In 2002, Sarah Johnston achieved a BA with 1st class honours in Design specialising in Textiles from the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art. This course provided a strong design training as well as the skills in print and weave necessary to realise her ideas.
At her Glasgow School of Art degree show Sarah won the Bill Naysmith Innovation award. She was selected to exhibit her work at New Designers in London where she was awarded the British Contract Furnishing Association – Future of Design Award for Design in the International Market Place. The prize for this award was the opportunity to exhibit at Index 2002 (interior and furniture exhibition) in Dubai.
Her trip to Dubai was followed by a Masters course in Textile Design with Computer Applications at the former Scottish College of Textiles (now part of Heriot-Watt University) to build on her existing knowledge of printing and to gain the hands-on skills required to produce jacquard woven fabrics.
Having graduated with distinction
in July 2004, Sarah decided to return to her home in the Orkney Isles to launch
her own range of interior accessories within a wider initiative of an Orkney
based company – Digitata Ltd.