Kelimune Handloom Centre

Group of makers

Kelimune Handloom Centre

The Kelimune Handloom Centre, supported by Exiled and Fibershed Sri Lanka, is a community of skilled handloom weavers, sharing knowledge and keeping alive an ancient tradition for new markets.

Handloom weaving is a traditional process said to have existed in Sri Lanka for over two millennia, typified by its intricate designs and high-quality craftsmanship.

At the Kelimune Handloom Centre, part of the Department of Industrial Development in Kurunegala, North Western Province, a group of skilled women have created an inspiring environment for creativity and production.



Cotton is the community’s material. It is a fibre with deep historical, cultural and spiritual roots in Sri Lanka. Exiled’s regenerative cotton project in Sri Lanka aims to bring the most sustainable cotton ever produced in the country – where the traditional industry collapsed in the 1970s – back into the hands of this community.

The handloom process begins with dyed yarn arriving in hanks. These are wound onto bobbins, prepared and transferred into the warp, which is then set onto the beam of the loom. From there, the fabric is built step by step, with the care and precision the material demands.

‘We would like those who own Exiled garments to understand the effort behind each piece... the dedication of the artisans. Even with limited infrastructure, we are committed to producing high quality fabrics with skill and care.’

The community’s work has always been about more than the fabric. Through weaving, the Kelimune community creates opportunities, shares knowledge and supports the women within it in building better lives.

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Weaving is not just a skill, but a domestic and cultural tradition in Sri Lanka. We feel a strong responsibility to continue this craft and ensure it does not disappear.



Meet your makers

This is our circle of makers: artisans, designers, technicians and technologists, each bringing a distinct craft and a shared conviction that the material others overlook still has more to say.

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Bridie Rimmer

Bridie taught herself to work with leather because nobody else was making what she could see was needed. Seven years on, she brings that same rigour to Exiled.

Bridie Rimmer
Bridie Rimmer
Designer

Bridie Rimmer

Designer
Jo Smith

No material that reaches Jo is truly at the end of its life. She has spent her career proving it – one rescued, reimagined piece at a time.

Jo Smith
Jo Smith
Textile Technician

Jo Smith

Textile Technician
Kelimune Handloom Centre

The Kelimune Handloom Centre, supported by Exiled and Fibershed Sri Lanka, is a community of skilled handloom weavers, sharing knowledge and keeping alive an ancient tradition for new markets.

Kelimune Handloom Centre
Kelimune Handloom Centre
Group of makers

Kelimune Handloom Centre

Group of makers
Polonnaruwa Artisan Community

The Polonnaruwa Artisan Community, supported by Exiled and Fibershed Sri Lanka, nurtures a group of hand weavers to carry forward a centuries-old craft into products and places it has never reached before.

Polonnaruwa Artisan Community
Polonnaruwa Artisan Community
Group of makers

Polonnaruwa Artisan Community

Group of makers
Roxey Lebedynska

Roxey always knew she was going to be an artist. Music shaped her eye, chaos fuels her process and fashion became the medium through which she says what she wants to say.

Roxey Lebedynska
Roxey Lebedynska
Textile Technician

Roxey Lebedynska

Textile Technician
Sam Grannon

Sam is not just interested in making things. He is interested in what becomes of them. Everything else – the materials, the process, the precision – follows from that.

Sam Grannon
Sam Grannon
3D Designer

Sam Grannon

3D Designer
Sisi

Sisi chose creativity at nine years old and has never reconsidered. Making for her is not a job or a practice. It is the clearest expression of who she is.

Sisi
Sisi
Textile Technician

Sisi

Textile Technician
Syd Newman

Syd was always looking for the next skill she hadn’t mastered yet. She found it in clothing construction and hasn’t stopped looking since, also finding that craft is what makes her feel herself.

Syd Newman
Syd Newman
Textile Technician

Syd Newman

Textile Technician
Tendai ‘Tee’ Murairwa

Some people grow up making. Tee started in her forties at her kitchen table, discovering that what she’d been looking for had been waiting in the fabric all along.

Tendai ‘Tee’ Murairwa
Tendai ‘Tee’ Murairwa
Designer

Tendai ‘Tee’ Murairwa

Designer