Frances van Hasselt is a designer and entrepreneur focusing on developing mohair textiles within a local, South African context. She collaborates with a team of women artisans in the Karoo. Together they weave stories about the origins of their textiles, whilst simultaneously allowing the natural environment to inform every aspect of their design and making process. Raised on a mohair farm in the Karoo desert, van Hasselt has a deep affinity for this natural fibre. She has spent the last several years – after working in the fashion and textile industries in Hong Kong and South Africa – developing a business designed to elevate mohair to a more prominent status as one of the world’s most ancient, exclusive fibres. Working purely with mohair, FRANCES V.H Mohair is one of the only textile studios developing a variety of products informed by the full life cycle of Angora goats and the environment to create work that allows for the raw material to define the final piece.