My journey in textiles began working as a lingerie designer in Nottingham. The tradition of lace making in Nottingham dates back 200 years, and from it developed a vibrant lingerie/lace manufacturing industry which, alas, as of the 21st century, no longer exists.
Continuing for many years in the developing world, my journey took me to Bangladesh where experience with an NGO training young people in fashion technology stimulated a desire to 'make the cloth'. After a brief spell in Bhutan I subsequently returned to England. I took a fast-track degree in textile design at Chelsea College of Art and Design (UAL), specialising in weave. |
Since graduating I have made woven and felted fashion accessories, wall hangings and art pieces, whilst periodically returning to the developing world to work on textile related projects, especially in Nepal, Bangladesh and Swaziland.
Drawn once again to the learning environment, I returned to Chelsea to take an MA focusing on prehistoric textile production, in particular dye and weave techniques. This opened an opportunity for me to continue to research woad dyeing from a practitioner’s standpoint, and to develop my practice further; focusing on natural dyeing and evidence based prehistoric textile production processes. View my CV here |
Photograph : Woad flowers - Ian Howard