My Background

I began weaving in 1990, thanks to a legacy from a family friend. 1992 – 95 was taken up studying for the Bradford Diploma of Handloom Weaving which I gained with Distinction in weaving.

After a year’s study at Loughborough College of Art & Design (now Loughborough University), I set up The Loom Room (1998) initially as a bridal fabrics designer and weaver. In 2001, an Artists’ Access to Art Colleges award from the Crafts Council took me to Manchester Metropolitan University (Alsager) which led me to develop my own range of fashion accessories.

Photo - Peter Marsh

Over the next couple of years, through setting up Staffordshire Open Studios, I moved towards fine art weaving and dyeing, which was confirmed in 2004 when I was funded by Creative Network, Arts Council England - West Midlands, and my local district council, Staffordshire Moorlands, to study jacquard weaving for 2 months in Florence, Italy at the Lisio Foundation, where an intensive summer course teaches design on computer, but with old-fashioned card cutting and card-lacing methods suited to my jacquard loom. 

These are examples of my work, created during my trip to Florence in 2004

In November 2005, I travelled to Lyon with a bursary from the Leonardo da Vinci project, facilitated by Birmingham City Council International Division, and formed a liason with the textile group "La Trame de Soi".  Future plans include a joint exhibition, hopefully in 2009 between La Trame de Soi and the Midlands Textile Forum, a group of textile artists here in the Midlands, with a venue in both areas. 

In September 06 I attended the opening of the International Women in Textile Art Biennial exhibition and conference in Costa Rica, my first international exhibition. 

This year (2007) I have been asked to set up a Weaving Workshop for the Public Authority for Craft Industries in Oman.  This project is for 60 students and my role is to set up the workshop with all equipment, train the teachers in shaft-loom weaving, and write the curriculum for a 3 year course.  I am keen to have the students learn their traditional weaving, still practised by the Bedouin and the mountain peoples, as well as learning shaft-loom weaving and modern business methods so that they can become entreprenurial designer-makers.  The disciplines covered will include spinning, weaving, dyeing, felting and knitting. 

I have also been asked to do research into medical fabrics. 

I have been a teacher for the last 15 years or so, and I offer residential and non-residential teaching courses from my home and studio in Staffordshire. I write articles for specialist art, weaving and lifestyle magazines and exhibit my work regularly.  My work can be found in private and public collections in the UK.

I am a member of the Association of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers (on-line guild), WeaveTech, Complex Weavers, Pro-Weaver, Handweavers Guild of America, and the Surface Design Association.

I am also a member of Design Gap,  thetextileartist.com, a member of the Designer Maker Forum (West Midlands), Axis, Textile Forum North West, The Textile Network, Art in Your Area, the Midland Textile Forum and the Federation of Small Businesses. 

I also subscribe to Selvedge, Crafts, Fiberarts, the European Textile Network, the European Damask Weavers Network,and am a Friend of the RBSA.

I was a founder member and have just stepped down as Chairman of Staffordshire Open Studios which enters into its 6th year this year, after another successful exhibition at Lichfield Cathedral in August and the Open Studios event on 14 - 16 and 21 - 23 September 07.