Single Day Events
or
Sewing Our Hopes & Dreams Through Sujini Embroidery
Workshop
An online workshop delving into the exquisite world of Sujani embroidery from Bihar. Led by Bhuvana Moorthy, a seasoned seamstress, and Jayanthi Moorthy, founder of Aksara, this session will explore the intricate art of Sujini tribes' stitching. Participants will discover the rich history behind these fexpressive textiles and create their own embroidered patches to be incorporated into a quilt. Join Aksara for a creative journey celebrating this unique form of Indian embroidery! #SujaniEmbroidery #TextileArt #OnlineWorkshop
For the workshop participants will need: some old clothes made into square patches of 6x6 inches, embroidery thread and needle, embroidery frame, paper and pencil, carbon tracing sheet.
Aksara’s mission is to bring to the forefront traditional and contemporary ideas and thoughts about Indian culture in creative and meaningful ways. Aksara’s carefully curated education programs in the form of events and workshops are designed to create deep cultural learning. Aksara organizes unique workshops and edutainment events in museums, libraries, schools, and other community spaces. These education programs vary from being participatory to performative and exhibitory to experiential. They have won Education Awards and Grants for our programs that have creatively engaged various communities in New York City.
Inside The Designer's Studio
Open Studio
Join Pollack for morning coffee and a behind-the-scenes look at the company’s SoHo studio. Rachel Doriss, VP and Design Director, will share her process of designing a textile—from the spark of inspiration (often from unexpected places) to hand-drawn artwork and the many production techniques that can be used to achieve the final result. Learn how choices of color, texture, scale, luster, and fibers all play their part.
Pollack is a boutique design company, specializing in unique, innovative designs, and using a large and varied tool box of artistry, fiber contents, yarns and weaving techniques. The company got its start 30 years ago with the launch of its collection of textiles targeted to the high-end interiors market. Since then, the line has flourished and expanded into the contract, residential and hospitality markets, as a more decorative aesthetic was combined with the company’s solid technical foundation. The wide-ranging collection is celebrated for fabrics that easily cross the lines of these individual segments–fabrics marked by sophisticated design, intricate construction, nuanced color palettes and timeless style.
Macramé Basics
Workshop
In this workshop, students will learn foundational macramé knots: square knot, spiral knot, horizontal and diagonal clove hitch knot. They will then practice creating structures using all of them.
Macramé has a long history, from the Moors teaching the Spanish and its peak in Italy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It was first used as a decorative fringe on household items such as curtains, sheets and towels.
In Brazil, macramé is often developed in areas where fishing is the main source of income, due to the similarity between the types of rope and knots used in fishing and macramé.
The technique is widely used in textile art for making tapestry panels. For this class, first students will learn the basics to later start their own tapestry panel.
This class is suitable for all levels!
Tatter is a non-profit cultural arts organization whose mission is to explore the medium of textiles to tell human stories and cultivate understanding.
Tickets cost $65.
Exploring the Space: A Tour of FIT's Weaving and Knitting Lab
Open Studio
Join FIT in it's campus in Chelsea for a tour of the Weaving and Knitting Lab, hosted by the Textile Development and Marketing Department. Attendees will explore the lab space and learn about the various looms and knitting machines that are housed at FIT. These include state-of-the-art Stoll and Santoni knitting machines and a TC2 Jacquard loom, as well as a wide variety of hand-operated machines. Attendees will also get to view "Farm to Fabric," the curated work of TDM senior capstone students, on display in one of our exhibition spaces.
www.fitnyc.edu/academics/academic-divisions/business-and-technology/tdm/index.php
The Textile Development and Marketing (TDM) program at FIT takes the visitor from fiber to finished product, through all aspects of the industry, from knitting and weaving to dyeing and finishing to performance textiles. The program focus on critical issues like sustainability and biodesign and analyze textiles in our state-of-the-art lab.
Opening, Threads of Connection: Textile Dialogues in a Changing World
Exhibition Opening
Curated by Annie Chen Ziyao and Jing Pei, the winner of Dorothy Waxman International Textile Design Prize 2023.
"Threads of Connection" is a captivating textile art exhibition that showcases the innovative responses of young artists to contemporary societal issues. Featuring current students and alumni from the MFA Textile program at Parsons School of Design, this exhibition demonstrates how emerging artists use their craft to engage in meaningful dialogue with the world around them.
