CONTENTS
INDULGE textiles to buy, collect or simply admire 11 MAKING A SPLASH Polly Leonard dips into the watercolour trend 53 PERFECT WEEKEND A textile filled trip to Bath and the Cotsworlds 78 DECORATIVE EDGE Botanica Tinctoria threads and trims A new take on natural dyeing
INDUSTRY from craft to commerce 26 COLOUR MATCH The making of Epice Anne Laure Camilleri tells the story of design duo Bess Nielson and Jan Machenhauer. Photography by Marie Taillefer 34 GROUPWORK Professor Simon Olding, Director of the Crafts Study Centre, explains why craft is better together Photography by Richard Nicholson 57 CLIMATE CONTROL Marie O’Mahony discovers how ingenious textiles can lead to healthy harvests Work by Jung Jung 63 NATURE TRAIL Beth Smith wonders at the work of Clarissa Hulse A business brain and a creative spirit is behind the success of her company and the launch of a new North London shop and studio
GLOBAL Textiles from around the world 12 SPUN GOLD Why saffron is the world’s most expensive dye stuff The subject of myth and legend, even in modern times saffron must be painstakingly gathered by hand 19 A SPLENDID SHADE OF MILKED SNAIL Nature’s hidden rainbow Aurora Almedral reveals a spectrum of natural dyes. Additional text by Sarah Jane Downing and illustrations by Anne Smith 66 LADIES IN RED Iain Stewart & Jamie Marshal visit Northern Vietnam, Hanoi and the Hill Tribes
COHABIT stunning interiors beautifully photographed 72 SCHOOL HOLIDAYS Casa Clementina is a Garden of Eden for natural dyers Kasia Roguszczac has rose-coloured memories of her trip to this special house. Images by Peppe Maisto
ANECDOTE textiles that touch our lives 96 FABRIC SWATCH No 18: Watered Silk Moiré Sarah Jane Downing tells the background of this fine fabric, first documented in the 16th century. Illustrated by Molly Goddard
SPUN GOLD
Why saffron is the most expensive dye stuff in the world
Saffron has a history infused with legend and romance. Cleopatra would bathe in it, Ancient Egyptians would sacrifice it to their gods, reference to it can be found in a 10th century healing manual and in the 14th century it sparked a fourteen week war. Its ability to dye hair, textiles, even fingernails a deep, glowing yellow has been exploited to gain status since Roman times.
It has a contemplative side too. Theravada Buddhist monks dress in saffron robes, while for Hindus the colour represents light and the quest for knowledge. For Sikhs too the colour is meaningful and appears on the4
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COLOUR MATCH
The making of Epice
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ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH Ptolemy Mann meets three designers whose work is saturated in colour
A watershed moment, literally, for Carole Waller was when she observed the mist and rain falling over the top of a mountain on the Dingle peninsula of the south west coast of Ireland. This atmospheric movement of weather through the air is mirrored in her exploration of how liquid procion dye travels through fabric; the physical capillary action, a kind of ‘creative chromatography’. She applies her chosen palette onto cloth and the secondary colours create themselves as a result of their interaction. Her work is a glorious example of how mastering the way materials and ingredients behave allows a skilled artist to maintain a sort of controlled improvisation, “an absolute mixture of my own deliberate intention and the physical dispersement of dye through a piece of cloth,” she says.
It’s this dynamic spontaneity that gives Waller’s work such verve; “The inspiration for colour in my work is simply that it is an expression of energy.” Hand painting dye directly onto cloth means you have one chance to get it right, which she certainly does. An established artist based in the UK, Waller has always had a focus on colour, successfully making pieces for both interior, exterior, and fashion projects. However clothing really drives her practice. She explains her interest in the idea of a stationary image (the painting) merged with a moveable object (the coat). “I’d always been intrigued by the idea that art was primarily to be found in galleries, in museums, in frames – and I wanted to explore other contexts, venues, canvases and spaces. Clothing became a fascinating device to use as a canvas.”
