Saoirse Byrne

Cordage has shaped how humans have engaged with the world and is a process dear to Saoirse's heart - the metaphors available in the making help her to connect to the physical world, people past and present, and herself. For the last thirteen years Saoirse has worked in the kitchen at Women’s Herbal Symposium while home-schooling her children, creating custom work featuring cordage, and traveling internationally to teach. She is grateful to be able to share her love of cordage with this community.

Saoirse's exploration of cordage began with seeing a phormium leaf (New Zealnad flax) transformed into the most beautiful blue linen thread at the Buckeye Skills Gathering. Curious, she applied the process to the abundance of materials in her studio and life. She had held onto her great grandmother’s threadbare handkerchief for decades- precious but altogether unusable. As cordage it became a strong, loving reminder of her grandmother - a necklace that Saoirse could wear and a process that she could share.

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Apparel Design, Saoirse quickly moved to a small town in Ireland and found herself making cloth shopping bags with hand painted archaic plane motifs when the bag tax was first instituted. In an effort to understand how to create a company aligned with her values she received an MBA in Sustainable Business Management from Presidio School of Management in San Francisco as part of the first graduating cohort.

When Saoirse first moved into the barn that is her studio in Boonville, CA, there was a length of rope left hanging on the wall. Little did she know what a significant object that would become over the past fifteen years. It has been a joy and privilege to empower people with this foundational skill that can honor our loved ones and significant times in our lives, or to simply make a practical and beautiful length of cord. You are welcome to visit during her Open Studio Tour on Memorial Day Weekend or reach out for private classes either in person or online. You can find Saoirse's work at the artist collective Mendo Made in Mendocino and at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco, as well as at www.SaoirseByrne.com.