YOU can roll around in an imaginary garden or get intimate with a tiger cat on one of Lorna Donlon's playfully designed, hand-tufted rugs.
A lover of exuberant colours, Donlon juggles lurid oranges with fluorescent pinks and brilliant blues in patterns that challenge the eye into accepting the most outlandish co-ordinations.
"I've always been inspired by Islamic manuscripts, ceramics and glass which combine all sorts of bright colours without being gaudy," Donlon says. "One thing I have learned is that there are no rules about colour as long as they work together tonally.
"The garden designs are the most popular," she says, referring to her designs of abstract flower beds, free-flowing streams and unfurrowed stretches of pink and blue soil.
Other favourites with her clients are the seashore designs, and the tiger cats which spread out like flattened animal skins on long rectangular rugs. "The inspiration for the tiger cats comes from the Tiger Rugs of Tibet which are amazing," she enthuses.
Personalised rugs for babies, with their name and date of birth incorporated into the design, are a successful new departure for Donlon. "Sometimes I am asked to do specific things but generally I prefer to work from my own drawings," she explains.
After training as a tapestry artist, Donlon turned to rug-making because she couldn't find a market for wall-tapestries in this country. "They were incredibly time-consuming to make, which meant that they were very expensive and there was no appreciation for them, which is sad. Rugs, by contrast, are something people know what to do with, being decorative and functional at the same time."
The market for handmade rugs has grown significantly since Donlon began six years ago. "People are moving towards rugs and timber floors instead of carpeting. Others are buying a rug as the focal point of the room and designing the room around it which they never did before," she says.
Lorna Donlon's rugs are made from an 80/20 wool/nylon mix. "The 20 per cent nylon makes the rugs more durable and more reasonably priced than 100 per cent wool rugs," she explains. Prices start at approximately £135 for a two foot by three foot rug, rising to £810 for a six foot by six rug.
