Selvedge and Margate

A train delayed by an hour was a god send as I could read my 2 copies of Selvedge , bought at ND and found some really useful articles and contacts.
There were a lot of references to the importance of 'designers tapping into their heritage' and learning the traditional skills of their country. The writing mainly centred on Japan. Tokyo based german Jurgen Lehl produces household textiles for the Babaghuri label ' High quality materials, natural ingredients and attention to detail are hallmarks of the brand. Babaghuri line of products, including pottery, glassware, towels and basketware are handcrafted by artisans in Japan and abroad.' He created individuality through dyeing, resist, stitching and other processes. But he had an unfortunate accident in 2014 and died - this Toronto designer wrote
'I have been diving deeper into the Jurgen Lehl rabbit hole in the weeks before his passing, reading his books. Researching for the interview next year, and of course bringing in a much larger collection of his fabrics and designs than we have ever carried in the past.

A very inspiring man, who will be remembered for much more than his clothing.' I must research him further to see exactly how he used traditional methods.

This Issue of Selvedge had an interesting article about Slow textiles ans how the 'middle market ... is set for global growth .. and demand for clothing with credentials that celebrate craftmanship'. Another area I need to research Slow textiles - a visit to see Aviva would help!
A trip to Margate to rest for a couple of days was rewarded with a brilliant visit to Turner Contemporary and the Provincial Punk exhibition of Grayson Perry. His work is stunning and I'm so pleased there was a video of the processes behind his beautiful ceramics. People do not realise just how much knowledge and how much creativity never mind the processes of underglaze, slips, overglaze etc etc, goes into one of his 'pots'. He is a tuly inspiring 'man' and the Channel 4 programme, also available to watch showed his humanity. I particularly like his 3 large ladies modelled in clay and how he connected and understood 'who they are'. Must get to the Portrait gallery - just hope the portraits are still on show.

I sat and studied the tapestries for a long time before reading the cataloguing and was impressed with how many brands he had included in his depiction of Consumerism. But I wasn't impressed with the house at Wrabness!!