Meet Magical People: Bernie de le Cuona, Fabric Designer

22Jul15
Bernie-de-le-Cuona-Jade-Dressler
Walking in a certain world like an Egyptian Queen in her pristine, black patent leather and white lug soled Fratelli Rossetti oxfords, my meeting with fabric designer Bernie de le Cuono was like meeting “The Rosetta Stone of Linen and Wool” in Goddess form.  As founder and designer of her company, de le Cuona, Bernie has woven a path around the planet, mixing masters of looms, techniques, and fibers across cultures to achieve the most ethereal, subtle weaves to float unto beds, wrap pillows, or draw the curtains on a day’s close.
When we have our 25 ft high wall of window in my bucolic, restored 19th century barn set in rolling Tuscany hills, they will certainly be graced by her embossed linen in a pebble pattern woven on heritage French looms, looking for all the world like Edith Wharton herself hung the drapes.
We asked for her pensees to our ‘Tracing 9 Star’ power words and sketched her, above, to dive deeper into her world.  Our Tracing 9 Stars interview questions are based on something a bit more ancient and intuitive than the average interview questions. A little like the famed Proust’s Questionnaire and modern versions such as Vanity Fair‘s last page, and yet beyond.  Deeper insight into a Star.

ROOTS . DREAMS . POWER . HEART . CONVERSATION . GURU . STAR .
DESTINY . RELATIONSHIP

Spend a timeless minute with Bernie.
bernie de le cuona
ROOTS
Africa and although I left over 20 years ago it’s still what shapes me, consumes me and still in my heart!
We loved the huge turquoise scarab on her necklace on the day we met her, so appropriate for one tirelessly rolling elements. Her luscious African collection pieces follow…
SCARAB
​​Flax-dream

DREAMS
I am a dreamer, so much so my dreams don’t let me sleep!

Paisley Looms
POWER
Power looms that we weave our Paisley on. Only 3 meters a day but magical old treasures.
McQueen
HEART
Alexander McQueen did a beautiful one, will find it when I land.
And mercy, what a heart! Did I expect THIS IMAGE? Non.
Is it by chance that our FIRST interviewee chose an Alexander McQueen image from the same exact collection that our FIRST EVER blog post covered, linking his art to that of elegant shaman aspects??? Non. Heart, indeed!
DeLeCuona-Expedition-Everest-Linen-EXP1-500
CONVERSATION
It’s hard to do…Some people are so good at it but true conversing has become harder to find with email and social media.  Is a tweet a conversation?
Above, Bernie’s linen and wool conversation inspired by her adventures in Livingstone, Zambia.
de-le-Cuona-portrait
GURU
Someone who has mastered and is at peace with their mind and soul and has a huge capacity to forgive and love!
de le Cuona fabrics are for big statements like the above Guru portrait, sofas with guru design-pedigrees, and expansive views.
stars-over-africa
STAR
A sky full, full of stars and I know I am home in Africa.
This was the image of Egyptian women that reminded me of Bernie and her wovens.
EgyptWomenFamily
DESTINY
We are all deciding our own.
Of linen, she informed me, that when woven by hand, it doesn’t wrinkle.  I told her my linen fun-fact that it repels stains, that is why linen bedding is preferred by lovers everywhere.
bedroom-cave-de-le-Cuona
RELATIONSHIP

Precious.

Dive into a relationship with Bernie’s newest collection inspired by the African world with hand-fringing, feather cashmere, leather, and Mali stripe detail on cushions and throws.

de le Cuona pillows

de le Cuona africade le cuona africa

 And from our first post, coming full circle:

Drala.  A Tibetan concept that translates to Beyond and Above Aggression. Blameless. Connected to the essential and transcendent powers of Nature.

“You can see people’s internal connection to drala in the way they behave: the way they pick up their teacups, the way they smoke their cigarettes or the way they run their fingers through their hair.”

*Chogyam Trunpa his book SHAMBALA: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

Bernie and her fabrics have Drala!

www.delecuona.co.uk