Contemporary Textiles Fair 2020

About

The Contemporary Textiles Fair, held every year in the South London suburb of Teddington, is an established must-visit event in the textile lovers’ calendar. The fair is somewhere textile enthusiasts, collectors, and art lovers can come to find artworks with texture, wearable masterpieces, handmade homeware, and unique curiosities. This isn’t granny’s knitted teacosy territory, this is contemporary quality! From stitched wall-hangings with conceptual significance, to carefully designed and hand-crafted objects, this fair does not discriminate – the art/craft barrier fades away to reveal exceptional talent in textiles. 

2020 brings you over 70 exhibitors including: 

Caroline Bell - Caroline dyes, prints and marks textiles using natural processes only. This she transforms into works for the wall and smaller functional object hich are often intensively embellished with stitch. Her work is currently on tour in the States with SAQA in an exhibition 3 D Expression 2019 – 2022

Kate Findlay - Kate has been working in textiles exclusively for the past 15 years. Currently she is interested in depicting the British countryside and wildlife, particularly in the South of England. Starting with white fabric, her work uses hand dyed and hand printed textiles, which are collaged and stitched to build up a rich surface. The effects of light and shadow are important in Kate’s work, as is subtle use of colour and texture. 

And Kit Mooi, with her hand-woven colourful textiles. Woven by hand from high quality cotton and super soft lambswool. All individually crafted into unique fashion and home accessories including cushions, scarves, brooches, necklaces, cufflinks and lavender hearts.

RAW FIBRES 
Returning for the third year, Raw Fibres supports and showcases a selection of the best new UK textile artists at the Contemporary Textiles Fair. Raw Fibres is a platform for graduates, students, and fledgling maker-businesses to promote and sell their work to collectors, enthusiasts, and local visitors alike. Allowing them space to launch their work into the textile art world, meet fellow artists and designers, and giving them advice and encouragement to move their practice forward. For 2020 the fair has selected 4 artists;

Emma Jackson of Silversoles, who makes hand felted textiles for interiors and
to wear. “Driven by a desire to engage the senses and explore tactility, translucency and opacity, my work reflects my interest in haptic perception - our instinct to touch and the importance of touch to the human experience. I take an experimental approach to the ancient craft of felt making, exploring material combination and processes to celebrate texture. Investigating the relationship between actual and perceived textures, I make functional objects with surfaces
that invite touch and challenge the perception of felt. In August 2019 I graduated from the MA in Surface Design and Textiles with Distinction at Birmingham City University.” 

Brigitte Kaltenbacher of BeeKayMakes, a recent MA graduate of the University of Creative Arts (UCA) Farnham and now a sustainable weaver, who combines
nettle yarn with local and organic materials to create classic and contemporary low impact fabrics. “My handwoven nettle-wool blends, for example, reduce the environmental impactto about 20% compared to Polyester and are 100%  biodegradable. My designs aim for longevity and a timeless style.” If you’re interested in sustainability, interior fabrics or weaving, she is certainly worth coming along to see.

Hattie Kingston, a Textile Design graduate from Bath School of Art and Design, where she developed her style in screen printing for interiors. Her work is dominated by colourful abstracted shapes and forms found from architecture, she experiments with different tones, vibrancies and colourways. Hattie has recently been awarded a studio residency with the Bristol Textile Quarter/Spike Island Print
Studio, where she is continuing and developing her Textile Design practice.

Clare Parker, founder of CraftRoom Kingston, has run workshops for both adults
and children at schools, home and  other venues for many years. Here at the
Landmark she hopes to launch her own textile-based art practice as a new venture
alongside her other businesses. “Best known for my use of bright and bold colour, I love mixing media and have a lifelong passion for recycling objects, illustration and textiles. Inspired by just about everything, I am most likely to have pom poms and wool in my bag. My pieces are based around the beautiful circle in some form - look closer and you might see more...” We’re looking forward to seeing what she comes up with! 

Exhibitions, Talks & Workshops: 
Exhibition of work by members of the newly formed Society for Embroidered Work  (S.E.W.) – open throughout the fair. 

Saturday 21 March – 10am-1pm – Stitched Landscape – WORKSHOP with artist Louise Goult 

Sunday 22 March – 11am – Stitched Art is Art – TALK from the founders of S.E.W. on the pros and cons of being a stitch artist in the fine art world, and how the new society was created.