Several years in her early life were spent living on the Mediterranean seas in a boat and once we know this, her striking flashes of hot turquoise and bright yellow make perfect sense. It links back to the landscape and the horizon again. Everything she does connects to the light, weather, and mood of wherever she may be at the time. Those early garments were created with no specific wearer in mind and came completely from her own Aegean adventures; in some ways they were completely un-wearable. But she kept to her love of colour and her customers found her from far afield. Now, she creates collections of exhibition pieces, along with bespoke garments made to commission enjoying a vivid dialogue about colour with the final wearer; but for her it’s “the atmosphere and intensity of colour rather than the actual hue” which is most important.
She just knows and feels when a colour is right. As mysterious to most of us as this sounds it’s really the crux of any work by a brilliant colourist. In the fashion and interiors industry the desire to quantify and understand what makes certain colours ‘right’ often meets this brick wall. People who are good with colour often just, are. Waller takes colour references from her environment and then ‘intensifies’ or ‘deletes’ colours accordingly in order to arrive at the end result. It’s this constant addressing and editing process that makes the final garment so engaging.
When asked why colour is important to her, artist India Flint simply says “without colour the world would be a sad and drab place. Colour gives us information about the world, influences emotions and evokes memories.” Like Waller she is deeply inspired by her immediate environment, which happens to be Southern Australia. Where Waller uses synthetic, dazzling dyes, Flint uses natural dyes extracted from the flora and fauna around her. What they both do share is an intense absorption with how dye and colour is transferred into cloth. For Flint colour is equally emotional, intuitive and intellectual, an alchemical dance between science, nature and personal narrative. A process she calls ‘eucalyptus ecoprint’ illustrates beautifully how these qualities merge in her work.
She discovered the process by applying Latvian Easter egg dye techniques to woollen cloth. The astonishing results reveal a purity of colour and a magical transformation from the original green/blue eucalyptus leaf into a deep, rust red imprint left on the cloth. “Steam heats the leaf, the cells expand and the colour is literally pushed directly into the cloth,” she explains. Most extraordinary of all there are no additional mordants required. Her understanding of the physics and chemistry of plants, and in this case how a particular fibre (wool) reacts with a particular plant (eucalyptus) is astounding. Flint likes to start with white (un-distracting) garments which allow her to focus initially on shape, then she adds colour, in most cases directly from the leaf. As the environment is important to her (in all senses of the word) she is careful to use natural mordants, more time consuming, but compost friendly.
Flint conveys the sense that everything she does is greatly considered; a seamless link of words, moving and still images (she takes arresting photographs), performance and landscape. The garments she creates are much more than just things to wear; more symbolic of a philosophy and attitude for living. Their botanical imprints seem to carry, quite literally, the narrative of the very plants that pressed themselves into the fibres. Her explanation reinforces this idea: “The primary thing about working with bioregionally gathered plant dyes is that they reflect 4
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Selvedge Fashion Fair Bath has always drawn a fashionable crowd. From the 18th century onwards people came from far and wide to take the health giving waters and walk the streets in their finest attire. Today, despite the influx of Londoners, Bath is a Georgian city with a distinctive identity – one that is surprisingly contemporary and strikingly artistic.
It’s the reason why creative people feel at home here – even when their stay is fleeting. This May Alison Taylor, designer and owner of SULA, will visit Bath for the Selvedge Fashion Fair, bringing with her a gorgeous collection of vibrant, predominately silk garments. SULA garments are made in the company’s small workshop in Vietnam, see pg 66, where the silk is woven and dyed. Many of Alison’s designs are reversible and can be combined in striking ways. Signature styles are bias cut and tiered: the intention is to wear layers according to the climate and occasion. Silk camisoles; hand-quilted silk skirts; smocked blouses and belted dresses are supplemented each season with directional pieces. SULA launched in 1996 and has a loyal following which will no doubt grow with her visit to Bath.