Visitors will experience a diverse array of textile techniques, including weaving, dyeing, crochet, knitting, felting, embroidery, and cutting-edge biomaterials. Each piece reflects the artists' commitment to sustainability, with many works incorporating natural dyes, recycled plastics, and other eco-friendly materials.
This exhibition not only highlights the technical mastery of these young artists but also their deep awareness of environmental concerns and their ability to address complex social issues through their art. "Threads of Connection" invites viewers to explore the intricate ways in which textile art can weave together creativity, sustainability, and social commentary.
This event also has an exhibition page check here: Exhibition: September 13th - 26th
Jing Pei is a textile artist known for her innovative approach to embroidery and commitment to sustainability. With a focus on zero-waste techniques, Jing creates exquisite textile pieces that not only highlight the intricate beauty of embroidery but also emphasize environmental consciousness. Her work often explores connections with water purification, showcasing her dedication to merging art with ecological responsibility.
With a passion for fostering artistic collaboration, Jing is organizing a textile art exhibition featuring her work alongside pieces by other talented artists. This event aims to celebrate the beauty and diversity of textile art, providing a platform for artists to share their unique visions.
Metamorphosis: From Textile to Textile
Workshop
Rachel Dana and Luisa Mantelli are hosting a workshop to infuse meaning into forgotten garments by creating new textiles.
The textile industry is a major contributor to the global waste problem. Discarded clothing still holds potential as a valuable material and can be repurposed by individuals to create something new.
By using fabric that is torn, stained, or that would otherwise be thrown away, such as clothing that is not in good condition to donate or mend, the participants will be guided on how to turn "trash" into yarn. Participants will be creating small tapestry pieces with these yarns, which can be the jumping-off point for more extravagant ideas and projects or simply sewn into little pouches.
Each participant should bring clothing or similar items that they are willing to cut up. Some examples of fabric to bring would be children's clothing which does not fit anymore but is too stained or has large holes in it. Or perhaps old fabric that isn't being used but has meaning, or scrap/sample fabric from other projects, etc.
They will supply a 10” tapestry loom for participants to work on, which they can take home to continue creating. Additional materials and tools will also be available.
Rachel Dana and Luisa Mantelli are two MFA textile students at Parsons School of Design who create their own materials from raw wool, natural dyes, upcycled fabric, and deadstock yarn.
Rachel has spent the last 20 years working with plant material in a wide range of techniques, including botanical illustration, farming, and 10 years as a pastry chef. For the past 5 years she has focused on textiles, foraging for color, spinning, weaving, knitting, and creating large sculptural pieces.
Luisa creates textile pieces through spinning, weaving, knitting, and crocheting, working with themes related to land, space, and nature. She has a background in architecture and design, which is the base for her understanding of the environment that surrounds people.
Tickets cost $20.
Wearing The Unstitched In India
Workshop
Traditional Indian wear uses the beautiful length of unstitched textile to drape, twist and fold around the body. Both men and women wear them in many different and similar ways to cover their whole body (like saree), lower body (like dhotis), upper body (like dupattas or chuniris) or simply as accents around the neck (like gamcha) and head (like turbans). These lengths of cloth vary from 108 inches to 40 inches.
In this in-person workshop, participants will learn to wear a saree (usually worn by women) in two or three ways and also learn to wear a dhoti (usually worn my men). For this workshop in Aksara studio, they will have sample saree and dhotis you can learn to wear. Participants are welcome to bring their own too. They will have educators who will help attendees step by step. They will offer light refreshments that will go with the theme of the workshop.
Aksara would really appreciate if participants can register few days ahead so it will help them to prepare.
Aksara’s mission is to bring to the forefront traditional and contemporary ideas and thoughts about Indian culture in creative and meaningful ways. Aksara’s carefully curated education programs in the form of events and workshops are designed to create deep cultural learning. Aksara organizes unique workshops and edutainment events in museums, libraries, schools, and other community spaces. These education programs vary from being participatory to performative and exhibitory to experiential. They have won Education Awards and Grants for our programs that have creatively engaged various communities in New York City.
Tickets cost $15.
Studio Opening: William Storms
Open Studio
Participants are invited to join William in his new studio space in Brooklyn, NY.
