Polonnaruwa Artisan Community

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.

The community has a deep connection to hand weaving and the pride of continuing something that has been passed down through generations. This craft requires patience, physical effort and dedication. Some members came to hand weaving by watching their mothers from a very young age, now sharing this knowledge through the community.

Reeds and rushes are the community’s materials: natural fibres harvested from local riverbanks, carefully selected, cleaned, dried and dyed using traditional methods. The weaving patterns the artisans use are rooted in tradition, but can be adapted for new designs. Each piece is made entirely by hand.

For Exiled, members of the community have woven items combining reeds and rushes with leather reclaimed from the UK luxury car industry, bringing a new dimension to their work.

The community’s members are proud to bring hand weaving to new audiences in this way, bringing further value and recognition to the craft and makers behind it, while also offering the fresh perspective that working with upcycled material brings.

‘Making is not just about producing an item – it is about preserving culture, expressing identity and connecting with nature. Each piece carries time, patience and intention.’

Outside the workshop, members of the community take part in training and share their knowledge with new weavers, further strengthening this hub’s connection to people and culture, while feeding directly back into the making process.

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‘Each Exiled piece is unique, reflecting a connection to nature and tradition that has taken generations to build – carrying the care, skill and dedication of our community.’

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