Contents
INDULGE textiles to buy, collect or simply admire 20 STAND TO ATTENTION Knowledge and experience are part of the deal Diana Woolf profiles three interesting and influential textile dealers. Photographed by Richard Nicholson
TH I RD T I ME’S THE CHARM
Momo Wang believes in second chances: photographed by Shuwei Liu
CONCEPT textiles in fine art 41 CLOTH & MEMORY 2 Professor Lesley Millar, Director of the Anglo Japanese Textile Research Centre at the University for the Creative Arts, revisits Salts Mill with new artists 59 STICKING POWER Eduardo Paolozzi: Collaging Culture Simon Martin, Head of Collections and Exhibitions at Pallant House Gallery, explores the versatility of Paolozzi's approach to making art. 64 MAKING IT BETTER Curator of Frayed: Textiles on the Edge, Ruth Battersby Tooke, illustrates how textiles can provide solace for those in need.
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EASY L I V I NG
Gabrielle Vary makes running her own business look easy
INDUSTRY from craft to commerce 38 EASY LIVING Gabrielle Vary makes running her own business look simple Editor Beth Smith meets a talented recent graduate who launched her own knitwear label. Photographed by Zara Price 47 BASKET CASE Ptolemy Mann scratches the surface of the Scourtin The Fert family refused to let the scourtin fall into disuse and found new applications for this traditional object. Photographed by Eric Morin Bea
GLOBAL Textiles from around the world 26 ROUTE MASTERS Clare Lewis and Becky Jones, authors of LondonAdventureWalksand Adventure WalksforFamilies, have created three walks tailored to the interests of Selvedge readers. 76 BEAUTIFUL VIEW The Hill-Side oversee the rise of fine fabrics An interview with Brooklyn based brothers, Emil and Sandy Corsillo, who have been offering beautiful ties and much more since 2008.
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RUGGED GOOD L OOKS Boucherouite weaving catches Ptolemy Mann’s eye
In fact there is a strange silence when we start trying to decipher what they are made of. A melange of torn up clothes, netting, goat fur, wool, unravelled cotton and a number of completely unidentifiable materials come together in these pieces...
Occasionally you come across something that stops you in your tracks and takes your breath away. A small but perfectly formed gallery lit at night to display a rug of extreme beauty. An aesthetic gem; luminous and painterly. You’re hooked and return the next day to find out more. Welcome to the world of ‘Kea’, a triumvirate of textile enthusiasts who have worked together for twenty-five years to bring the lesser known tribal textiles of the world to light.
Spearheaded by English rug dealer Susan Gomersall, who named the company after the Greek island where she started collecting rugs in the early 1970s, Kea now have two stores, one in Brooklyn, New York City and the other in Hudson, upstate New York. Gomersall is joined by the textile designer Azy Schecter and quilt expert Richard Starna: together they are a formidable source of knowledge about tribal rug production in the last 40 years.
Gomersall began with a small shipment of Kilims from Pakistan and today Kea has a vast collection of rugs. Their philosophy centres on roaming the world buying directly from source, and when they began the politics of the day allowed free travel. By 1973 Gomersall was making regular trips to Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria and still has original pieces she bought at the time.
It’s immediately clear that their collection is rare and special. Densely woven Balouch pieces from Afghanistan, made in Ghazni wool decorate the wall – at one time these had all but disappeared and now they have come back on the market. Soft and luxurious ‘Filikli’ from Turkey have wild colours splashed in stripes of Angora goat hair. Turkish shepherds use these as bed covers and wear them as capes. Similar to the Greek flokati they have started to be made on a large commercial scale but none of the new pieces have the psychedelic colours, violet and lime, of Kea’s 1960s originals.
But one particular discovery, the ‘Boucherouite’ or ‘Bu Sharwit’ which is the Arabic term for ‘scraps of material’, is quite mesmerising when you first see them. In fact there is a strange silence when we start trying to decipher what they are made of. A melange of torn up clothes, netting, goat fur, wool, unravelled cotton and a number of completely unidentifiable materials come together in these pieces. Often referred to as ‘Moroccan freeform vintage rag rugs’ but this title misleads; these are anarchistic expressions of a personal nature never intended for public view; domestic yet visceral. Discovered recently and only produced from the early 1960s onwards, these pieces emerged from necessity and political change in the lives of indigenous people.
