About Ava
I’m a South Devon–based textiles artist, creating textile artworks alongside working with clothing and fabric through commissions, mending, repairs and alterations, as well as collaborative workshops.
My work is rooted in an interest in how we live with fabric, as clothing and in our homes. Holding both the joy of self-expression through style and the impact of overconsumption in the fashion industry. Rather than seeing fabric as disposable, I’m interested in how it can be cared for, repaired and reimagined over time; allowing ourselves to develop connection and give meaning to textiles.
With a background in environmental sciences, my practice is shaped by an awareness of the ecological and social systems that we are part of. Since 2015, I’ve also been part of the core team behind Dark Mountain Project, contributing to its exploration of the cultural stories shaping modern life and its unravelling. I feel creativity is a vital part of how we respond to the challenges of our time.
I primarily work with pre-existing and second-hand materials; mending, altering and transforming textiles using techniques such as sashiko stitching, lino printing and appliqué. Whether it’s a practical repair or a more creative commission, I see mending as a way to express ourselves through what we already own and to work more sustainably with cloth.
Alongside this, photography has become an extension of my making process. I create garments without the usual constraints of function, then work with friends and landscapes to capture moments in nature through clothing as a form of creative expression. These images often take on a more symbolic or character-like quality, shaped through an improvised process between body, cloth and place.
Improvisation runs through everything I do and aside from my sewing work, I also make improvised music and experiment with other creative mediums. Whether mending a well-worn garment or making something new, my approach is intuitive, hands-on and responsive, with a focus on slowing down and paying attention to the process.
What is
?
The name “Well Woo” is a combination of ‘woowoo’—esoteric, intuitive, ‘hippy’—and ‘well’, used as a slang adverb meaning ‘a lot’. It’s intended to be slightly tongue-in-cheek: a playful nod to the contradictions within my practice and personality, holding both sincerity and humour. Together, it speaks to an abundance of feeling, instinct and creative energy, as well as a way of approaching making that is both grounded and expansive.
For me, this work is rooted in contradiction. I love fashion—the play, the self-expression, the shifting language of style—and the feeling of having clothes that reflect who I am becoming. At the same time, I question the systems that produce them: the extractive logic of the fashion industry and the relentless growth of consumer culture, and I want to extend that love and curiosity to my clients- to help for you to express who you are whilst also holding the conundrum of the destructive nature of the fashion industry.
I care deeply about our impact on the wider world. I want to create pieces and support fashion that is natural, considered and respectful of people and planet—and I also want to feel expressive, experimental, and connected to the evolving currents of fashion and identity.
Well Woo is about holding these tensions rather than resolving them. It’s about embracing the fact that we are not one thing. We are contradictory, multiple, changing. We are both drawn to beauty and implicated in harm; both grounded and reaching; both individual and collective.
Through mending and re-working pre-loved garments, I offer a way to stay connected to self-expression without constantly consuming something new. Clothes can be reimagined, reshaped and given new life—allowing us to evolve our wardrobes alongside ourselves, with care and intention.
This work is not about perfection or purity. It’s about engagement—finding creative, tangible ways to live with awareness, and to make choices that feel meaningful within the complexity of the world we inhabit.