Category: Travel

  • South Asia Research Fellowships

    If you are already doing research in South Asian textiles, or would like to do so, this might be an interesting opportunity. The Impart & Nalli Fellowships are offering two Fellowship of one year each to independent research and product development. Projects can be in any textile-centric area but ideas related to the following are…

  • Pomo Basketmaking

    A new book for the library collection has been added. Pomo Basketmaking: a supreme art for the maker is a Californian publication from Naturegraph (1972. 1988 edition). Edited by Vinson Brown, this volume is a history of the basketmaker, Elsie Allen and an exploration of her work in the art of Pomo basketry. The book…

  • The colour “Giraffe”

    “La Belle Africaine” arrived in 1820s Paris and immediately became a sensation. She was a giraffe from Sudan, transported as a baby on the back of camels, shipped across the sea, and walked to court to be presented to the King of France: Charles X. As a giraffe had not been seen in France before…

  • Tartan in Aotearoa

    The Scottish tartan has spread across the globe and in New Zealand it is a source of pride for many. Tartan, with its immediately recognisable patterns and colours, is not just a Scottish invention. In many cultures, cloth is made with crossing lines of warp and weft, but Scotland has managed to imbue its tartan…

  • The colour red

    Red is a striking colour with an ancient history when it comes to textiles. Most of us know about cochineal, the insects from which the colour carmine is obtained, but there are other ways to get the hue. In Europe, North Africa and the Near East, where madder was extensively used, red has gone in…

  • A visit to Ōtautahi/ Christchurch

    It has been an exciting week in the studio, which began with a visit over the mountains to our nearest city: Christchurch Ōtautahi. The visit should have happened last week but, upon arriving at Otira, the start of Arthur’s Pass over the Alps, my travelling companion, Maria, and I discovered that a lorry had spilt…

  • Frances van Hasselt and mohair

    Frances van Hasselt is a South African producer of mohair products. Mohair has its origins in Central Asia where the goats produced fibres that were used domestically. The goats were transported to Turkey where they were kept as household animals to produce a precious product much in demand for royal garments. Now Angora goats can…

  • A visit North – part three

    This is the last blog post about the recent trip we took to Whangarei for the CTANZ symposium, after which we toured the central North Island. This part starts at New Plymouth where we spent a couple of days. New Plymouth/ Ngāmotu is a sizeable city of about 90,000 people. Home to Māori for centuries…

  • Yulie Urano

    Even though it is officially winter in Aotearoa New Zealand, visitors are still coming to the studio. This past few weeks there have been quite a few visitors. Some are newly local, some came from far away (Australia, USA and Ireland). One of the latest, a couple from the United States who have recently moved…

  • A visit North

    For the past almost-couple of weeks we have been travelling Te Ika-a-Māui/ the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. The purpose of the trip was to attend the Costume and Textiles Symposium Aotearoa New Zealand in Whanganui, a UNESCO City of Design. CTANZ symposia are always great fun and informative. After all, what could be…