Everybody is welcome to tour the new studio, view available work, learn about upcoming workshops, and more.
From samples of his larger-than-life sculptures to the vintage yarn machines, numerous looms, or newly spun selection of Whirlwind Yarn — there is a lot to see! Come be a part of the opening celebration.
Interested in learning more? Register for an Artist Talk using the links below to learn more about the studio equipment and a preview of William’s process.
For Elevator access, please use the entrance at 67 35th street.
@william_storms @whirlwind_yarn
William Storms is a mathematically driven craftsman “fortunate enough” to have discovered the loom- whose work is an ongoing effort to produce three-dimensional work in a traditionally two-dimensional world.
Straddling the worlds of Art and Industry, Storms began his weaving career with a bespoke textile studio in Brooklyn, NY in 2011- where he was quickly introduced to the world of custom handweaving for the Interior Design Trade. This exposure to crafted, custom luxury became the foundation of his practice; working next as a Designer for several prominent Jacquard Mills and simultaneously establishing his signature as an Artist.
The continual focus on blending Craft with Custom Manufacturing is a staple in Storms’ body of work, as both an Artist and a Designer.
Swatch book of Stories
Workshop
In these socially, politically, and economically challenging times, let us come together as a community and weave our small stories of hope and random acts of kindness from our everyday lives into digital fabrics and build a virtual ‘Swatch book of Stories’ that we can share with each other.
For centuries, the roots of weaving, computation, and text have been intertwined with each other through their algorithmic patterns and coded natures. From these intertwined roots grows this idea of ‘Swatch book of Stories’.
Participants come together and translate their stories into digitally woven swatches using an experimental and generative digital loom. Through this process of weaving our stories, we learn about the intricacies within the relationships of computation, weaving, and text, as well as revisit some historic examples where these intersections brought forth hope and transformative change during their times. By the end, these digital swatches come together to build a virtual swatch book fostering a community where everyone can share their stories and swatches with each other.
Nishra Ranpura is an interdisciplinary designer, researcher, and creative technologist. Her work explores the interactions between the physical and the digital through experimental and speculative narratives. She researches, practices, and teaches across the disciplines of new media, digital fabrication, creative technology, and design research. Essentially, she makes things and breaks things. Sometimes, she writes, and oftentimes, she wonders.
Larsen Textile Award
Honoring Visionary Lidewij Edelkoort | Celebrating New York Textile Month
Saturday, September 21
2:00 - 5:00pm
Talk and Book Signing
PRESENTATIONS
RE-RUG: 2025 Rugs & Interiors
Guests and design enthusiasts are invited to hear about the RE-RUG revolution taking interiors by storm, livening up even tiny spaces with the most daring of artistic expressions. This visually inspiring presentation bears witness to the whirlwind of textiles, yarns and colours emerging for flooring - a school of art for art’s sake. The renowned design forecaster Li Edelkoort has researched numerous ideas to curate a selection of stunning examples for the future. In contrast to our troubled era, rugs are back in art and design as an aesthetic antidote. If the rug can be considered a key reflection of culture, it is conveying with a sense of urgency the need to come together and rejoice in what is human and convivial, that which brings us together and ignites empathy. The rug as manifest!
PROUD SOUTH: Fashion, Art & Photography from the Global South
A mesmerizing visual experience that celebrates the creative forces from the southern parts of the planet. Through the colorful and expressive lens of contemporary fashion, photography, styling and art, Li Edelkoort will present emerging and established talents from wide and far, illustrating that the axis of global creativity has indeed dramatically shifted. Edelkoort has investigated multiple themes that connect sensational talents that hail from Latin America, Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. Not defined by maps, hemispheres or the rigid fashion system of the north, PROUD SOUTH represents an emancipated international movement. Style, materials, motifs and colours are therefore innovated in myriad ways. Yet the power of the south also leads by example, teaching the important lessons of de-colonialization, inclusivity, ecology, spiritual harmony and grace.
