Fashion and textiles auction

ESP’s parents used to work in the antiques trade so spent a lot of their time at sales, auctions and car boot sales.  ESP buys a lot of his wine at auction, and we regularly go to pre-auction viewings of big art sales – it’s like going to a gallery but not as crowded.

But today was the first time I went to a viewing of a fashion and textiles auction, at Kerry Taylor in Bermondsey. It was extraordinary in its accessibility – some of these pieces you think could be museum items, but they’re on hanging rails that you can rummage through as if it was a sample sale. It’s even possible to try some on, though you have to ask.

There were quite a few pieces by Ossie Clark/Celia Birtwell and Biba, a Pucci velvet ensemble from the 1970s, and designs by other fashionista idols such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, Zandra Rhodes and Balenciaga.

Biba brushed cotton tomato-print ensemble, 1970s

Ossie Clark chinoiserie printed satin trousers, circa 1969

Pucci velvet ensemble, early 1970s

However, I made a beeline for the textiles. Some of the larger pieces were hanging on the walls, but most were in bags or boxes – a perfect excuse for a rummage!

Anyone who knows me is aware that it’s very difficult to get me out of a charity shop until I’ve scoured extensively every bin and rail, so this was my idea of bliss. And instead of turning up scraggy old vests and stained bibs, I was discovering lovely ikats and embroideries along with more experimental items. Most was from the 20th century, but there were some older pieces, like a striking 18th-century blue and white Chinese coverlet fragment.

Anyway, I left a bid on a box of shawls and stoles, mainly modern, including pieces by Yamamoto, Miyake and Kenzo. It includes a fascinating mix of items, from a collage badge stole and a feather-fringed silk shawl to a gauze stole with woven bamboo medallions and some splendid embroidery.

The auction is on Tuesday afternoon, so fingers crossed!

There’s no viewing on Tuesday morning, but you can go and have a look tomorrow (Monday 13 May), 9am-5pm.

Kerry Taylor Auctions is at 249-253 Long Lane, Bermondsey, London SE1 4PR.

Shibori fat quarters

Much of my work is bought by fellow makers, perhaps because they understand the time and effort that goes into creating it.

With this in mind, I thought I would try selling shibori fat quarters at the Women in the Cloth exhibition in East Dulwich. Previously, I’ve made pouches, pencil rolls and purses from shibori-dyed cotton, but if I’m honest, I much prefer making the fabric to making the final item. Plus the tension on my (very ancient) sewing machine is up the creek at the moment, so I haven’t been able to sew anything anyway.

Purses and pencil rolls made from shibori cotton

I was a bit wary, because you can buy fat quarters online extremely cheaply – though of course these are all commercially printed, rather than each one being created by hand. But I still wondered whether people would be willing to pay more for a unique piece that they wouldn’t see anywhere else.

So I made a selection of 10  stitched, clamped, wrapped and bound fat quarters to see how they would go – and sold eight of them! The stitched ones in particular went very quickly – and of course they take longer to make. So rather than charge a flat rate I think I may have to price each one individually, or sell them in bundles containing a mixture of techniques.

Here are some pics of the latest batch.

Curious Exchange

I’m taking part in the Curious Exchange, “Dulwich’s own curiosity shop with a difference”.

It’s curated by artists Jane Millar and Fran Burden, who are creating an initial “Cabinet of Curiosities” of over 150 objects made by various artists. Anyone can then bring an object they have made to the Curious Exchange and swap it for work by another maker.

Each piece is photographed and recorded, as the exhibition will (hopefully) be constantly changing as pieces are exchanged. You don’t have to be a professional maker to take part – the only condition  is that the work mustn’t be bigger than 20cm in any dimension.

I contributed one of my small felt pots made with indigo-dyed cotton gauze. It will be interesting to see what other people make and take!

The Curious Exchange is open to the public from 10 to 19 May, 11am-5pm, in the original entrance to Dulwich Leisure Centre on East Dulwich Road, London SE22 9HB.

Women of the Cloth in East Dulwich

Phew! I’m just recovering from the two wonderful weeks of exhibiting as part of Women of the Cloth at the Jeannie Avent Gallery in East Dulwich.

It was a hectic two weeks, partly because I was offered some editorial work during that period that I couldn’t turn down. Plus the first Saturday of the exhibition coincided with Making Uncovered, where I was demonstrating wet felting – so I spent a lot of time trying to ensure I had adequate stock and supplies for both events, packing and repacking my large wheelie suitcase and generally feeling a bit stressed out.

Making Uncovered was a great event, with lots of people coming to watch demonstrations by 16 different artisans, ask questions and have a go themselves. Many said that they had thought felt making wouldn’t be very exciting, but turned out to be entranced by the colours and textures. I guess they were thinking about the squares of acrylic felt you get in craft shops – so it was good to help them learn about the real thing.

And it was lovely that so many friends and customers dropped in to say hello as well, especially as I have been rather neglectful of them in such a busy period.

So after that it was a relief to escape to the gallery, to sit with other Women of the Cloth, to weave, stitch and felt in an atmosphere of quiet creativity. It was particularly interesting to watch Joan Kendall weaving magical colours and textures, and see Carol Grantham’s workshop participants revel in their delight at producing their first piece of felt.

I sold a fair amount and met some interesting people at the same time, including a visitor who came back to show us some gorgeous rag rugs she had made. She may be getting an invitation to take part in our next exhibition/sale!

Gorgeous rag rug…

…where the back is as interesting as the front!

So huge thanks to Carol, Joan and Larna for making this past fortnight such a welcoming shared experience. I hope we get the chance to work together again in the future.

Setting up exhibition in Jeannie Avent Gallery

I’ve just spent a very pleasant day setting up the Women of the Cloth exhibition at the Jeannie Avent Gallery in East Dulwich.

Four female textile artists (and one helpful nephew) working together in quiet harmony turned a plain white space into an oasis of warmth, colour and texture.

Apparently some big ceremonial event was causing chaos in central London, but it didn’t affect our little corner of south-east London at all.

The private view is tomorrow at 6.30pm and the exhibition is open every day, 9am-6pm (8.30pm on Thursdays) until 30 April.

The Jeannie Avent Gallery is at 14 North Cross Road, London SE22 9EU.

Felt Flextiles banner

I remember now why I stopped making felt scarves at home.

Trying to nuno felt a 2-metre piece of fabric on a dining table that is only 1.66 metres long is a considerable challenge. It’s easier at the later stages, when the wool has started sticking to the fabric and shrinking, but at the delicate prefelting stage it involves careful folding and manipulation of layers of bubble wrap, fabric and fleece, especially when turning it over.

But like childbirth (so I’m told – as I don’t have any children), the memory of the pain soon fades. So when I decided I needed a banner for my felting demonstrations at Makerhood’s Making Uncovered event next week, it seemed a no-brainer to make a piece of nuno felt, using my manly scarf method.

And then it all came flooding back – the swearing, the pools of water on the floor, and the general tearing out of hair.

The banner is made – but remind me to buy a trestle table before I attempt anything similar again!

Too much night, again

Pae White describes her latest work at the South London Gallery as a “3D textile supergraphic installation piece”. I’d say it’s like walking into an enormous Spirograph pattern.

Miles of acrylic thread are wrapped around nails to spell out the words TIGER TIME and UNMATTERING on the walls – and then extend across the gallery. For visitors it’s like wandering through a vast geometrical spider’s web.

From a distance you get the impression of red and black, but up close you realise there’s blue, purple and pink too. Apparently the palette was inspired by Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality album, which frightened Pae White as a young child.

Too much night, again, runs at the South London Gallery until 12 May 2013.