Category: Uncategorized

  • An ANZAC Day tribute

    It is ANZAC Day today; a time to remember the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps and those who perished in the landings at Gallipoli in World War One, and by extension all those who have served and returned home or died in conflicts. The shop window of Ballantynes in Christchurch commemorates the day with…

  • Open Studios 2026

    This weekend is Open Studios across Māwhera Greymouth, organised by the Left Bank Art Gallery. Each year artists open their studios and galleries for the public to visit. It is an interesting way to spend time, for both the visitors and the artists, and there are lots of great conversations to be had during the…

  • Fire-fighting in Japan

    During the Edo Period (1600s to the mid-19th Century) Japan enjoyed peace and prosperity. This was reflected in fire-fighters’ protective clothing. Utilitarian clothes that protected the wearer while they were putting out the fires that could easily spread across the tightly-packed wooden buildings of towns and cities were an important part of a fire fighter’s…

  • New books in the library

    Over the last few weeks some new publications have come into the library. The Web was a quarterly journal that was produced by the New Zealand Spinning, Weaving and Wool-crafts Society from the 1970s through to the 1980s. The library already has a set of The Web but an addition has just come in that…

  • Ideas wanted

    As regular readers of the blog will know, the Textile Trust, Aotearoa is a new charitable organisation that has been set-up on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand to promote textiles through education, training and appreciation. The Textile Trust was established in July 2025 and our small team has just begun…

  • Visitors to the studio

    Some recent visitors to the studio in Māwhera Greymouth have prompted a change on the website. I get to meet many interesting people in the studio. Visitors look through the windows and come in, intrigued by the displays and the weaving equipment. Lots of those visitors are creative people and so I have started a…

  • Weaving complexity

    Weaving is a complex task, although it looks deceptively simple. The routine passing of a shuttle between sets of threads, packing it into place and then changing the sets to make patterns belies the amount of work, time and thought that goes into the process of a woven cloth. So it is no surprise that…

  • Last week’s blog

    Last week the blog passed a significant milestone. Regular readers may have noticed that the blog did not come out as usual on Sunday. Every week I write blog articles that are all date-stamped automatically. When Mailchimp, the service that I use to email the blog, puts the articles together to send those articles are…

  • This week’s blog

    The blog this week is shorter than usual because of the studio opening. Normal service will resume as soon as possible!

  • The blog is returning

    We have returned from our holiday to Africa where we had a fantastic time with family and friends. There is lots to tell about our trip. Five weeks in the African sun, two in South Africa and three in Zimbabwe, has been life-affirming and wonderful. Next week’s blog will include stories about the trip and…