SULA possesses the qualities that appeal to many Selvedge readers – beautiful fabric, timeless designs and integrity in the process of making and these will be the watch words when selecting thirty designers for the Selvedge Fashion Fair. The fair will be held in the Octagon Chapel, a Grade II listed building, constructed in 1767 and regularly visited by Jane Austen. This special one-off event is part of Bath in Fashion 2014, it offers an opportunity to discover new designers, meet the Selvedge team and shop with friends in truly civilised surroundings. Selvedge Fashion Fair, 10th May 2014, 10-4, The Octagon at Milsom Place, Milsom Street, Bath BA1 1BZ, www.selvedge.org, www.shopatsula.com
KAFFE 2014 – The Colourful World of Kaffe Fassett, World-renowned knitwear and textile designer Kaffe Fassett returns to the American Museum in Britain in 2014 to celebrate fifty years as an artist and colourist. Born in San Francisco in 1937 and raised in the creative community of Big Sur, California, Kaffe has a long association with the American Museum, first exhibiting there in 1994.
When he came to live in Britain in the early 1960s, Kaffe stayed in Bath and was inspired by the Museum’s collections – especially the antique quilts. Kaffe was fascinated not only with the block patterns created in these textile masterworks but also by their audacious juxtaposed colours and printed fabrics. The Colourful World of Kaffe Fassett showcases how Kaffe lives by his maxim to find colour in a grey world. The American Museum in Britain, 22 March-2 November 2014, Claverton Manor, Bath BA2 7BD, Tues–Sun 12-5, T: +44 (0)1225 460 503, americanmuseum.org
Dresses rustled, feathers waved, lights shone, and jewels sparkled... now and then a clear merry laugh – low and gentle, but very pleasant to hear in a female voice, whether in Bath or elsewhere.' The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
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Soft, luminous Epice scarves are the epitome of elegance. Launched in 1999 by Danish designers Bess Nielsen and Jan Machenhauer, Epice captures the quintessence of textile arts: refined weavings, bold and poetic designs, vibrant colours and exquisite craftsmanship. Designed in Copenhagen, woven, dyed and printed by hand in India, the stylish stoles are works of art.
Unlike fast fashion and mass-produced garments, the Epice founders promote “slow” handcrafted textiles and have a commitment to fair trade. They select fine materials such as wool, cashmere, silk, cotton and linen that best emphasize their designs and meet their business ethics.
The two designers first met in 1975 in Copenhagen. Jan Machenhauer was still a student at the Design School and Bess Nielsen was working as a stylist for the Swedish fashion brand Made In. “As a former graduate, I had been invited by the school to be part of the jury of the year-end final exams. Jan’s piece was a pleated skirt and I immediately noticed the beautiful design and perfect execution. It certainly stood out from the rest.” Shortly after they met, Jan went to work with Bess. The creative duo worked for different clothing brands in the ensuing years before launching their own company.
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They both made many trips to India, sharing a passion for the region’s traditional textiles. Even so, setting up Epice was a bold move but it enabled them to focus on what they loved most: designing colourful woven fabrics. The first lines of scarves were handwoven with dyed yarns, embellished with embroidery. It was an overnight success, and Epice broke new grounds in the accessories business.
The small brand became the first independent designer label to focus on the design and creation of stoles. “For the first 3 years, it was just Jan and myself. When we realized colours played a crucial part in the design process, we hired the best textile colourist in Copenhagen.”
“We don’t use Pantone colours, we make our own palette. I usually meet with Jan to discuss the next collection and this is when we select specific colours. The colourist needs a full month to prepare the palette for the collection. The shades are then painted on sheets of paper and shipped to the Indian artisans. We fly to India at least twice a year, to review the samples once they are nearly completed. Jan is a perfectionist so we’re extremely demanding. If we think a specific shade of yellow is too dull it has to be redone. We definitely need vibrant colours. It took three years for the craftsmen to fully comprehend our high level of accuracy and attention to detail. Many pieces had to be thrown away before they could meet our standards. But they are grateful today because they have become the most skillful and sought-after weavers and dyers in India.”