Sunday, September 22
3:00 - 5:00pm
Inaugural Larsen Textile Award,Talk and Book Signing
PRESENTATION
Talking Textiles: Creativity & Awareness
Li Edelkoort
PROUD SOUTH
RE-RUG
PROUD SOUTH
@edelkoortnyc @lidewijedelkoort
Lidewij Edelkoort is a trend forecaster, publisher, humanitarian, design educator and exhibition curator. From 2015-2020 she was the Dean of Hybrid Design Studies at Parsons in New York where she founded a Textile Masters and the New York Textile Month festival. Her thought-provoking writings and podcasts have become increasingly popular at a time when she is regarded as an activist and champion for change. In 2020, she founded the World Hope Forum as a platform to inspire the creative community to rebuild a better society. She is also on the Creative Council for all of Gap Inc.’s fashion brands, advising the group on creative innovation and sustainable practice. In 2022, Edelkoort collaborated with Polimoda in Florence to establish an innovative new textile masters called Farm to Fabric to Fashion. Her latest publication, PROUD SOUTH, celebrates the creative forces from the southern parts of the planet.
Tickets from $35
WEAVING LULLABIES
Talk, Exhibition & Workshop
Weaving Lullabies is a two-hour online community weaving, sharing, and listening space to be held during the Autumn Solstice, Sept 21st, at 530p EST/ 230p PST/ 530a PHT
This solstice, ART WEAVE offers community prayers that meditate on what it means to nurture the mother, our creative selves, with the guidance of technologies that keep us abundant and nurtured in a time of destruction and rebirth.
“Weaving Lullabies” is an ancestral remembering, an in-the-moment guide and experimental conversation that uses the mediums of weaving, rhythm and sound lullabies.
Our prayer asks “What is the lullaby for the Mother?” “What is the lullaby for weaving new pathways?
In this prayer ART WEAVE honors the medicine of Weaving and the bearers that share this knowledge. According to the Yakan weavers of Basilan in the Philippines, Yakan being known as "People of the Earth" and "Daughters of the Rainbow", Weaving to them is akin to "Birthing". As birth - genes are passed through ancestry and generations, the knowledge, technicalities and skills of weaving are likewise passed on through generations. The backstrap loom connected directly to the body, the yarns representing the umbilical cord, and each weaver's inhale and exhale expands and births into woven threads.
In this prayer ART WEAVE honors the medicine of Sound. Through the sacredness of listening, they call on sound frequencies that continue birthing legacy stories of celebration that are remembered in our creative spirit, our ancestral bodies and Mother Earth. They use sound to help circulate prayer, to amplify our collective dialogue and to generate new portals of existence.
Their intention of opening up this space is to grow threads of what it means to nurture the Creator within us. They use the technologies of breathing, journaling, collective weaving and song to encourage collective and ancestral dialogue. What does it feel like to cradle our imaginative selves? To weave frequencies that bring new dreaming pathways a little bit closer? In this process, we remember the Creator Mother Earth and offer lullabies to her Creation of newness alongside us. This sharing is open to beginning weavers. Please join them if you feel called!
swirlostar.my.canva.site/nytm-weaving-lullabies-web-landing
@weavinglullabies @twinkleferraren @bellyoftheboo
ART WEAVE was conceived and created in late 2021, during the midst of the pandemic where it was crucial to find ways for Artists and Weavers to survive ~ the ART WEAVE project started with a collaborative project between Baguio’s Visual Artists and Textile Weavers – where Textile Weavers translated works of Visual Artists into Handwoven Textile pieces.
After exhibiting in June-July of 2022, ART WEAVE received several invitations and inquiries to exhibit some more and to expand the offerings.
Seeing the needs and reactions from the exhibits, there is a need for continuous dialogue between the weavers and artists.
Crossroads: Textile Intersections
Talk & Exhibition
Crossroads: Textile Intersections presents intricate hands-on textile work that examines age-old techniques reinterpreted in a modern format by three highly individual artists who manipulate fiber. The exhibition looks at their current visions of both art for the wall and for the body.
Ana Lisa Hedstrom (San Francisco) creates abstract and geometric patterns developed from the concepts of Japanese Shibori. Her signature art textiles are included in the collections of the Cooper Hewitt, The DeYoung Museum, The Museum of Craft and Design among others.
Jorie Johnson (Kyoto) designs and produces unique handmade woolen felt creations using her own innovative expressions of the 8,000-year-old central-Asian technique of feltmaking. She exhibits her contemporary feltworks in galleries, shops, and museums around the world.
