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Collaboration project: Nadia – Anne Ricketts

23 February 2016 Company Profile / Exhibitions / General / New weave developments / News / Publication
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Beatie Wolfe, David Mason aka Mr Fish & BeatWoven by Stuart NichollsSeeing music differently in The House of Rock; 34 Montague Square.

A collaboration between woven textile artist Nadia-Anne Ricketts from BeatWoven, musician Beatie Wolfe and Saville Row tailor David Mason of Mr. Fish.

It all began on the night of a book launch; The Digital Handmade : Craftsmanship in the New Industrial Revolution, where both textile artist Nadia-Anne Ricketts and innovative musician Beatie Wolfe were introduced by the author Lucy Johnston . It was the beginning of a collaboration where the five worlds of fashion, music, craft, history and technology would collide to show how music and craft can be worn and seen very differently in a compelling, storytelling way.

ProcessDubbed ‘The Secret Abbey Road’, 34 Montague Square is the former home of Hendrix, McCartney, Lennon and Ono; and the very birthplace of a ‘Wind Cries Mary’ and ‘Eleanor Rigby’.

The basement flat now belongs to savile row tailor, David Mason, an already collaborative partner to Beatie Wolfe. Both were eager to launch both David’s new acquisition; the re-launch of the flamboyant fashion label to the rock stars of the 60’s – Hendrix, Bowie and Jagger to name a few – Mr. Fish; with the release of Beatie’s new album consisted of music lyrics inspired by the very people that inhabited the space fifty years ago.
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Profile: Mayumi Kaneko

9 November 2015 Company Profile / Exhibitions / General / New weave developments / News
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andonMayumi Kaneko is a hand weaver who came to the UK in 2003 and learned weaving from local weavers. She was educated in the UK and finished her post graduate course at Bath School of Art and Design in 2013.

She develops woven textures and patterns to make beautiful and intriguing fabrics, having a great passion for materials in particular paper yarn. She designs for fashion, interiors and lighting.

Using paper yarn  woven fabrics  in conjunction with lighting, exciting visual effects are  produced. The woven fabrics can be folded in different patterns which are derived from Japanese origami techniques, creating strength. The resulting faceted shapes produce the variety of light and shadow. Her lights introduce the sculptural art of lighting and whist having strong abstract and geometric forms, show clear inspiration from natural growth forms.
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Launch: The Bristol Weaving Mill

4 November 2015 Company Profile / Events / General / New weave developments / News
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64fee7_4791f5960f6940f8b7639bffb50aa2ca_jpg_srb_p_1004_668_75_22_0_50_1_20_0First all-female weaving mill opens in Bristol

Bristol’s first all-female weaving mill will open for business in Old Market from November 4th 2015. The arrival of The Bristol Weaving Mill also marks the return of a cloth-weaving mill to the city after a 90 year absence.

Founded by Juliet Bailey and Franki Brewer, The Bristol Weaving Mill was born out of their internationally renowned Bristol-based textile design studio Dash & Miller. Over the last 6 years the pair have provided hand woven textile design and consultancy across the UK, Europe, USA, and Asia working with such companies as Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, and Louis Vuitton.

This new machine driven weaving mill was the obvious next step for Director Juilet Bailey; ‘naturally, if a fashion house is interested in one of our designs they will also want to have it produced, and it’s this demand that has lead us down the path of manufacturing. Also by launching the mill we take back the creative control, so that everything from the design concept to the production of fabric is created in-house.”

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TMO: The Mars Odyssey. Alexandra Lucas

18 September 2015 Company Profile / Exhibitions / General / New weave developments / News
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_MG_9013Alexandra Lucas’s TMO: The Mars Odyssey, is a conceptual collection of Jacquard and Dobby woven conceptual fabrics that make up the six protective layers of a Mars Exploration Suit.