Epice was set up to be a triangle between Paris, Copenhagen and India. The Paris office employs 13 people who perform administrative tasks. Jan Machenhauer is based in Copenhagen and leads a design team of six. Bess Nielsen lives and works in Paris, where she also manages her own brand, Khadi and Co.
Having spent 35 years working with a great number of craftsmen throughout India, Bess Nielsen has become an expert in Indian textiles. On a more personal level, she has developed a genuine connection with India and may soon be given the opportunity to play an active role in preserving traditional craftsmanship. The government of West Bengal is developing a new textile policy and has recently approached her for her expertise in weaving and fair trade business.
It takes 5 months to complete an Epice collection, from start to finish. “It’s about sophistication and perfection, every detail matters. Design and structure come from our Nordic heritage but all the scarves are made in India. After all these years, I’m still amazed by the unmatched skills of the Indian craftsmen,” explains Bess.
Epice lightweight stoles and shawls are best known for their floral prints and daring colour combinations. Geometric, paisley and fauna prints, polka dots and Scandinavian stripes further reveal the rich multicultural influences behind Epice. The brand grew over the years, gradually introducing4
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Field Notes: Matthew Harris and Howard Skempton A performance featuring specially commissioned contemporary textiles and new music, will transform village halls in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Cheshire, Gloucestershire and beyond into both gallery and a concert hall. The programme is an experimental collaboration between artist Matthew Harris and composer Howard Skempton performed by musicians from Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. Using old maps of Shropshire and graphic scores as common starting points, Skempton and Harris have engaged in an creative exchange resulting in complementary new works from each artist. Harris’ freestanding artwork, combining textiles and drawings, will frame the performance space as four of BCMG’s world-class musicians perform Skempton’s new piece, Field Notes. Premiere: Saturday March 8 2014 7.30, Town Hall, Wem, Shropshire, Field Notes will tour eight Arts Alive venues, tickets available from www.artsalive.co.uk trigh
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Select trail 2014 In May 2014 the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds will celebrate their links to the Arts and Crafts and our vibrant present day creative industries.
Over two weekends in the month of May artists and craft makers will open the doors to their private work spaces and welcome visitors to come and meet them, other artists will organise artist-led exhibitions and be there to meet and greet visitors. Old Mills, garden sheds, hidden studios throw open their doors to welcome you in.
The Select Trail specialises in the crafts and applied arts with work including textiles, willow weaving, jewellery design and book binding. All the participants reinforce the idea that craft should make us feel good and lift our spirits as well being functional and useful. Open Studios & Artist Led Exhibitions, Stroud International Textiles, Sat-Sun 10 & 11, Sat-Sun 17 & 18 2014, www.sitselect.org
Shadow and Line Stroud International Textile Festival makes Glostershire the place to be in April and May for textile lovers. Shadow and Line is just one of the exhibitions and events that promise to lift your spirits and encourage discussion around what ‘craft’ and ‘design’ mean to us in the 21st Century. Nine artists will exhibit including Caroline Bartlett who has reconfigured previous works which employed techniques such as pleating, creasing and folding, to make new work through digital scanning and redrawing. while Linda Brassington’s, pictured, intimate textiles explore the contrasting qualities of resist dyeing and discharge printing. Densely pigmented surfaces are built through multiple layers of indigo. Other textile works from Joy Merron, Hilary Bower and Jilly Morris will be joined by Peter Archer’s hand turned wooden bowls and Keith Varney’s porcelain vessels. 27 April–26 May, Gallery 1, Museum in the Park, Stratford Road, Stroud GL5 4AF, www.museuminthepark.org.uk
Your head runs too much upon Bath; but there is a time for everything — a time for balls and plays, and a time for work. You have had a long run of amusement, and now you must try to be useful.” Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
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