Mary Jaeger (New York City) designs a collection of innovative hand-dyed stitch resist textiles conscious of sustainability, eco-friendly techniques and couture sewing. Her one-of-a-kind collections are available at her Brooklyn atelier, juried trade shows, galleries and fine shops worldwide.
The Artist Talks will start at 3 PM!
This event also has an exhibition page, check here: Exhibition: September 22nd - October10th
photo by Ana-Lisa Hedstrom
photo by Jorie Johnson
photo by May Jaeger
maryjaeger.com analisahedstrom.com joirae.com
@maryjaeger_ny @analisahedstrom @joiraetex
Three internationally recognized textile artists, Ana Lisa Hedstrom (San Francisco), Jorie Johnson (Kyoto), Mary Jaeger (New York City), are exhibiting their work at Mary Jaeger’s Brooklyn atelier to celebrate NYTM 2024. They initially met at the first International Shibori Network Symposium in 1993 in Arimatsu, Japan and continue to collaborate by exhibiting their work here and abroad.
Pratt Dye Garden Open House: A Celebration of Natural Color
Open Studio
Pratt Dye Garden invites participants to an evening of exploration and celebration of natural color. Tour the courtyard, join in the Crew led natural dye demonstrations using their 2024 yield, and learn more about the work of Thompson Street Studios. Enjoy refreshments from their all-natural mixology station, crafted in collaboration with their friends at Oko Farms.
The Textile Dye Garden is an ongoing project at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY serving as a resource for sustainability education and a hub for collaboration and experimentation within the Pratt and surrounding communities.
The garden offers workshops to Pratt Institute and the surrounding community educating on the sustainable and integrative process of natural dyes.
Weaving, Stitching and Improvisation
Exhibition
AbidWe_komorebi brought together a Lithuanian weaver Virginija Stigaite and Japanese stitching masters a year ago. The results of these collaborations are unique linen artworks on display - wall hangings and wearable art. Hiroko Takagi, Reiko Kobata and Keiko Futatsuya applied sashiko and kogin stitches to hand-woven linen. This allowed for less precise stitches "to dance" with nuanced hand-woven surfaces. Each piece of handwoven and hand stitched linen tells a story of cultural exchange, personal and universal: the Hill of Crosses in Vilnius, forest bathing, silence of birds in Tokyo, bark of pine trees in Takayama mountains, rivers of Nara, blue notes and jazz improvisations...
When the textiles arrived from Japan to the US, we commissioned Egle Špokaitė to respond to the artworks with choreography and her students performed for a short art film. The dancers wore linen tunics and, inspired by the Japanese-Lithuanian textiles, interpreted the processes of designing, weaving and stitching. The film is part of the installation.
AbidWe_komorebi collection captures the poetry of creation in an immersive and tactile way, as well as deepens respect for the artistry and multidimensionality of handmade items. The project was produced and curated by Sana (Svetlana) Gous, with support from Lili Almog at L'SPACE Gallery. We will be honored by dance, music, poetic or painting responses inspired by our collection of textile artworks and will include them into our future presentations. Please send your submissions to AbidWe_komorebi.
Gallery walk: September 26th
Closing performance: September 28th 4:00 - 6:00 PM
homofaber.com/en/discover/virginija-stigaite-weaving-lithuania
@AbidWe_komorebi @nytys_textile @sashiko.reisaian @sashikostory
Hiroko Takagi is from Tokyo. She is a legendary kogin artist, book author, custom style pattern creator, instagrammer and revered teacher whose work has been displayed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. She recently completed "Fifty-Three Stations of Tokaido", her monumental work of thirty years - a set of 55 colorful pieces executed in kogin technique.
Keiko Futatsuya is a master stitcher, sashiko yarn dyer and designer residing in Takayama, Japan. For AbidWe_komorebi, Keiko dyed cotton thread in 5 shades of indigo. In her work, with the roughly hewn linen cloth, she followed the wisdom of Zen saying "Clouds move. Water flows."
Reiko Kobata is covering whole kimonos with sashiko stitching in her studio in Osaka, Japan. In her wall tapestry, she reinterpreted an archeological map of Nara from the 700's. The titles of her pieces are evocative and full of hope: Memories of the Ancient Capital, Tradition and Reconstruction.
