Inspirations for c u s h y n u m b e r ' s work comes from the wild Scottish landscape which is home to textile designer Marie Ann Weir. Marie Ann is influenced by the wild Highland landscape which is her home and draws inspiration from focusing on the intricacies of surface decoration and imitating structure and surface texture found in the sometimes harsh but always infinitely beautiful landscape. Each design is constructed using a combination of moulding, embedding and stitching onto surfaces which are then manipulated to form highly original surface decorations. Her designs interpret nature's apparently chaotic processes, to bring to life the underlying beauty and structure of surface decoration, echoing the natural rhythms and forms occurring in Lochaber's untamed environment. Marie Ann’s sense of fun combined with her interpretation of her natural habitat gives the inspiration behind
c u s h y n u m b e r ' s quirky designs.

Marie Ann’s signature style is of raised spiky rubber. "The textiles I produce create an illusion, redolent of sea creatures, grasses, plants of heath and wetlands. The feeling is soft and the material yields to form a cushion around the body similar to lying on soft moss or heather."
Marie Ann contrasts these surfaces with a range of subtle fabrics inspired by the nets of the local fishing fleet, to form light and airy textiles. It is the ambiguity between form and appearance that appeals to me and my clients. The concept can seem quite serious although the end product is bright, cheerful and great fun.