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Job: Gainsborough Fine Weavers & Dye House

12 July 2017 General / Jobs
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The Company
Founded in 1903, Gainsborough Fine Weavers & Dye House embodies over a century of British craftsmanship. The entire production process – from design, to hand-dyeing yarns, to weaving the finished fabrics – takes place on the site they have occupied since 1924. They received the Royal Warrant from HM The Queen in 1981.

Alongside their own collections, Gainsborough has long been a textile house for any interior designer seeking  bespoke fabrics, from contemporary, geometric styles to the richest of damasks and pearl-embroidered silks, and our their willingness to support creative craftspeople in their endeavours remains a cornerstone of their offering.

The role
Gainsborough is looking to hire experienced weavers, including hand weavers to join its production team in Sudbury. They have both Jacqaurd Dornier electronic looms as well as 1930s punch-card operated Hattersley Looms.

Successful applicants will be trained both in Dornier and Hattersley operation and also have the opportunity to widen their skill set in other areas of the production process.

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Exhibition: The Darker Thread // Edefyn Tywyllach

4 July 2017 Events / Exhibitions / General / New weave developments / Reseach / Workshops
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A Darker Thread // Edefyn Tywyllach

Oriel Myrddin Gallery

15 July – 21 October 2017

Wales has a much celebrated tradition of creating both utilitarian and decorative textiles of distinctive design.  From power-loomed blankets to hand-stitched quilts, textiles are a key part of Welsh visual culture and history.

Whilst ‘A Darker Thread’ takes this heritage as its starting point, twelve contemporary artists, designers and makers have been invited to exhibit work which subverts these expectations.

Exhibitors have been selected for their challenging, confrontational or unpredictable approach to making thoroughly contemporary work which confidently cross boundaries of art, design and craft.  A variety of making processes are exemplified, but all make use of thread in some form.

The curious, provocative, intense, fragile works explore broad-ranging themes of empowerment, loss, language, internal landscapes, memory and gender to name but a few.  Some work might still feel comfortably familiar through its materiality or typically ‘Welsh’ colour palette of black, ecru and red; much hopefully, does not.

Exhibitors: Alana Tyson, Eleri Mills, Indre Dunn, Jayne Pierson in collaboration with Neale Howells, Laura Thomas, Llio James, Philippa Lawrence, Rhiannon Williams, Rozanne Hawksley, Ruth Harries, Sally-Ann Parker and Spike Dennis. Continue reading →

Crossover Borås 2017: European Textile Network Conference

2 July 2017 Conferences / Events / Exhibitions / General / New weave developments / News / Symposium / Workshops
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Crossover Borås 2017, the XVIII conference of the European Textile Network, ETN, will be held September 12-19, 2017, The main conference sessions will take place on Saturday and Sunday, September 16-17, 2017. at the Swedish Museum of Textiles, located in the city of Borås, 30 minutes from Gothenburg airport.

The Borås Textile Fashion Centre not only houses the Museum but also the Swedish School of Textiles, an internationally renowned centre for textile innovation in fashion and design plus the Smart Textiles Lab.

The conference co-organizers are the European Textile Network, ETN, together with the Swedish Museum of Textiles and Nordic Textile Art association. The conference aims to present a global perspective of the different textile practices and their interactions with a special focus on sustainable creativity and innovation in textile art and design.

Speakers include Lij Edelkoort, one of the world’s most famous trend forecasters, Faigh Ahmed, Azerbaijani artist well known for his conceptual approach to traditional textiles, Jun Tomita, Japanese kasuri weaving master, Grethe Sørensen, Danish Jacquard weaver who recently received the Nordic Award in Textiles, and Catharine Ellis, who together with textile chemist Joy Boutrup, will talk about collaborative projects between art and science, among others.

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Studio/Office to Rent: London

2 July 2017 General
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Two studio/workroom/offices are offered for sublet on 2nd floor of an office building on Camden High Street, London NW1. They can be rented either separately or together. The larger room is around 25 sq meters and the smaller room is around 15 sq meters. Rent for the larger room is £1,000 pcm and for the smaller room £700 pcm. Rent includes electricity and business rates. Sublet is on a flexible one month rolling contract. One month’s deposit and one month’s rent up front is required. Please call Daniel on 07423 392 050 for further details.

Company Profile: Esther Van Schuylenbergh

22 June 2017 Company Profile / Exhibitions / General / New weave developments
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Esther Van Schuylenbergh  is a designer with a master’s degree in Textile Design at the School of Arts in Ghent, Belgium. After  graduation in 2014 she worked as a textile designer for a Belgian wall covering company until setting up her own design studio in Ghent in 2016.

In her design studio she develops woven textiles suitable for interior design applications on her handloom. Striving to push the boundaries of the weaving technique, she explores the possibilities of yarn and construction to create innovative structures.

The core business of the studio is the design and development of woven textiles for the industry. By using a 32-shaft computerized handloom, Esther is creating dobby weaves with a keen eye for texture, pattern and colour.

