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Majesty and Mannequins Episode 7 Catch her out of the corner of your eye as she skitters across the stage of history. She has seen revolutions, war, disaster, pandemics, peace and joy, and survived it all. She is probably 3,500 years old, maybe more. She is called Pandora.  This episode looks at the unseen role miniature mannequins, or Pandora figures, have played in diplomacy, war, royalty, communications, and marketing, down the centuries from the time of the Egyptian pharaohs, through the Second World War, until today. Not bad to have been in fashion for several thousand years. This podcast would not have been made without the knowledgeable and heartfelt contributions of Rebecca Devaney, Textile educator and embroiderer, Steve Grafe, Curator of Art, Maryhill Museum of Art, and Sean Byrne, Maquitiste and proprietor of Madame Fou Fou. Here is the Moshcino Spring/Summer 2021 Collection referred to by Steve Grafe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dpNzuRda0Y And here is the wonderfully fey Dior collection for Autumn/Winter 2020, referred to by both Steve Grafe and Sean Byrne. It has a lot of shots of the work on the tiny models on their ateliers. The skill is astonishing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxBFwqRbI8c I provide a full transcript, pictures, links to the work of the contributors to these podcasts, and a list of that have inspired me on my website at: www.hapticandhue.com/listen. If you would like to sign up for your own link to the podcasts as they are released, for extra information and a chance to access the free textile gifts that I’ll be offering for each podcast in this series then please fill out the very brief form here or find it on the Haptic and Hue Listen page above. If you are interested in a long read or two, or want to know why and how cloth speaks to us then you can find articles at www.hapticandhue.com/read  You can follow Haptic and Hue on Instagram @hapticandhue on Facebook or Linked In under the Haptic and Hue name. You can see more of my work and that of other makers there or on the website.  

Sewing, mending, knitting and all the fibre skills are seen as 'Women's Work' in Western cultures. But why is this? We hear from men who were taught to sew and knit in wartime, in prison or in isolation, and we talk to men who freely choose to stitch, knit and spin as a hobby. What are the barriers men face if they take up these skills and what does the world lose if they don't? This episode looks not just at the gender divide of the West but also thinks about the textile traditions of Africa where men are deeply involved in textile production. 

This episode tells the story of the top designer of fabrics to the French fashion industry. It looks at the way in which a modern supplier, competing in a global market, still uses ancient weaving technology with handweavers working on table looms to produce thousands of fresh designs every year.  I provide a full transcript, pictures, links to the work of the contributors to these podcasts, and a list of resources that have inspired me on my website at: www.hapticandhue.com/listen. If you would like to sign up for your own link to the podcasts as they are released, for extra information and a chance to access the free textile gifts that I’ll be offering for each podcast in this series then please fill out the very brief form here or find it on the Haptic and Hue Listen page above. If you are interested in a long read or two, or want to know why and how cloth speaks to us then you can find articles at www.hapticandhue.com/read  You can follow Haptic and Hue on Instagram @hapticandhue on Facebook or Linked In under the Haptic and Hue name. You can see more of my work and that of other makers there or on the website. And if you’ve got a great idea for Series Two (coming next year) then drop me a line via the website. Have fun and enjoy your own making practice or just listening to the chatter of cloth! 

The haute couture embroiderers of Paris are amongst Europe’s most celebrated and skilled artisans. This episode looks at the needlewomen who sit behind the seams of the garments we see on the catwalks and in the fashion magazines. It tracks the history of haute couture and thinks about how it is changing in response to modern tastes and trends. I provide a full transcript, pictures, links to the work of the contributors to these podcasts, and a list of resources that have inspired me on my website at: www.hapticandhue.com/listen. If you would like to sign up for your own link to the podcasts as they are released, for extra information and a chance to access the free textile gifts that I’ll be offering for each podcast in this series then please fill out the very brief form here or find it on the Haptic and Hue Listen page above. If you are interested in a long read or two, or want to know why and how cloth speaks to us then you can find articles at www.hapticandhue.com/read  You can follow Haptic and Hue on Instagram @hapticandhue on Facebook or Linked In under the Haptic and Hue name. You can see more of my work and that of other makers there or on the website. And if you’ve got a great idea for Series Two (coming next year) then drop me a line via the website. Have fun and enjoy your own making practice or just listening to the chatter of cloth!         

