Lectures

Lectures / Talks

If you want an entertaining, knowledgeable speaker, then look no further! Here you can find talks for textiles groups such as the Weavers, Spinners & Dyers, and Embroiderers Guild.

There are more general topics for less specialised groups. There are talks that are applicable for University textile students as well. Suitable for any group, my general presentations include :

Ever Increasing Circles The subtle influence of designs and synchronicity. How ideas can come to you and how to take advantage of them when they do. More Information

The talk is about moving outside your comfort zone with confidence and thinking laterally and creatively so you can do what you are dreaming of doing with your craft.

Pictorially Speaking You can create images in your loom-controlled weaving without being a tapestry weaver. Utilising several techniques and showing examples of my work, More Information

you can see a vision of what you want to create, and then work out how to do it. You are shown how you can create pictorial images on a table loom, dobby loom and jacquard loom as well as ways which don't include any sort of loom. This is based on my own work.

The Textural Canvas Using examples of woven fabrics, this lecture encourages you to think about creating structural texture to form interesting dimensional fabric More Information

which can be an end product in its own right, or the start of further manipulation. Using examples of my work, you see how the inspiration of a textural fabric occurs and the stages I go through to create my version of the texture. For anyone interested in structure and fabrics that go bump, as well as those who like to mix techniques and embrace several crafts to create special effects.

Hattie's Tale This short history of the jacquard loom introduces you to the fascinating story of woven textiles' role in social history plus the drama.... More Information

of acquiring, moving and re-installing of a 2 ½ ton jacquard loom into my studio, training in Italy and the new use of the loom today and showing some wonderful examples of contemporary jacquard weaving.

Looming Life An autobiographical talk of weaving, personal development, business development and technical development including dobby weaving and jacquard weaving, right up to my current work.

Read what others have said to see if I could help you!

"One of the most enjoyable, informative and amusing speakers we have had in a long time was professional weaver Stacey Harvey-Brown. Stacey's enthusiasm is unbounded, her friendly, informal style kept us enthralled and the quality of her work speaks for itself. How I wish I had half her talent and dedication. She is an inspiration to us all'.
Gillie Russell-Mann - Bucks Guild of Weavers Spinners & Dyers

"Stacey's talk on Ever Increasing Circles enthused everyone who heard it. She was a thoroughly organised, professional and engaging speaker, and had an excellent variety of work with her to illustrate her talk and prompt discussion afterwards. I think everyone came away feeling motivated to push beyond their personal comfort zone, in most cases with some idea of how to do it. And everyone thoroughly enjoyed hearing how Stacey had pushed way beyond hers."
Wendy Morris - London Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers

"It was our great pleasure to hear your talk...a most interesting evening. The examples of your work were not only inspiring but so beautifully executed and so original."
Margaret Hansford - Glamorgan Guild of Weavers Spinners & Dyers

"Stacey 's enthusiasm is infectious. She is a lively, extremely knowledgable speaker who kept us spell bound with tales of her journey through weaving. I can still envisage her working and learning in Italy and then back home trying to move a huge jacquard loom into her workshop. Stacey is a talented weaver who understands not only her craft but also how to inspire an audience. What a pleasure it was to meet her." Lichfield Embroiderers

Mileage rate currently stands at 40p/mile, but this is subject to change as the price of petrol varies. I will always strive to contact you if the rate is forced to go up because of spiralling petrol prices.

Although I am happy to travel anywhere, if the distance is greater than 2 hours travel, I may ask to stay overnight. I am very happy to stay with a host family.

From Archive to Contemporary You can use archive collections and fabric analysis as an exciting starting point to a modern design approach with the wonderful collections from around the UK and beyond. More Information

This insight into Macclesfield Silk Museum, the ULITA (University of Leeds International Textile Archive) and fabrics from the Warners Textile Archive in Braintree, Essex, as well as Lyon (France) at La Maison des Canuts, Soierie Vivante and La Musee des Tissus, the Warner Textile Archive at Braintree, Wigan, Bolton and Leeds, Paisley's wonderful Museum & Art Gallery in Scotland, the National Museum of Wales, and the Whitworth Museum & Art Gallery in Manchester show how you can take ideas from the past and use them as a starting point in developing modern, contemporary textiles. This is a PowerPoint presentation with over 200 images to inspire, provoke thought and promote discussion.

Hattie's Tale This is a more in-depth look at the development and history of the jacquard loom, using a 2 1/2 ton industrial jacquard loom from Galashiels as a starting point .. More Information

to go back in time and follow the extraordinary story of drawloom development and the emergence of the jacquard loom and the industrial revolution. It brings the story bang up to date with the development of computerised hand-loom jacquards and shows exciting examples of jacquard weaving from around the world today. This is largely a Powerpoint presentation with real-life samples of hand-jacquard weaving on older looms and a TC-1 hand-jacquard loom.

Historical Research

My interest in historical textiles was awoken when I acquired my jacquard loom and whilst in Florence, Italy I had the opportunity to examine closely C15th and C16th Florentine fabrics, including velvets, brocades, and lampas fabrics at the Bargello Museum. I realised then what a wealth of design and manufacturing talent has been lost since those days and vowed to spend time on historical research into jacquard woven textile archives in the UK.

Since then, I have spent time researching to ensure the skills of past designers do not get lost to posterity. I have given both the above lectures in the US at the Complex Weavers' Seminars, and Convergence, the Handweavers Guild of America's biennial conference. I hope to continue to research archive collections in the future, and to give these lectures around the world to students who wish to learn from the past to inform and inspire their fabrics.