Doily Free Zone - 1st Synposium for Young Lacemakers, Italy

My apologies! I seem to be apologising a lot lately for the slowness of the postings, but its been a busy start to the new year. I try to keep my own work, interests and textile tastes neutralised for this blog, but it’s a challenge! Inevitably, they cross over, and here is one example. I’ve been invited to talk at this fabulous event:  

www.doilyfreezone.com

1st International Symposium of Young Lace Makers

Pavia, Italy

April 4-7 2013

“We are pleased to announce that we will be holding a symposium for and about young lace makers in Pavia, Italy (just south of Milan) in April 2013 in order to coincide with Milan Design Week. The symposium aims to encourage communication amongst young lace makers and to safeguard and promote this rich textile tradition as a form of creative expression".

I’m not going, just for the interesting talks, the exciting workshops, or the (dream holiday come true!) post-symposium excursions. I’m also, really looking forward to meeting the other textile makers, and the organiser of the Symposium, Angharad Rixon, who runs Textile Support. Rixon is a technical textile historian, who runs a school and gallery dedicated to maintaining dynamic and active textile traditions.

“...a place where all who work with or have a passion for textiles can learn about techniques and materials, exchange ideas, exhibit work and create new hybrids resulting from the blending of tradition and technology...”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve spent the past few years mulling over what to do with the Woolly Way, which I feel is now too big to remain a humble blog. The wonderful textile community that has built up in Ireland over the past few years deserves better representation, and a more comprehensive information portal, then can be done through the blog. This trip to Italy, is also a research mission, to see how I can learn from Textile Support. To see how to develop this blog into a vibrant, community based information site. Its mission statement, the same as Rixons, to preserve our textile heritage, but as contemporary craft. Maybe some day this virtual dream will become a physical one. Imagine having a school and gallery dedicated to textiles in Ireland! 

We need to show the world that textiles is alive and booming in Ireland, despite the economic constraints. We have a lot to be proud of my friends; it’s about time we showed it off.