Marie Wallin

• Name — Marie Wallin • Known for — Fair Isle designs • Occupation — fibre artist, fashion designer

Wallin got a first class degree in textiles at Leicester Polytechnic, now DeMontfort University in 1986. Her final collection was inspired by artist Piet Mondrian.

After finishing her education, Wallin worked for a small knitwear company in Nottingham. A year later she started her own business selling machine knitted designs internationally. From the mid-1990s she started working in the commercial knitwear industry again, before joining yarn company Rowan as Head Designer. In this position she was responsible for designing handknits, but also photoshoots and the general creative direction. She became known for her colourful fair isle designs during this time. In 2013, Wallin started her own business as a freelance knitwear designer. She has since published many books and released her own yarn British Breeds, spun by John Arbon Textiles. All of the designs in her books are modelled by actress/model Georgia Scarlet Waters. Wallin says that she "doesn't really stop working" and knits something work-related every night. In 2014, a fair isle throw designed by Wallin was featured in the exhibition Wool Collection: Interiors for the fifth annual UK Wool Week. Wallin's designs have been praised by designer Kate Davies and she was interviewed three times by the podcast Fruity Knitting. According to the knitting pattern database Ravelry, her patterns have been published in at least 290 different magazine issues, including Simply Knit, Simply Crochet, Rowan Magazine, Suuri Käsityö, Stitches and The Knitter.

Wallin grew up in an artistic family and was taught to draw and paint by her father as a child.