RHYME STUDIO

Self-taught designer Claire McGovern of Rhyme Studio may be living and working in New York, but she is an Irish woman at heart. Two years ago, she launched a series of rugs made from the finest hand-spun Irish wool, inspired by the artistic lexicon of Insular Irish Celtic art. The ancient style reached its apogee in the 8th and 9th centuries, seeing the amalgamation of the Irish curvilinear style with interlaces and zoomorphs from southern England. By introducing, in a contemporaneous context, an Irish hybrid that is unique, McGovern has created a collection evocative of Ireland's past and identity. She is intrigued by early Irish history as it relates to a cultural identity before the arrival of the Vikings or the Normans to Ireland and, most importantly, before the loss of the Irish language, which changed everything. Rhyme Studio is based in Brooklyn. All the wool used in the rugs comes from Ireland. The studio marries old and new - traditional hand-woven techniques and contemporary hand-drawn designs.