Spirit Of Creativity is the specialist textile tourism company founded by textile artist, Rosalind Johansson. She loves introducing people to new places, new inspiration and new skills.

All the textile tours and workshops embrace a hands-on approach to learning, sharing her passion for textiles.

She runs textile classes and workshops throughout the year in the Orkney studio. She also arranges bespoke workshops for small groups, including creative breaks.

Rosalind grew up in a creative household. She spent the early years of her career working as a map-maker before training as a teacher.

In 1970s she trained as a weaver in Sweden in and has run textile workshops across the globe. Her wide-ranging expertise includes ethnic textile production and clothing design of Peru, Africa and Scandinavia.

In 2017, she founded Spirit Of Creativity to take small groups on textile tours of Scandinavia and Peru having already lead tours in Tanzania. Covid brought the tours to a sudden end and so she now works with natural fibres to create colourful art quilts and felted articles.

Taking influences from her years spent living in Botswana and Tanzania in Africa, Norway and Sweden in Scandinavia and Peru in South America, Rosalind’s vibrant style celebrates the wealth of colours, themes, and techniques, used in textile artistry around the world.

Rosalind is also an interesting public speaker as well as a teacher of textiles. She has spoken at many quilt groups and was a teacher at the Festival of Quilts at the N.E.C. Birmingham and other textile shows around the UK.

In 2015 Rosalind Rosalind visited Peru for the first time to learn about its culture and textiles.  Her immersive experiences there have been very inspirational. She has since visited Peru several more times, deepening her knowledge of the wonderful textiles to be found there - not least, embroidery, weaving and knitting. She was lucky enough to spend an intensive three weeks period, studying weaving techniques with world-renowned, Peruvian Weaver, Maximo Laura in Lima.

In 2017, she fulfilled a long-term ambition and moved to Orkney. The wildlife, the landscapes, the ever-changing sea and sky and, not least, the ancient archaeology provide an incredible mix of inspiration for her current creations and also for her students.

In 2022 Rosalind was chosen to represent Creative Orkney in Hoy along with other producers and artists at a special exhibition meeting His Majesty King Charles 111 when still His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, The Duke of Rothesay.

Her work can be found at her studio shop in Finstown.