Book Festival, Text and Textiles with Katy Bevan of Quickthorn Books

The Georgian Suite, Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8EA

Katy Bevan of Quickthorn Books hosts Text and Textiles exploring the connections between the written word and the world of cloth. This afternoon event brings together a selection of authors and publishers whose recent books offer insight into textiles through research, personal stories, and creative practice.

Talks will be 20 minutes each, followed by 10 minutes for questions. Speakers include Justine Lee, on theliving legacy of wool; Anna Buruma, onLiberty’s early dress department; Hannah Lamb, whose workcaptures experiences of places through touch, making and material; Deena Beverley, on remaining creative even in extremis; and Rachael Matthews, exploring the traditional art of rag rug making for this age of the Anthropocene.

After the talks, there will be an opportunity to meet the speakers and have books signed in the antechamber. Whether you are interested in historical research, contemporary textile practice, or the stories embedded in cloth, this event offers the chance to engage with authors whose work brings these subjects to life.

Artistic Dress at Liberty & Co: The Early Years by Anna Buruma

Liberty’s dress department opened in 1884, headed by Edward William Godwin, an architect with a multi-faceted career and an important figure in the Aesthetic Movement. Following the women’s rights movement of the 1840s, women fought against restrictive clothing such as tight-laced corsets, heavy petticoats and too tight shoes, which were harmful to their health and chose instead to dress in looser fitting dresses, coloured with natural dyes and ornamented with embroidery and needlework, otherwise known as Aesthetic dress. Liberty was at the forefront of Aestheticism with their recognisable soft drapeable silks, transparent textiles and fabrics imported from Central Asia and the Middle East. Their consumers were an eclectic mix of women who wanted to dress artistically and stand out from the crowd. Liberty was the chosen resort of the artistic shopper.

With archival materials and previously unpublished pattern books, Anna Buruma navigates Liberty’s role in Artistic dress. Examining how their idiosyncratic fashions of Greek and Roman style evening dress and medieval tea gowns translated into late 19th and early 20th century fashionable dress. Liberty sustained their popularity through good taste and willingness to expand into new markets. From their flourishing commitment to Aestheticism to becoming a trail-blazer for the Art Nouveau movement which would emerge from it, Artistic Dress at Liberty & Co: The Early Years is the go-to source for the early history of Liberty’s dress department.

Anna Buruma trained as a theatre designer and had a successful career as a costume designer in television and film before completing an MA, specializing in the History of Dress at the Courtauld Institute of Art. Buruma managed and catalogued the textile archive at Liberty from 1996 to 2022. From 2005 she has also been a part-time museum curator at Central Saint Martins.

The Wonder of Wool: A knitter's guide to pure breed sheep by Justine Lee

Wool is more than just a fibre – it is a living legacy, woven into the history of human civilization. For centuries, native sheep breeds have shaped landscapes, sustained communities, and provided warmth, durability, and beauty through their wool. Yet, in an era of mass production and commercial standardisation, many of these heritage breeds face an uncertain future. The Wonder of Wool, celebrates not only the remarkable qualities of wool but also the critical importance of preserving the genetic diversity of native sheep breeds. Each breed has been uniquely shaped by its environment, developing characteristics that make its wool distinct – whether it’s the soft and lofty fleece of the Romney, the hardy, weather-resistant wool of the Shetland, or the dense, insulating fibres of the Herdwick. This diversity is not just a treasure of the past but a resource for the future, ensuring resilience in the face of climate change, disease, and shifting agricultural demands. By safeguarding these genetic lines, we honour generations of shepherds who have nurtured them and ensure that future generations can continue to benefit from the rich variety of wools these sheep provide. The survival of native breeds is a testament to our commitment to sustainability, biodiversity, and the enduring wonder of wool.

Justine Lee is a knitwear designer who has spent many years working in the fashion industry, for brands such as Ballantyne Cashmere, Laura Ashley, Jaeger & White Stuff. After completing a Masters’ degree in sustainable textiles at UAL, Chelsea she created Ossian Knitwear, a brand dedicated to promoting the diversity of British wool and supporting sheep farmers, while also being gentle on the environment. The Wonder of Wool is her first book and is based on the research she did for her masters. Subsequently to co-writing her book she has set up the London City Farm Yarn project, creating a range of London Wool project from the fleece of 10 City farms. She works from her studio in West London.

Unfolding Cloth: Inspiration from Historical Textiles by Hannah Lamb

A guide to finding, researching and using historical textiles in your stitched work, to bring layers of meaning and a rich sense of emotional connection through place and time. Renowned textile artist and tutor Hannah Lamb frequently uses and is inspired by old fabrics in her work, from age-worn cotton and linen sheets to delicate lace collars, vintage patchwork to snippets of colourful printed silk. In this book she explores many creative ways to incorporate historical textiles into your own work, from first conception and initial research to the finished piece. This thoughtful, imaginative book is illustrated with inspirational examples of the author’s own work and that of other leading textile artists, and provides a valuable introduction to working with historical textiles to enhance your own pieces of textile art.

Hannah Lamb is a textile artist, lecturer and author, based at her home studio in West Yorkshire. She works with a range of textile processes, including stitch, print and fabric manipulation, creating textile artworks from an intimate scale to larger installation works. Hannah has lectured in textiles at Bradford School of Art since 2004, where she is currently Programme Leader for Textiles. She exhibits nationally and internationally and is an exhibiting member of the 62 Group of Textile Artists. Her first solo book, Poetic Cloth: Creating Meaning in Textile Art, was published by Batsford in 2019.

Soulful Stitch: Finding Creativity in Crisis by Deena Beverley and Cas Holmes

Renowned British textile artists Deena Beverley and Cas Holmes, well known for their richly textured, evocative work in stitch and mixed media, collaborated for the first time in timely Batsford Book ‘Soulful Stitch: Finding Creativity in Crisis’, widely regarded as ‘capturing the zeitgeist.’

Often using found materials, repurposed threads and personal items dense with meaning, they created work of deep emotional resonance; relatable to anyone facing life’s daily vicissitudes.

Both textile artists have lived experience of having to forge new paths through big life challenges, making this book their most heartfelt yet. This title demonstrates how even in the toughest times, creativity in textile art not only helped keep them afloat, but helped them discover ways of thriving despite life’s wildest storms.

‘Soulful Stitch’ also includes contributions from carefully selected international textile artists, chosen for their relationship to chapters including the power of nature to nurture, connection through cloth, remaining creative even in extremis, and how to make exciting new work using minimal pockets of time and energy.

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. A regular contributor to Embroidery and Selvedge; author of many books on arts and crafts; Deena's meticulous attention to detail as a writer is reflected in her textile art. Using techniques from simple hand stitch, to imaginative intuitive quilting over hand drawn imagery, Deena’s stylist’s eye for colour and texture is inspirational. Previously a costume designer and art director, Deena's cherished collection of vintage textiles provides an endless source of inspiration, and repurposed materials for new work.

Rag Manifesto by Rachael Matthews

Rag Manifesto is a unique, artist’s view of the traditional art of rag rug making for this age of the Anthropocene. Projects highlight a reverence for our lost textiles, a response to the environmental impact of fast fashion and a proof that rag is a rich resource, wrongly classed as a taboo material.

Rachael Matthews gives us permission to cut up our old fabrics offering a support structure for decision making and a chart on how to make liberating decisions about destroying a garment.

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. Sharing a studio with other experimental weavers and learning about many ancient ways of making things, a new world started to appear, with an endless source of modern materials to hack. Sharing the skills with a diverse community group in East London, the practice deepened with a new knowledge about how people can design together without the training of Art School.