Eglè Spokaitè is a dancer and choreographer, an actress, ballet educator, fashion model, and public speaker. She founded Ballet Institute of San Diego when she moved to the US after a stellar career as Prima Ballerina at the Lithuanian National Theater.
AbidWe is a creative collaboration of Virginija Stigaite (in Vilnius, Lithuania) and Sąna/ Svetlana Gous (in Palo Alto, CA). AbidWe is championing artistic initiatives with Lithuanian handwoven linen textiles, enriching them with global influences and advocating the importance of preserving, showcasing and elevating traditional crafts through original designs. Together, Sąna and Virginija are creating linen-and-wire sculptural hangings, reinterpreting weaving traditions into contemporary art practice. Two of their artworks are for sale during the exhibit, both inspired by the KOMOREBI concept.
Open Studio: Helena Hernmarck
Open Studio
Witness Hernmarck’s monumental wall of brilliant, lustrous rya wool, and learn about the material choices, working methods, and creative questions that have informed her career and the ‘spectacular illusion’ for which she is known. Portions of Helena’s archive will be on view to illustrate her legacy of commissioned tapestries, and touch samples will be available to offer insight into her technique.
A pioneer of photorealistic tapestry in the 1960s, and the first to apply camera optics to handweaving in the 1970s, Hernmarck is credited with revolutionizing tapestry’s aesthetics and relationship to modern architecture. Her tapestries enhance buildings around the world and are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and other major institutions.
Hernmarck’s studio is located in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Please consider transportation options before registering for this event. The studio is a 15-minute drive from Purdy’s, Croton Falls and Brewster train stations on MetroNorth’s Harlem Line. Taxis are available from the Brewster train station. Address will be emailed to registered attendees one week prior to the event.
Helena Hernmarck is a Swedish tapestry artist who lives and works in the United States. She is best known for her monumental tapestries designed for architectural settings. Her mentors were three Swedish pioneers of the modern movement in textiles: Alice Lund, Edna Martin, and Astrid Sampe. After graduating from art school in Stockholm in 1963, she moved her studio to Canada and later to England before settling in the United States in the mid-1970s. Hernmarck now maintains an active studio in Ridgefield, CT.
Virtual Open Studio: Make Waves
Open Studio
Textile department of Pallas University of Applied Sciences encourages students to experiment with warp and weft manipulation tools for handlooms. The tools are mostly invented and built by professor of Pallas UAS Kadi Pajupuu. The course supervisor is Mari-Triin Kirs who participated in Dorothy Waxman contest some years ago and is now teaching weaving at our university. During their event students and teachers demonstrate with the help of videos the use of those tools on handlooms, analyze the samples and show photos of garments made with the help of warp and weft manipulation tools. The tools (RailReed, Stepping Reed, rigid heddle modules, floating warp devices etc) are made in the spirit of DIY.
www.facebook.com/tekstiilpallas
pallasart.ee/en/admission/departments/textile/
Pallas University of Applied Sciences is the only higher education institution of applied arts in Estonia. Pallas provides studies in three focus areas (design, conservation/restoration and the arts), which are organized into seven curricula: photography, painting and restoration, media and advertisement design, furniture design and restoration, leather design and restoration, sculpture and textile. The aim of the textile department is to develop the field of textile art and design in Estonia. The curriculum is broad and includes courses in fashion. The focus of the curriculum is both on individual skills as well as cross-disciplinary collaboration.
TOAST Circle Pop Up | Embroidery Play Workshop With Tatter Textile Library
Workshop
For centuries, embroidery has been practised in many forms as a means of decoration and artistic expression. A single strand of thread can be stitched, twisted, knotted or coiled, to create an infinite array of shapes, textures and designs. With intention, even the most basic of marks, stitched by the hands of the novice, can achieve incredibly beautiful results, transforming neutral fabrics into works of art and giving a new lease of life to worn garments.
In this workshop, you will be introduced to hand embroidery, with basic stitches taught and practised, and design ideas discussed.
Established in 1997 in Wales, TOAST began with nightwear and loungewear, inspired by nature and the surrounding landscape. The collections were designed with a relaxed sense of ease and made with quality materials in long lasting silhouettes.
Today, our approach remains true to our beginnings – creating simple, modern and functional pieces intended to last for years to come.