Currently, she is working on a library of unique design swatches for upholstery, curtain and wall covering fabrics which are suitable for industrial production. Each sample is designed on the handloom and ready for mill development. All swatches are sold complete with copyright, technical files and yarn information.
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Exhibition: The Handweavers Studio

22 June 2017 Exhibitions / General / News / Workshops
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Handweavers diploma exhibition 2017 is showcasing the final project work of the 2015-2017 diploma students

Following a long tradition of nurturing weavers, in 2011 under the directorship of Wendy Morris, the Handweavers Studio & Gallery launched a two-year Diploma course in handweaving.

Since the Diploma’s inception, the handweavers studio has been delighted to provide an excellent grounding in the craft skill for a series of enthusiastic students wishing to take their handweaving to another level. The Diploma, running biennially with a limited intake, focuses on developing good weaving skills and the ability to produce well designed desirable handwoven items for a variety of outcomes. Continue reading →

Company Profile: Check Me Out

16 May 2017 Company Profile / General / New weave developments
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Check Me Out launched in 2015 with the aim to connect people with colour and design and encourage them away from fast throwaway fashion.
Holly Pressdee, the founder of Check Me Out graduated from Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2009 with a degree in woven textiles, and has been working within the British textiles industry for the last 7 years with the brand Dashing Tweeds.
During her degree her main area of research was emotionally durable design and the meanings of patterns culturally, where she was inspired by the heritage and meaning of tartan fabrics.
After finishing her degree, she started a blog where she would design bespoke check patterns by taking photos of her friends and family, abstracting the colours of their skin, hair, eyes and what they were wearing and use these colours within the designs to create their unique check patterns.
This lead to the creation of her company where she wanted to create check patterns a wider audience could connect with and began by designing the London check, using the colours of the London underground tube map. The map is such an  iconic image for londoners and tourists, everyone has associations with the tube lines they use.

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Workshop: Scandinavian Weaves

16 May 2017 General / Workshops
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Scandinavian Weaves

Course Tutor: Jette Vandermeiden
Venue: Devon Weavers Workshop,

Discover what Scandinavian weaves are, how to weave them and the many ways they are useful for handweavers of today. This course, designed for weavers of all skill levels (basic weaving experience is required), will include various weave structures such as Halvdrejl, Jamtlandsdrall, Monk’s Belt, Daldrall, Canvas weave, Huck weave in multicolours, 2 block damask, Myggtdrall, and will be a timed ‘round robin’ format.

Jette has been creating textiles since early childhood and has extensive knowledge of fibre related topics. She has been a consultant to museums, documentary researchers, and developers of weaving curricula for college fibre arts programs. A prolific writer and teacher, Jette has conducted classes and workshops internationally and is a regular columnist for Fibre Focus.

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Job: Stephen Walters & Sons Ltd – applications now closed 19. 5. 2017

1 May 2017 General / Jobs
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Stephen Walters are silk weavers designing and producing fabric for international luxury brands. They have built their reputation as design leaders, working exclusively with fashion houses across the world.

The design work is extremely varied and covers a broad range of fabrics from men’s neckwear to contemporary womenswear and furnishings.

They are recruiting for the following two positions to join their highly regarded design team:

Textile Designer
To work within their creative design team, producing CAD representations of their jacquard designs.

They are looking for a designer with good artistic ability and drawing skills, a sensitivity to colour, a diversity of styles and attention to detail.

An understanding of CAD systems would be beneficial but not essential, as full training will be given to the successful applicant. Their design team is currently made up of trained designers from a variety of disciplines such as print, surface pattern and weave. They would like to hear from anyone who is qualified in similar areas and who works well as part of a team.

Textile Designer
To work within their technical design team, creating jacquard weave programs using their specialist textile weave CAD system.

They are looking for a designer with good drawing skills, good attention to detail, patience and a good understanding of maths. It would be beneficial if the successful applicant had an understanding of weave and weave structures and some experience of using CAD systems, but this is not essential, as full training will be given. Their design team is currently made up of weave and print designers and the successful applicant will be someone who works well as a part of a team.

Hours of work: 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday (40 hours)
Location: Sudbury, Suffolk
Salary: Depending on experience

Closing date for applications: 19.05.17

 

 

The Textile School | Turkey Red: Espionage, trade & fashion

20 April 2017 General / Workshops
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The Textile School study morning,

Date: Friday 21st April 2017

When Turkey red printed fabrics first arrived in Europe from India, the reaction was immediate and incredible. This new colour red brought a feeling of the exotic which transcended generations from the C17th to today.

Find out how the race to discover the secret recipe for this colour saw the ruthless side of business, through deception and governmental espionage; how Scotland became one of the main producers and how one C19th Scottish company was printing over 40,000 handkerchiefs a day to keep up with overseas demand.

Visit their website www.schooloftextiles.co.uk to book your ticket – limited places available

The day will commence with a short introductory talk, followed by a hands-on study session with original Turkey red textile samples and after a short break, textile historian Mary Schoeser will talk about the  connections with the Scottish Turkey red manufacturing industries and American cowboys. The day will end with a second Turkey red textile study session. Continue reading →

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