Cultural Threads  by Jessica Hemmings considers contemporary artists and designers who work at the intersection of cultures and use textiles as their vehicle. Ideas about belonging to multiple cultures, which can result in a sense of connection to everywhere and nowhere, are more pertinent to society today than ever. So too are the layers of history – often overlooked – behind the objects that make up our material world.

The roots of postcolonial theory lie in literature and have, in the past, been communicated through dense academic jargon. Cultural Threads breaks with what can read as impenetrable rhetoric to show the rich visual diversity of craft and art that engages with multiple cultural influences. Many of these objects exist in an in-between world of their own, not wholly embraced by the establishments of art, nor functional objects in the conventional sense of craft.

Cultural Threads is an exploration of contemporary textiles and their relationship with postcolonial culture. However, the postcolonial thinking examined here shares with craft an interest in the lived, rather than the purely theoretical, giving a very human account of the interactions in between craft and culture.

Issue 1: 10,000 Hours

Selected is a brand new bi-annual journal celebrating makers and making, passion and innovation.

Brought to you by SITSelect, it’s aim is to present a taste of the brilliance and the beauty that is around in the UK and the pleasure individual makers, designers and thinkers bring to our world.

The inaugural issue arrives on the shelves and on-line on October 1st 2014 and is filled with a mix of new talent, in-depth features and photographic essays. It includes an interview with coppice man, Sebastian Cox, a rare glimpse inside the studio of cast glass artists Sally Fawkes and Richard Jackson and a limited edition honey drizzler made by the very talented Joseph Hartley.

Issue 1 has a limited print run and has been designed as a collector’s piece and comes with a unique bookmark made from Lewis & Wood’s Royal Oak wallpaper, created from a block print by master wood engraver Andrew Davidson.

You can buy on-line and subscribe to future issue by going to www.sitselect.org

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‘Global Parallels: Production and Craft in Fashion and Industrial Design Industries’

The craft + design enquiry  Editorial Board welcomes Tiziana Ferrero-Regis, Rafael Gomez and Kathleen Horton, from Queensland University of Technology, as the Guest Editors of c+de#8 with the theme of ‘Global Parallels: Production and Craft in Fashion and Industrial Design Industries’.
Contributors to c+de#8 are invited to submit Expressions of Interest for either the Themed Section or the Open Section by following the Steps to Submitting a Paper outlined below.

Expressions of Interest close on 30 April 2015. For contributors invited to submit papers, the deadline for full papers is 30 June 2015. c+de#8 will be published in mid-2016.

Open Section — call for papers
The Guest Editors and the c+de Editorial Board invite submissions to the Open Section exploring any aspect of contemporary craft and design. Expressions of Interest for the Open Section are assessed by the c+de Editorial Board. All invited submissions to the Open Section are peer reviewed and selected for publication in line with c+de procedures for the Themed Section.

Contributors to the Open Section of c+de#8 should follow the Steps to Submitting a Paper outlined below. Expressions of Interest close on 30 April 2015. For contributors invited to submit papers, the deadline for full papers is 30 June 2015.

Themed Section — call for papers:
‘Global Parallels: Production and Craft in Fashion and Industrial Design Industries’

Guest Edited by Tiziana Ferrero-Regis , Rafael Gomez and Kathleen Horton of Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. They write:

This special issue of c+de aims to explore questions of design and craft across fashion and industrial design industries in the current global context. In light of de-localisation of manufacturing practices and increasingly complex supply chains, the alternating place and meaning of ‘skills and craft’ in the context of these vast global industries, and the transformational role and status of the designer in a market that is equally flooded with fast fashion and disposable ‘on trend’ lifestyle products, we seek to examine how the two worlds of fashion and industrial design intersect in terms of production, craft and design.

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Woven Textile Design written by Jan Shenton and published by Laurence King Academics , offers a comprehensive introduction to weaving for all those wishing to design and produce a wide range of fabrics from scratch.

Starting with the basics of woven textile design, the book looks at how to draw up and interpret records and notation, before explaining how different types of cloth are constructed. From the most basic of plain weaves, through twill weaves, textured weaves such as seersucker, crepe and corded cloths to more complicated designs created with extra threads woven in, a wide range of patterns are covered. Illustrated throughout with diagrams, weaving plans and beautiful examples from contemporary designers, the book also includes tips on using different yarns and colours to create stunning and unique designs.

Offering clear, practical advice, this book shows you how to interpret your initial concepts and develop your ideas on the loom. The book is highly recommended and a must have for textile students and professionals. Contents include

Jan Shenton is a weaver whose designs are bought by manufacturers and design houses in America, Canada, Europe and Japan. Her clients are high profile companies and include Louis Vuitton, Donna Karan, Polo Ralph Lauren, Etro, Weave Corporation, American Pacific, Cone Jacquards, Custo, Salvatore Ferragamo, Diane von Furstenberg, Etincelle Couture and Lululemon. She is a lecturer in woven textiles at Loughborough University. Continue reading →