In 1957-58 when the French occupation pulled out of Morocco, one of the carrots they dangled was permits to work in France. This prompted a mass exodus of the male population who left to work on French roads. But at home once-plentiful flocks of sheep dwindled to nothing as it was the men who had taken them into the Atlas Mountains to graze. Suddenly there were a few hundred sheep instead of thousands and almost no wool was available for the women to weave. Wool became a precious symbol of prosperity in a worsening economy.
The migration of rural Berber men, from high in the Atlas Mountains down into the cities, also caused changes in the lives and responsibilities of the women at home. The need to contribute to the household income meant the small supply of wool they had available was used to make rugs for4
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If you’ve recently had to rip back row upon row of carefully crafted knitting, or misjudged your gauge and discovered your sweater is more like a sleeping bag, then avert your eyes from the next sentence. Because when asked why she loves knitting, Gabrielle Vary claims it provides an “instant fix”. I beg to differ! Pot noodles are “instant” but, to anyone other than an expert, knitting is a craft that requires time, practice and plenty of skill. Perhaps it comes so naturally to Gabrielle that it has begun to feel effortless? Certainly her collections look so professional and assured it’s impossible to believe she graduated from Winchester School of Art just three years ago.
Talking to Gabrielle you sense there was a plan from the start and that everything is going according to it. After university she moved back home to the East Sussex coast, where she set up her studio and began producing original knitwear. She designs every item herself, knitting on a domestic knitting machine and finishing them by hand. She makes cushions, cardigans, gloves...“Big blankets and massive wraps,” adds Gabrielle, “I often work on an oversized scale because I want to evoke that feeling of being enveloped in something cosy; of sitting on a beach or in front of your tent as the sun sets and the temperature falls and you reach for your favourite sweater so you can stay outside for longer.”
Today online boutique Not on the High Street offers a wide selection of her work. Was establishing a business really as simple as it looks? “Actually I’ve only just given up my day job!” laughs Gabrielle. “Retail work has keep me going. It gradually reduced as my own work increased but this week I stopped completely – scary but exciting.”
Similarly, although she does have her ‘studio’ it’s the second bedroom in her home – one of Gabrielle’s ambitions is to move into a space outside her home. For now, her studio is perfectly serviceable and allows her to work whenever the mood takes her: “it’s hard to switch off but on the other hand, if I need a gift for my friends or family I can nip into the studio... I think they might be sick of knitted gifts!”
That doesn’t seem likely; Gabrielle’s soft, bright textiles are infectiously cheerful but retain a classic air. Her patterns are reminiscent of London Underground’s moquette fabrics but apparently this is a coincidence: “people say that quite often but if it’s an influence then it’s an unconscious one. I trace my palette and designs to my final project at university. I looked at my family photos from the 70s, images of us at the surf club or camping. I’m drawn to the 70s; I try other colours but I’m pulled back to that era and the saturated hues of old photos. I guess I like to apply an instagram filter to my work.” Her inspirations are colour based too. “I love the work of weaver Ptolemy Mann, her colours are stunning.” Gabrielle feels an affinity for weave: “Both techniques control the creation of the entire piece of cloth… we both create form from just the yarn.”
Control seems important to Gabrielle, so three years on from university is she pleased with her career to date? Gabrielle pauses; “I think so, I have moments of pride and lots of support – my mum is my biggest fan – it’s just that sometimes I feel like I’m cheating by making my living from something I enjoy so much!” Beth Smith Meet Gabrielle at the Selvedge Winter Fair, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London SW3 5EE, 29-30 November 2013, T: +44 (0)208 341 9721, www.selvedge.org
Zara Price
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T I T L E Sub head
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COHABIT stunning interiors beautifully photographed 34 RUGGED GOOD LOOKS Boucherouite weaving catches Ptolemy Mann’s eye The Kea Gallery in Hudson, upstate New York has a dazzling array of textiles 70 A LITTLE TASTE We ask textile designer and founder of the Tissus d’Hélène showroom, Helen Cormack, for a quote and a few questions
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deliberately kept at an artisanal level there is a buzz of activity in evidence. It turns out that the scourtin can also be used as a wine filter. Arnaud Fert sees this as a real future for his business. He already has distinguished clients in the wine industry who use traditional methods of picking and pressing grapes. Scourtins need adaptation for the modern wine press but are increasingly popular with producers and superior to modern filters usually used. His grandfather supplied scourtins for the Château d’Yquem, one of the most important Grand Cru Classé in France, and recent studies have shown that the wine actually tastes better when processed through them.
For something that initially seems obscure the scourtin ultimately has many practical uses. When viewed as an example of how clever craftsmanship and industry demands can evolve over time to create something truly enduring, its value becomes immeasurable.
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