony Row), close to the historic shipyards of the Clyde. Here we have re-established the hand printing table and other equipment for silkscreen printing. Many of our designs are hand-printed small limited runs in our studio workshop, using high quality natural materials such as linen, cotton and silk.

The new unit provides excellent access to collaborative organisations and suppliers, as well as extended packaging and distribution capabilities.

In addition to working on Marram Studio, Sarah continues to offer various design services under her original name Digitata including web design, particularly specialising in providing web solutions for creative businesses.