Textiles crafts, a value on the rise !
Mad'in Europe
The source of European professionals in fine & traditional crafts, and restoration of cultural heritage.
Textiles crafts, a value on the rise !
?“I think it of capital importance that a pattern-designer should know all about the craft for which he has to draw” (William Morris, 1881)
Shouldn't we also know more about how things of our daily life are made? Let’s explore the world of textile crafts!
From fibres production to final products, from field to cupboard or interiors… many complementary skills are required.
Sheep breeders, flax farmers, spinners, dyers, weavers, knitters, embroiderers…The value chain is longer than we think.?In some ways textile crafts are actors of sustainability. They use natural and often local materials, they recycle, they sell locally, not to forget their contribute to living heritage preservation and transmission.
Consumption habits are changing, many of us pay more and more attention to what we buy. Some of us would rather choose unique pieces than industrial ones! We are proud to reveal here some great textile talents. See how ancient techniques can be innovative in patterns and design.
Learning a traditional weaving technique in Portugal and making your own traditional blanket is possible. This weaving workshop is run by three young weavers specialized in the manufacturing of the traditional?"Manta de Minde Blanket".
Their aim is to combine tradition and memory to contemporary values applying this ancient technique to today's trends. During your training you might even learn some Minderico, the language spoken in Minde, originally developed by textile producers and traders.
As an enthusiastic, highly skilled weaver who is passionate about "keeping the old weaving techniques alive today and in the future",?Antoinette Merete?Olsen?is dedicated to preserving the old weaving techniques from the Viking age and before. Inspired by history and heritage of weaving so far she wrote two books about old weaving techniques and in 2020 conducted a research about “Shroud of Turin”.?She is currently learning how to make bobbin laces and enhancing her already wide-ranging weaving skills.
"The success of my work has been channeling a traditional art such as gold embroidery into new works for the world of fashion. That is, adapt tradition to the avant-garde".
Francisco Carrera Iglesias?has been working for forty years in the design and development of handmade embroidery. He went from embroidering clothes related to Spanish traditions, like bullfights and Holy Week confraternities, to designing outfits for Michelle Obama. Applying techniques from the 16th and 17th century, he has revolutionized the fashion industry.
As felt maker?Vera Zhotkevich Gutman?creates unique textile pieces for everyday use with a little fairy-tale within every product. Her inspiration occurs by the Scandinavian epos and lore. The materials she uses all come from nature; she mostly uses wool from Swedish sheep and alpacas, for nuno-felting she employs recycled fabric and if she dyes anything it is with plants from her own garden.
Based on her words:?“In my art I like to shape and arrange the feeling and experience that I find in the barren Nordic nature, its harsh beauty and the affluence of impressions that you get from it...”
Rather than being just a skilled hand weaver,?Claudine Frisque?is?a role model for sustainable living.
The colorful clothes she creates are a reflection of her passion and the holistic approach she uses in her work. She makes her clothes with wool collected from?her own flock. Having collected the wool, she takes it to the mini mill, weaves a reel of thread on the loom, and only then does she turn it into cloth. Claudia Frisque pays great attention to even the smallest details of her clothes to ensure they are sustainable and environmentally friendly. Hence, even her buttons are made of cactus fibers produced by women from Africa!
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TEXTILES & NATURE
THE ART OF BLUE DYEING LISTED BY UNESCO
The?"Blue pastel"?is a natural dye extracted from woad leaves (Isatis tinctoria), also called "pastel des teinturiers" in French, which translates to "dyers' pastel". It is obtained through oxidation of the liquid extracted from the leaves, which is originally green and only turns blue when exposed to air. In the 15th centruy, woad leaves' dyeing properties were discovered and spread all over Europe. In the 19th centruy, all of Napoleon's soldiers were dressed in blue pastel uniforms.?
As of today, indigo blueprinting and blue-dyeing is the only dyeing technique enlisted as?UNESCO Intangible Heritage.?Dating back to the 17th century, its knowledge has been passed on orally by craftspeople, each generation onto the next, many secrets about its specifics being kept.?
Here are some resources to learn more about these beautiful blue designs:
? Video by Michael Veselsky - Weit Blick Film
Speaking of blue-dyeing, we are happy to introduce our newest member from Hungaryr: the?Bácsalmás Blue-dyeing Workshop! The Hungarian workshop is one of the few remaining representatives of this ancient tradition. A small family has been running the business uninterruptedly?since 1879 with?Zoltán Bakos, Master of Folk Art, handling the blue-dyeing craft.
SEARCH ALL TEXTILE PROFESSIONALS ON MADINEUROPE
STARTING NOW ! EUROPEAN CRAFTS DAYS IN ITALY
Fom March From 28 to April 3rd,?the European Artistic Crafts Days will take place all over the Europe.This event is dedicated to craftspeople, with the aim of promoting and demonstrating their work. Italy could not miss to be part of this project, thus for the 2022 edition of the European Crafts Days,?Artex, in collaboration with the master craftsmen of Tuscany, is proposing a series of events, both in person and online, to celebrate the arts and crafts of the region.
STARTING NOW ! EUROPEAN CRAFTS DAYS IN SPAIN EXHIBITION : ENTRE LANAS
The exhibition is a celebration of wool crafts and it will take place on?April 2 and 3 at the Museo del Traje library, Madrid.?Wool has been of great relevance since ancient times in the Iberian Peninsula; the merino sheep, typical of this area, provide wool of the highest quality, which is exported in the whole world. In addition to the exposition,?free guided tours?will be available as well. The event is part of the European Crafts Days 2022.
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