Manchester Antique Textile Fair

I always seem to busy when this event is held, but yesterday I finally got to go and wow what an amazing event! 100 exhibitors selling everything from antique lace, clothes, fabrics, bags, shoes, amazing buttons, jewellery and much more. An absolute fabulous 2 hours was spent rummaging through fusty old boxes of lace and piles and piles of fabrics!! It was an expensive trip though!! I bought some gorgeous pieces of lace, it seems wicked to now destroy them by pressing them into clay!! Info about the textile fair can be found on; http://www.textilesociety.org.uk

I also found some beautiful Chinese batik fabric; long strips of blue and white decorated fabric that were actually part of a large skirts (I would have loved to have seem them as skirts). I really loved the indigo colour in contrast with the white patterns and would really like to get this shade of blue on my cups.

I have always loved wrapping, placing or just displaying my ceramic pieces on beautiful fabrics. Partly because of a Yuzen dying workshop I took part in whilst at MMU. I had the opportunity to paint a piece of silk in the traditional way of Yuzen, under the instruction of Japanese Master Kimono dyer, Nasu San. It was truly a fantastic and inspirational workshop that has stayed with me. I experienced a eureka moment with the piece of silk when I placed one of my slip-cast porcelain cups on the fabric, they just looked perfect together and ever since then I have loved the contrast of ceramic with fabric.

Original piece of Yuzen dyed silk from Nasu San's workshop;