Grey Havens: Oscha Lord of the Rings Design Development

Sailing into the West: A Woven Tribute to the Grey Havens™ and Valinor™

The Grey Havens is the westernmost port of Middle-earth in J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium, a place of departure for Elves and other travellers seeking the lands beyond the mortal world. Established in the First Age by the Elven mariner Círdan, it served as a refuge and a gateway to the West. Throughout the ages, it remained one of the last strongholds of the Elves in Middle-earth, a place where they could linger before setting sail for Valinor.

With its elegant Elven towers and its enduring presence, the Grey Havens embodies both the beauty and the slow fading of the Elves’ influence in Middle-earth. It is from here that Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf, and, eventually, the last of the Elves take their final voyage, leaving behind the lands they have known for centuries.

Bilbo’s Last Song (At the Grey Havens) echoes the bittersweet nature of this departure:

Farewell, friends! I hear the call.
The ship's beside the stony wall.
Foam is white and waves are grey;
beyond the sunset leads my way.
Foam is salt, the wind is free;
I hear the rising of the Sea.

Grey Havens Namarie - the first weave run for baby wraps and carriers in the new design Shop Grey Havens in the Middle-earth Collection

Our newest woven textile design brings this scene to life with detailed imagery of the Grey Havens. The architecture of the harbour is depicted with graceful buildings set amongst mountains.

The sea stretches beyond, guiding the departing ships onto the ‘Straight Road’—a route that, according to Tolkien’s mythology, allows vessels to leave the curved surface of the mortal world and travel directly to Valinor. This path is no ordinary sea voyage; it is a transition from Middle-earth to the Undying Lands, a realm removed from time and decay.

Valinor, the final destination of this journey, is presented as a distant and almost unreachable place, bathed in light and with stars guiding the way. In Tolkien’s world, Valinor is described as a land of peace and healing, home to the Valar and the Eldar who have chosen to leave Middle-earth behind. It is not simply a new land but a different plane of existence, separated from the troubles of the world left behind.

Legolas speaks of its calling to the Elves in his song:

“Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling,
The voices of my people that have gone before me?
I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me...

Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling,
Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling,
In Eressëa, in Elvenhome that no man can discover,
Where the leaves fall not: land of my people forever!”

This design captures the significance of this moment: the weight of departure, the quiet finality of leaving, and the hope of what lies ahead. The boats, designed with curving, natural Elven lines, carry their passengers away from Middle-earth forever. The woven texture of the design enhances the sense of movement, with the sea’s surface shifting as though touched by an unseen force guiding the travellers onward.

Through this design, we aim to honour the depth of the storytelling of J.R.R. Tolkien, creating a piece that evokes the emotions of farewell and transition. Whether worn as a wrap or displayed as an artwork, this design offers a glimpse into one of the most poignant moments in Tolkien’s stories, a reminder of journeys taken and the worlds that lie beyond.

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Phases of creating the Grey Havens Design

This has been one of our more complex designs to create. The question of how to depict this movement from the port of the Grey Havens through the 'Straight Road' towards Valinor directly influenced the composition of the design, with the Grey Havens harbour below and the White Ship sailing to a new realm in the upper section.

There are elements of our Sea Salt pattern with a hint of our Rei design. Each element was hand drawn and then brought into our design software to perfect it and prepare it for weaving. The boats were altered along the way to bring out their Elvish inspiration.

An early test weave to check how the basic elements might look woven.

In the above test weave, we can see that the weave pattern used to create shading in the sea is too strong, and the sea lines aren't clearly visible. This highlights the importance of testing new patterns via sample weaving: our mock-ups get close to the finished design, but there is no substitute for seeing the actual woven fabric to assess the appearance of the warp and weft in different structures.

Further development with a trial on boat design, stronger wave lines, more details in town, stars added to the sky

Here is the final test weave. There were just some small elements to fix to ensure that details were clear in the weave, such as line work on the smaller boats and detail in the town/buildings around the harbour.

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