Over the last ten years the buying public’s interest in craft has been growing. Events such as the annual London Craft Week—that highlights not only the best UK makers but also crafts from other countries —have been attracting more attention and visitors. LCW returns in 2022 with an even greater programme for 9-15 May. This year’s event includes a large number of textile related talks, demonstrations, tours and displays so here is just some of the textile highlights.
The Future Of Craft at Oxo Tower Wharf on 12-15 May, will see the joining of a multitude of craft forces. Designers from Design Nation, Future Icons and Cockpit Arts will include textile makers Lucie Summers, Lark & Bower, Ellen Williams, Arra Textiles, Jacky Puzey and Majeda Clarke. The four-day event will include a series of discussions and live demonstrations.
Creative Anna Gravelle uses the method of tufting to make beautiful tactile surfaces and for this year’s LCW she will show new work at Contemporary Applied Arts on 9-15 May. Gravelle has created textiles that celebrates the changing of the seasons, welcoming the beginning of summer with bursts of painterly colour. These pieces are accompanied by work from renowned ceramicist Tanya Gomez.
Margo Selby will be showing her colourful handwoven artworks at 88 Gallery on 9-14 May. The woven textiles are taken from the loom, stretched, framed and wall-mounted, intended to be viewed as visual objects rather than pictures or decoration.
Selby explains: ‘I use thread to create abstract geometric artworks that explore repetition and transition, symmetry and asymmetry, the dynamic and the stable. I draw influence from the visual world around me: architectural forms; graphic design; pattern, scale and colour combinations. Colour is a driving force behind my work. I enjoy the infinite effects of many subtle hues and tones that can be explored when blending from one colour to another.’
On 14 May, the Victoria and Albert Museum will be the venue for an exhibition of Ishkar’s latest collection of rugs with artist Christopher Le Brun, which featured in COVER 66. Ishkar will also present an afternoon in conversation with celebrated British artist and former president of the Royal Academy of Art Sir Christopher Le Brun and his son, Ishkar co-founder Edmund Le Brun.
Cloth collective is a British natural dye house with a focus on sustainability and well-being, founded by Charlotte Lawson Johnston and Kate Turnbull. Cloth Collective challenges the fashion and interiors industries by producing fabrics that are compostable and made with non-chemical dyes. For London Craft Week Cloth Collective will host a botanical cloth-dyeing workshop at Daylesford Organic on 12 May. Attendees will learn how to create their own natural dyes and hand-dyed fabrics using organic flowers from Daylesford’s market garden.
