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London Craft Week 2016

Harris tweed Hebrides

The second edition of London Craft Week will showcase exceptional craftsmanship from around the world through a  programme of 129 events across the city, featuring hidden workshops and unknown makers alongside celebrated masters, famous studios, galleries, shops and luxury brands from 3rd – 7th May 2016.

Weaving events include:
Dashing Tweeds  working on a table top loom to show the basics behind the design and development process used to create their urban cycling reflective tweeds, using unique reflective woollen cloth also known as lumatwill.  Dashing Tweeds specialise in creative woven textiles for menswear, tailoring modern sporting tweeds into ready to wear collections.Dashing Tweeds cloth for CraftW (1)
Lin: The Arts of Taiwanese Rush Weaving : Curated by Native & Co with Chia-En Lu and the Taiwan Yuan-Li Handiwork Association, this exhibition including a workshop explores the craft and techniques behind Taiwanese rush weaving, following its history and rebirth through contemporary design.

Native & Co, London Craft Week 2016With 300 years of history, rush weaving is one of Taiwan’s oldest and most traditional crafts. Lin wild rush grass, is native to the paddy fields of Yuanli in western Taiwan. First used by the Pingpu tribe to weave everyday objects, rush weaving evolved over centuries. At its peak the craft thrived under Imperial Japan, becoming one of Taiwan’s main exported goods. Rush weaving cannot be reproduced by machine and requires immense skill and patience. Chia-En showcases a series of hand-woven rush-weaved baskets, made in collaboration with the Taiwan Yuan-Li Handiwork Association. Each piece is handmade by master weaver Xue-Yun.

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Select Festival 2016: Soft Engineering

Deirdre Woods Multi interlocking ringsSoft Engineering
Textiles Taking Shape

Alison Ellen, Ann Richards, Deirdre Wood
Dates: Saturday 30 April – Sunday 22 May
Museum in the Park Stratford park Stroud GL5 4AF
Times: Tuesday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday and Sunday 11 am – 5 pm
Open Bank Holidays

Soft Engineering brings together, for the first time, the work of three inspiring textile designer makers. Having pursued separate careers in knitting and weaving, they find many common threads that have now inspired them to work together on this joint exhibition. Despite employing different techniques and structures, their approaches interconnect and cross over in intriguing and sometimes surprising ways.

Their passion for textiles shines through the original work that has been specifically created for this fascinating exhibition. Soft Engineering introduces a central theme of textiles that take shape through the interplay of raw material and structure that plays out in varied ways: repetition/displacement of simple shapes, pleating, folding, twisting and double-sided fabrics.

The exhibition will be complemented by workshops and a half day seminar.

Deirdre Wood
Deirdre brings a fresh approach to the ancient technique of strip weaving, with strips that are twisted before being joined by sewing. The result is a cloth that moves into the third dimension, creating geometric pieces designed for architectural settings. Ikat-dyeing brings dynamic movement and extra definition to these abstract forms. Her most recent work breaks new ground as curving strips emerge from the contrasting properties of linen and silk.

Ann Richards
Ann weaves fabrics that are smooth and rectangular on the loom but are transformed when soaked in water. The energy of high-twist wools and silks is released, causing yarns to spiral spontaneously, pleating the fabrics into flexible, textured scarves and clothes. Her latest work, a range of textile jewellery, combines these traditional materials with a silk/steel yarn that gives the fabric a temporary ‘memory’ for additional pleats and folds.Ann Richards Triple Spiral neckpiece large
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Exhibition: Real Dirty Blue

Real Dirty Blue Final

Real Dirty Blue: Textile Design at Central Saint Martins
Dates: 23 February – 1 April 2016
Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday | 11am – 6pm , Saturday | 12 – 5pm
Venue: Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins, 1 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4AAA

A glimpse into the world of textile design culture at Central Saint Martins. Real Dirty Blue tells the story of almost a century of textile design at the college, from the hand block printed textiles of the 1930s to more recent experiments in multi-dimensional textiles, digital print and the juxtaposition of traditional techniques with new technologies.

The work presents 26 designers who taught or studied at the college from 1927 to 2015. On display will be objects drawn from the CSM Museum & Study Collection, supplemented with loans from designers’ personal archives and collections. The focus of the display is to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the processes that happen during design development – the sketchbooks, prototypes and material samples to show how the designer’s ideas have developed from initial inspirations to production.

Curated into four key themes; 2D to 3D, Digital Pioneers, Happy Accidents and Material Artisans. Continue reading →

Exhibition: Symbiosis

MFJ Textiles 160130-25 smallSymbiosis
Third biennial exhibition of woven tapestry
Friday 25 March – Sunday 3 April 2016

open 10.30 – 4.30 daily

The Mill House Gallery, Ecclesden Lane, Angmering, Sussex, BN16 4DQ

The South East British Tapestry Group is returning to the Mill House
Gallery, Angmering for their third exhibition of new contemporary
woven tapestries

The Mill House Gallery, standing on Highdown Hill, has proved a magnificent venue for the past two exhibitions, and promises again to attract a bumper number of visitors … 2014 saw over 550 visitors.
This year the theme of the exhibition is Symbiosis. Each weaver has offered their personal interpretation in their own approach to tapestry weaving, resulting in a diverse and inventive collection of work.

