What's in a name?
Bonny Claith is Scots for beautiful cloth.
Every piece of Bonny Claith tells a multi-layered story of natural materials and traditional skills brought to life through joyful, intuitive design. Like a live jazz performance, every piece is a unique expression of the distinctive and colourful Bonny Claith style: there will never be another scarf exactly like yours.
Meet the Maker
My name is Cally Booker and every piece of Bonny Claith is designed and handwoven by me.
My loom and I work together in a studio on the top floor of a converted jute mill with amazing views over the city of Dundee on Scotland’s east coast. The life and landscape of the city have a profound influence on my designs, from the grandeur of our waterfront setting to the quirky details of everyday living.
Materials matter
I choose to work with the highest quality natural materials, because I believe in beauty that lasts. Most of my yarns are blends of wool and silk. Together these two fibres allow me to create a fabric which is light and soft to wear, as well as warm and luxurious.
Colour from nature
As well as natural fibres, I also use natural dyes to obtain the Bonny Claith colour palette. The natural palette has an underlying warmth and gentleness which is very easy to wear.
I use traditional dyestuffs, such as madder, cochineal and indigo, and up-to-date ecologically sound methods to achieve strong and vibrant shades. I’ve taken this route because I am deeply concerned about the pollution caused by synthetic dyes in the textile industry: I choose to do things differently.
Life at the loom
Weaving is not a single process but a collection of many processes, each with its own rhythm and pace.
I weave on a mechanical dobby loom with 16 shafts. It is powered by me: my arms and legs do all the work, with a bit of help from my brain.
