Origin Stories
Origin Stories | Saoirse
Written by Grace O'Connor
Saoirse finishes linen by hand in a first-floor room above a bakery, which she describes as the best and worst possible arrangement.
Nineteen years, one thing
She has done one thing for nineteen years. She is unusually clear that this is a choice rather than a limitation.
The arithmetic
You get good at one thing, she says, or you get adequate at nine. The market rewards nine. The work rewards one.
Nobody has ever asked me to finish a hem quickly. They ask me to finish it once.
On the bakery
The heat is the problem — it moves the cloth. The smell is the other problem, and she declines to elaborate.
Thread and cloth
She works linen thread on linen cloth, because it takes a stitch and holds it. It is the same reason it ends up in everything we make.
Saoirse Mac Aodha
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Saoirse do?
Hand-finishing and drawn-thread work on linen, from a first-floor room above a bakery she describes as the best and worst possible arrangement.
How long has she done it?
Nineteen years, doing one thing — a choice, she is unusually clear, rather than a limitation.
Does she teach?
Rarely, and reluctantly. She argues the craft is learned at a bench over years, not in a weekend.