What does it mean to earn your living as a maker? Can you feed yourself? This episode looks at the renowned hand-weaver, Janet Phillips, who has done just that for more than 50 years. It celebrates her half-century at the loom and asks what it takes to achieve this. I provide a full transcript, pictures, links to the work of the contributors to these podcasts, and a list of resources that have inspired me on my website at: www.hapticandhue.com/listen. If you would like to sign up for your own link to the podcasts as they are released, for extra information and a chance to access the free textile gifts that I’ll be offering for each podcast in this series then please fill out the very brief form here or find it on the Haptic and Hue's Listen page above. If you are interested in a long read or two, or want to know why and how cloth speaks to us then you can find articles at www.hapticandhue.com/read  You can follow Haptic and Hue on Instagram @hapticandhue on Facebook or Linked In, under the Haptic and Hue name. You can see more of my work and that of other makers there or on the website. And if you’ve got a great idea for Series Two (coming in the New Year!) then drop me a line via the website. Have fun and enjoy your own making practice or just listening to the chatter of cloth!   

The story of the elegant, crisp and artistic textile designs that burst upon the world in the 1950s - the period now known as Mid Century Modern. It looks at the women who created them and in doing so became part of the first cohort of women to dominate any field of design, and it thinks about how these fabrics transcended their function and became a symbols of peace and better times.    I provide a full transcript, pictures, links to the work of the contributors to these podcasts, and a list of resources that have inspired me on my website at: www.hapticandhue.com/listen. If you would like to sign up for your own link to the podcasts as they are released, for extra information and a chance to access the free textile gifts that I’ll be offering for each podcast in this series then please fill out the very brief form here or find it on the Haptic and Hue Listen page above. If you are interested in a long read or two, or want to know why and how cloth speaks to us then you can find writing at www.hapticandhue.com/read  You can follow Haptic and Hue on instagram on Facebook or Linked in under the Haptic and Hue name. You can see more of my work and that of other makers there or on the website. And if you’ve got a great idea for Series Two (coming in the New Year!) then drop me a line via the website. Have fun and enjoy your own making practice or just listening to the chatter of cloth!  With heartfelt thanks to the contributors for this episode Nicola Wood who shared her amazing memories of being a successful textile designer in the 1960s. Nicola’s paintings can be seen here. Ashley Gray, Director of Gray MCA – an expert in mid-century textiles and co-curator of the recent exhibition on Modern British Female Designers at Messums, Wiltshire. Instagram: @GrayMCA Shanna Shelby, Curator and Director of Shelby Fine Art, who can be found here Kirk Brown III and Jill Wilste, whose generosity and foresight have ensured that the legacy of these textile designers is preserved. See what they keep on their walls at home and read more about their collection: here  

Britain’s first black designer of international standing was a magician of colour. The Queen wore her dress fabrics, cruise liners sailed with her murals on their walls and millions of homes used her designs, but few can remember her name. Find out who she was and why she matters. With thanks to my contributors for this Episode  Christine Checinska Curator of African and African Diaspora Fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Instagram @Checinskachristine Ashley Gray, Director of Gray MCA – an expert in mid-century textiles and co-curator of the recent exhibition on Modern British Female Designers at Messums, Wiltshire. Instagram: @GrayMCA Alexis Shepherd: Clothes Designer and Friend.  I provide a full transcript, pictures, links to the work of the contributors to these podcasts, and a list of resources that have inspired me on my website at: www.hapticandhue.com/listen. If you would like to sign up for your own link to the podcasts as they are released, for extra information and a chance to access the free textile gifts that I’ll be offering for each podcast in this series then please fill out the very brief form here or find it on the Haptic and Hue Listen page above. If you are interested in a long read or two, or want to know why and how cloth speaks to us then you can find writing at www.hapticandhue.com/read  You can follow Haptic and Hue on instagram  on Facebook or Linked in under the Haptic and Hue name. You can see more of my work and that of other makers there or on the website. And if you’ve got a great idea for Series Two (coming in the New Year!) then drop me a line via the website. Have fun and enjoy your own making practice or just listening to the chatter of cloth!     

History is full of the sound of spindles, the clatter of mills and the reek of dye baths as the knowledge of how to make beautiful fabrics has been gathered around the world. This episode introduces Haptic and Hue’s first series of podcasts and starts to uncover some of the buried tales of textiles. I provide a full transcript, pictures, links to the work of the contributors to these podcasts, and a list of resources that have inspired me on my website at: www.hapticandhue.com/listen.  If you would like to sign up for your own link to the podcasts as they are released, for extra information and a chance to access the free textile gifts that I’ll be offering for each podcast in this series then please fill out the very brief form here or find it on the Haptic and Hue Listen page above.  If you are interested in a long read or two, or want to know why and how cloth speaks to us then you can find writing at www.hapticandhue.com/read   You can follow Haptic and Hue on Instagram @hapticandhue on Facebook or Linked in under the Haptic and Hue name. You can see more of my work and that of other makers there or on the website.  And if you’ve got a great idea for Series Two (coming in the New Year!) then drop me a line via the website.  Have fun and enjoy your own making practice or just listening to the chatter of cloth!