I’m delighted to have been invited to host an event for London Textile Month this September. Book Festival: Text and Textiles will be on Friday 26 September, 2–5 pm, at The Georgian Suite, Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8EA.

Text and Textiles is a unique event celebrating the powerful relationship between the written word and the world of cloth. I’ll be talking about the publishing process and we’ll also hear from inspiring authors and makers whose recent books open windows into textiles through historical research, personal stories, and creative practice.

Justine Lee explores the living legacy of native sheep breeds and the remarkable diversity of wool they provide, emphasising the urgent need to preserve these genetic lines for sustainability and cultural heritage.

Anna Buruma offers a deep dive into the early history of Liberty’s Artistic Dress department, revealing how its innovative designs and fabric choices reflected broader social changes and helped pioneer movements like Aestheticism and Art Nouveau.

Textile artist Hannah Lamb shares her personal journey working with historical textiles, demonstrating how vintage fabrics can be woven into contemporary textile art to create works rich with emotional connection and meaning.

Deena Beverley is an award winning writer, tutor, and artist who writes prolifically about textiles, notably the embroidery and mixed media central to her own creative practice. She wrote one of the essays in The Red Dress. 

Rachael Matthews is a lecturer in Textiles at Central St Martins, specialising in knit and colour. Through 20/21 lockdowns, her practice moved into experiments with weaving, after discovering a need to deal with the mounting piles of textiles in her family cupboards and on the streets around her home. This work gained her a placement at The Experimental Weave Lab, hosted by two CSM colleagues, at the Clothworker’s Company in the City of London. 

Each presentation will be followed by a Q&A session where attendees can engage directly with the speakers. Following the talks, there will be a chance to meet the authors and have books signed. Whether you’re drawn to archival research, sustainable textile practice, or the stories woven through cloth, this event promises a thought-provoking exploration of textiles as cultural and artistic expression.

All bookings and further details can be found at selvedge.org under Events - Textile Month. We look forward to seeing you there!