Her work can be seen at The Lethaby Gallery, London N1c 4AA within   ‘The Intelligent Optimist’ Exhibition,  a London Design Festival event 2015. 19th Sept – 17th Oct 2015.

Alexandra has woven concept textiles for: a radiation layer, 3 pressure layers, an oxygen and temperature layer, as well as a sensory membrane layer which detects the biometrics of the body.

She anticipates that after a period of time human bodies would start adapting to the conditions of Mars. Thus, if a layer is no longer needed it could be taken off to reveal the next layer. In the end,  the Mars Exploration Suit would enable humans to evolve and adapt over time and the suit itself would be no longer needed.

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Profile: Susie Taylor

19 May 2015 Company Profile / General / New weave developments
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Three Towers 72dpi for WeaveShedSusie Taylor has an extensive background weaving on shaft looms and has 11 years experience designing high-end jacquard fabrics for the upholstery market. She has spent many years hand manipulating yarns, on the loom, to produce multi-layered structures and in 2012 she received the Handweaver’s Guild of America’s Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving, Level 1. Her work is exhibited extensively.

Susie combines hand-manipulated techniques with loom-controlled structures. Currently, she creates dimensional textiles that incorporate origami and weaving techniques together to create new woven forms without any cutting or sewing; only weaving and folding are used.

This work originates on the loom where discontinuous pleats are engineered and constructed as the groundcloth is woven; everything starts as a single layer of handwoven cloth. Continue reading →

London Craft Week

2 May 2015 Company Profile / Events / Exhibitions / General / New weave developments / News
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Daniel Harris at London Cloth CompanyLondon Craft Week  6 – 10th May 2015 is a new annual, not-for-profit event which showcases exceptional craftsmanship through a journey-of-discovery programme featuring hidden workshops, celebrated makers, other lesser known makers and highly specialised skills alongside famous shops, galleries and luxury brands.

Founded on the ethos of making, London Craft Week aims to put craftsmanship at centre stage of the world’s creative capital by introducing the talent, people and techniques behind beautifully made things to a wider audience. They will be able to experience craft not just as static branded objects in smart shops but understand the context of how they were made, why they are special and even have a try themselves.

Weavers involved in London Craft Week include :

Daniel Harris, who set up The London Cloth Company in 2010,  has single-handedly sourced, rebuilt and restored numerous power looms of historical significance dating from as early as 1870 to 1970. Since then the London Cloth Company has grown into a renowned international brand, supplying a range of cottons and woollens to top designers.  He will set up a power loom and be weaving at DAKS, 10 Old Bond Street, London W1S 4PL, on May 7th 2015 from 10.30am – 17.00

London Cloth Company image credit: Beth Saunders Continue reading →

Exhibitions & Profile: Dovecot Tapestry Studio

22 April 2015 Company Profile / Exhibitions / General
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Low res_GarryFabianMiller_DovecotTapestryStudio_HearthRug_TheGoldenLight

Dovecot Tapestry Studio, based in Edinburgh, is a world-renowned producer of hand-woven tapestry and gun-tufted rugs. Continuing a century-long heritage of making and collaboration with leading international contemporary artists, the Studio weavers are dedicated to producing extraordinary works of art by commission from private and public collectors from around the globe.

Dovecot Foundation exists to champion Dovecot Tapestry Studio and its place in the world of contemporary art, design and making. The Foundation puts Dovecot Tapestry Studio at the heart of this mission in the support of the Dovecot Apprenticeship Programme, collaborations with leading artists from around the world and the development of cultural and educational partnerships. Ultimately, the Foundation seeks to bring the innovative work of contemporary artists and makers to a wider audience (see further).

Garry Fabian Miller Dwelling at Dovecot Gallery
15 May to 4 July 2015

Dwelling at Dovecot Gallery from 15 May to 4 July 2015 highlights the importance of home and its landscape to the work of Garry Fabian Miller. Alongside recent works by Fabian Miller, the exhibition will feature two new hearth rugs produced by Dovecot Tapestry Studio in collaboration with the artist, as well as explorations of the artist’s influences including important paintings by Winifred Nicholson.

