Folded Beauty

The 2012 Textile Society Museum, Archive and Repository Bursary has been awarded to Holburne Museum in Bath for their forthcoming exhibition by Catalonian artist Joan Sallas, Folded Beauty: the forgotten art of folded linen.

The judges were particularly impressed with the originality of the exhibition which celebrates the ancient art of linen napkin folding in the UK for the first time, its broad appeal, accessibility and accompanying education programme. Sallas who has researched and mastered the forgotten art form is now the world's leading virtuoso folder. The exhibition that takes place in Bath from 8 February - 14 April 2013 will feature folded napkins and linen after Rennaisance and Baroque patterns. Particularly impressive were the snakes, fishes, birds and miniature works of architecture such as palaces and bubbling table fountains composed of metres of folded linen which decorated the dining table. It will then go on to tour to the Bowes Museum in County Durham and Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire ensuring the widest possible audience. The exhibition at Holburne is supported by an inclusive educational programme including a series of workshops for adults, children and families, meet the artist opportunities, and in the two weeks leading up to the opening of the show the public will be able to see Sallas folding the linen and constructing some of the pieces step-by-step.

Rehousing the Louisa Pesel Archive

The 2012 conservation award supports the rehousing of the Louisa Pesel archive of photographs and manuscripts which forms part of the international textile collection at Leeds University. The archive was bequeathed to the University in 1947 as part of the Louisa Pesel collection, much of which has been digitised and is available online.

Louisa Frances Pesel (1870-1947) was born in Bradford and became a distinguished scholar, practitioner and teacher of the art of embroidery. She studied under the Arts and Crafts practitioner Lewis Foreman Day, who recommended her for the post of Designer at the Royal Hellenic School of Needlework and Laces in Athens, where she became the Director. When she returned to England, Pesel worked for the Khaki Club, Bradford for shell-shocked soldiers and was later involved in assembling kits for POWs during the Second World War. She travelled extensively, including Egypt and India collecting and recording textiles. She published many books and articles on embroidery history, design and stitching.

Lost in Lace: Concealed and Revealed

A grant of £3000 was awarded to support Birmingham Museums develop an exhibition of lace It opens in the Gas Hall on 29th Oct 2011- Feb 2012 and is curated by Professor Leslie Miller. The exhibition brings together 19 international artists from 12 countries who are responding to the cultural histories and aesthetic qualities of lace. It will also explore, in part through site specific work, the dynamic relationships that textiles can make to architectural space. The temporary exhibition in the Gas Hall, also links through the Bridge Gallery display to applied art and paintings, particularly portraiture from the permanent collections in Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Recent research by Gail Baxter has uncovered the socio-economic conditions in which lace was produced, sold and worn (as well as stolen, legislated and buried) and which often sits in contrast to the aesthetic qualities of the finished textile and its depiction on wealthy owners. The Bridge display will ultimately reveal the complexity of meanings that lie behind the surface appearance of this very decorative textile form.

William Morris Gallery

£2000 has been awarded to the William Morris Gallery. The William Morris Gallery is currently undergoing a highly innovative scheme to improve access to the collections. The project will be completed in July 2012 when the Gallery reopens. Funding will support the redisplay of the Battye embroidered wall hanging, designed by May Morris about 1900 and worked by members of the Battye family.

Flockage: The Flock Phenomenon

The exhibition will explore and champion flock's presence and profile in design and culture; it will provide a critical consideration of flock: the process, the material and its application.

The Textiles Collection: A teaching and learning resource

The award contributed towards Gwen Fereday and Linda Brassington, Senior Lecturers in Woven and Printed Textiles, making a study visit to Kyoto specifically to research the contemporary application of natural dyes in Japan. They met Sachio Yoshioka, a fifth generation master dyer working with natural dyes. An online essay will be available to complement the Textiles Collection as a digital resource.

Louth Ingrain Flat-Weave Carpets

The factory was opened in 1787 to satisfy a growing demand for affordable floor covering. Louth ingrain carpets enjoyed a high reputation for excellent wearing quality and were highly commended at the 1867 Paris Exhibiton. Ingrain means that the wool was dyed with fast colours prior to weaving, is non-pile and reversible. The Textile Society award is enabling the Museum to set up a research project on ingrain carpeting with the aim of publishing a colour illustrated book.

Function and Identity: The study of the Royal Marines through Textiles

The Royal Marines were established in 1664 . The museum recognises that uniforms have the ability to tell the human stories of war and other artefacts would struggle to do. The weight, feel and colour of a uniform and its releated items give a unique perspective of national identity and duty. The award was used to extend the collection's use of replica costumes. Educational workshops and events involving the handling of the uniforms are being further developed.

Woven Splendour: Italian Textiles from the Medici to the Modern Age

Conservation of 18th century clothing and textiles, now on display in the museum

Conservation of thirteen banners, to be exhibited within the collection

Creation of an area suitable for study of the lace collection

Publication of an exhibition guide for Horrockses Fashions Ltd., 1946 to the 1980s; October 2001 for one year.