Visit the studio adjoining the gallery where there will be:
Weaving supplies provided by weaversbazaar
Other textile related stalls
Refreshments
Demonstrations
Small weavings – most for sale – inspired by a day at the seaside.
Opportunities to meet and talk to the weavers

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Exhibition: Call for entries

CITB Welsh Eng logoCMYK 3Craft in the Bay Summer Show 2016: Weave

Cardiff, Wales: Sat, 16. July 2016 – Sun, 11. September 2016
Weave: to form or construct something by interlacing threads, yarns, strands, or strips of some material

An exhibition of selected contemporary craft and applied art  following a ‘Call for Artists’ in early 2016. The exhibition is aimed at celebrating the diverse and highly skilled contemporary craft and applied art being made in the UK today.

The selection panel will be looking for work that has incorporated a woven process in its making/construction. Open to a wide range of materials including yarn, thread, paper, clay, metal, glass, willow etc.

Deadline to receive applications: 5pm, Thursday 31st March 2016

Download Application Form

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Exhibition: Sheila Hicks | Why Not

05_SheilaHicksSHEILA HICKS | WHY NOT.
Dates:5 March 2016 until 5 June 2016

The Tilburg TextielMuseum is pleased to announce a major retrospective of American artist and textile pioneer Sheila Hicks (1934). Internationally renowned, thanks to her participation in numerous large solo and group exhibitions, this is her first appearance in the Netherlands for many years.

Her colourful work, which ranges from monumental textile installations in buildings to metre-high sculptures and enchanting miniatures, has been making waves since the late 1950s. A varied selection of this free work is on display, alongside industrially produced materials and handmade prototypes.

08_SheilaHicksAttention is also be paid to Hicks’ special bond with the Netherlands. Photos, films, sketches, drawings and personal documents illustrate her peripatetic and productive life. Sheila Hicks | Why Not. features work spanning seven decades, on loan from (inter)national collections, and a piece made especially for this exhibition.

Worldwide
Hicks has been fascinated by art and textiles since she was a child. In the 1950s, she trained as a painter with former Bauhaus teacher Josef Albers. Through his wife Anni, a renowned textile designer, she was introduced to pre-Inca textiles.

After completing her thesis on the topic, she was awarded a scholarship to paint in Chile. During the period she spent in South America, she developed a particular interest in textiles. This interest took her all over the world, from Mexico and South Africa to Morocco and India. Wherever she went, she collaborated and exchanged knowledge with local artisans, artists and businesses.

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Launch: The Bristol Weaving Mill

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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Film: Tana Bana – the warp and the weft

Copyright Annie DibbleTana Bana is a weaving term meaning ‘the warp and the weft.’ In Varanasi, the legendary Hindu city, it also means the warp and weft of time and space as well as the daily synergy of Hindu and Moslem. But now Varanasi is under threat.

If a single weaver can operate four power looms at the same time and the weavers are unable to teach their skills to their children, how can the city survive?

This unique, intimate documentary takes  a journey through a day in the life of Varanasi, challenging preconceptions along the way. From Hindu prayers on the Ganges at dawn, the film moves into a Moslem world where the hidden lives of women and children are gradually revealed as the weavers attempt to address the huge forces dominating their lives.

For a number of years the filmmakers have  filmed the Muslim handloom weavers and their community in Varanasi India – who make silk zari brocades and wedding saris.

Tana Bana will show as part of the V&A Museum Fabric of India Exhibition on the 16th November 2015. The hosts are the London Asia Film Festival and the venue is Regent’s Street Cinema, W1. Continue reading →

The Campaign for Wool: ‘Sheep on The Row’

A&S.inddThe Campaign for Wool will mark the beginning of Wool Week 2015 by partnering with some of the world’s most prestigious tailors, menswear brands and cloth producers.

On Monday  5th October 2015  two sheep breeds will be grazing the length of Savile Row, alongside models in a presentation to promote wool as the cloth of choice for menswear.

Sheep on the Row,  is one of the largest public events for Wool Week 2015.  As sheep graze, visitors will be welcomed to the open Row and tailoring houses event to learn how wool is used by the great British Tailoring Industry.

Savile Row – Sheep On The Row will be open to the public from 10:00 – 18:00 Mon 5th Oct 2015.

The iconic street will be transformed into a green pasture, covered in turf and closed to traffic while Bowmont Merino and Exmoor sheep graze along the Row.

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London Design Festival

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London Design Festival starts on Sat 19th Sept 2015. See the website for many events, fairs & projects happening all over London. Fairs include: Decorex International, Design Junction, Tent London, 100% Design

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