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Company Profile: John Spencer Textiles

30 January 2015 Company Profile / General
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Spencer familyJohn Spencer Textiles are a 6th generation family weaving company run by the great-great-great grandson of the founder. The picture shows John Spencer, his son John and his grandson Tertius.

The mill is the last remaining traditional cotton mill in Burnley, Lancashire, once the world centre of cotton weaving.

130212_n0200Specialising in the weaving of spun yarns, the company makes a huge range of fabric widths and weights for all sorts of end uses including home furnishings, ladies and menswear, protective clothing, industrial fabrics and even parachutes.

Fibres used include cotton, wool, silk, linen, viscose and polyester to name but a few. Coloured yarns can be incorporated into the designs with unlimited warp colours and up to 6 weft colours.

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Crafts Council Hothouse: Heather Shields

18 January 2015 Company Profile / General / New weave developments / News
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hshieldsloomHeather Shields is a woven textile designer based in Glasgow, who has recently been selected on the Crafts Council Hothouse scheme.

This scheme  is a “free programme of professional support for craft makers, delivered by the Crafts Council and partners and run over the course of six months” (ref: crafts council website). 39 Makers have been selected for 2015 including previously featured on The Weaveshed, weavers Rita Parniczky and Nadia Anne Ricketts.

Graduating with a BA (Hons) in Textile Design from Glasgow School of Art, Heather  went on to pursue an internship with Margo Selby to assist in weaving samples for her book “Contemporary Weaving Patterns”.

On returning to Scotland, Heather took up a part time post as weave technician at Glasgow School of Art. A year later she joined Glasgow Clyde College as a weave tutor and began writing the curriculum for their first weave course in partnership with Heriot Watt university.

Alongside her work in education, she developed a new collection of fabrics and was determined to start up her own textile design business. She participated in Nightriders, an 8 week pilot business programme created by service design company, Snook, and began showing her work at local exhibitions. In December 2014 she was selected to join the Craft Council’s Hothouse scheme for emerging makers.

Her designs combine playful colour palettes with bold pattern and quality craftsmanship. A fascination with contrasts, beauty in the unexpected and unusual juxtaposition has always been at the forefront of her design work. She explores these elements through carefully considered yarn choices and specialist construction techniques to create textiles that celebrate the charm of everyday objects. Inspired by childhood puzzles and games, her latest collection of contemporary homeware uses super soft lambswool and a double cloth construction to create luxurious cushions with a strong graphic edge. Heather’s fabrics evoke a sense of fun and are destined to be covetable statement pieces within the home.

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Stephanie Rolph: The Peter Collingwood Trust Fund Winner 2014

4 November 2014 Company Profile / Competitions / General / New weave developments / News
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DSC_0101

(im)Permanence.

“It is our perception of space that alters the space.
It is consciousness that finds meaning in all spaces.”

This Bryan Lawson quote inspired Stephanie Rolph’s research project: (im)Permanence. The project was part of her final year BA (Hons) Textile Design course at CSM, which was an investigation into the potential for creating rigid, self-supporting woven materials. The materials she  developed were designed to form a modular furniture system.

Her studio practice focuses on the role of textiles within spaces, both architecturally and as products and objects, looking not just at the appearance of textiles but at the form and physical properties. She aims to challenge preconceived ideas on what woven fabrics can be and how they can be used, believing that unusual applications of fabrics can help to redefine the textiles themselves.

Interior textiles are often generally drapes, rugs and upholstery fabrics. There is general feeling that fabrics within space are decorative: a cushion on a wooden chair or the drapes to accent a room. Often then, the textile is an after thought; some consider them less important because of this. Her project set out to see if she could disturb this relationship, creating woven structures that existed both as ornament and have function within a space.
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