Our clothing, homeware and accessories are produced in collaboration with artisans, weavers, and mills from across the globe. We work together to support local communities, preserving craftsmanship and traditional techniques.
Tickets cost $55. All materials will be provided.
Li Live in New York
Presentation
The founder of NYTM is back in NY for the first time in 5 years. We Welcome Li to New York to give her legendary presentations on her vision of the future.
Thursday, September 26th Programme:
9:00am Doors open
9:30am ANATOMY OF FLUIDITY: S/S 2026 Fashion & Textiles, presented live by Li Edelkoort
10:30am ANALOGY OF FLOWERS: S/S 2026 Colour Forecast, presented live by Li Edelkoort
11:00am Break
11:30am INTERIOR CHILD: 2026 Home, Interiors, Colours & Materials, presented by Li Edelkoort
12:30am Extended Q&A
12:45am Approximate end
This event is organized in collaboration with the MFA Textiles at Parsons the New School.
@edelkoortnyc @lidewijedelkoort
Li Edelkoort is a trend forecaster, publisher, humanitarian, design educator and exhibition curator. From 2015-2020 she was the Dean of Hybrid Design Studies at Parsons in New York where she founded a Textile Masters and the New York Textile Month festival. Her thought-provoking writings and podcasts have become increasingly popular at a time when she is regarded as an activist and champion for change. In 2020, she founded the World Hope Forum as a platform to inspire the creative community to rebuild a better society. She is also on the Creative Council for all of Gap Inc.’s fashion brands, advising the group on creative innovation and sustainable practice. In 2022, Edelkoort collaborated with Polimoda in Florence to establish an innovative new textile masters called From Farm to Fabric to Fashion.
This event is paid
Soft Connection Lab
Talk
Soft Connection Lab is a four-year research project embedded in the University of KASK in Ghent, Belgium. Within the Lab they explore the possibilities to restore the emotional connection with each other and our material surroundings. In a world increasingly dominated by digitalization – which disconnects designing from making - they believe in the value of hands-on experiences, fostering deeper connections with the material, the object, and the people they are interacting with.
During the talk, they are happy to introduce their newly developed methodology that aims to stimulate a conjunctive design attitude. They will share their experiences and interesting footage on the ongoing research. Inspired by forgotten artisanal textile techniques and the social cohesiveness of maypole dancers, the team has researched transversal creative making methods which add an intangible emotional value to the created objects. Besides scaling up and slowing down to enhance insight, they’ve developed a set of four Soft Tools. These four Soft Tools function as their new design vocabulary and contain various obsolete braiding techniques. With these four tools SCL aspires to restore the emotional bonds between makers, consumers, and objects.
Parallel to the talk, they’ll launch our design challenge Healing through braiding. They invite enthusiast makers to use our Soft Tools to heal an object, transforming it and imbuing it with new significance. By exploring repair and restoration, emotional links can be forged between individuals, their material world and society.
Soft Connection Lab is a research project embedded within KASK – School of Arts HoGent in Ghent, Belgium. A collective of five researchers and designers is exploring whether ingenious textile techniques can be transformed into co-creative methodologies and healing artifacts.
In our Western industrialized society, the processes of designing and making are often disconnected. Soft Connection Lab aims to develop methods to reunite these processes through a conjunctive design methodology. Drawing inspiration from ingenious braiding techniques and the social connections exemplified by maypole dancers, the team investigates how this collective energy can enhance the emotional relationship between makers, consumers, and objects. They aspire to determine if this process can serve as a catalyst for sustainability.
Asiatica Indigo Pop-Up
Exhibition
A 4-day POP-UP exhibition and sale of our celebrated one-of-a-kind clothing made of vintage Japanese textiles, contemporary Japanese fabrics from NUNO and other distinctive textiles.
Asiatica plans a unique and stylish installation including accessories, vintage indigo kimono and other special items.
photo Stuart Heidmann
photo Andrew Crossland
They are designers, makers and retailers of clothing and accessories made of fine, rare and original Japanese fabrics.
Their retail store and workshop have been in Kansas City for more than 45 years. They also deal in vintage kimono some of which are represented in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Transactive Memories
Workshop
The Organic Internet is part digital and part human. Participants will delve into what this means in practice during this 1.5 hour embroidery workshop.
Led by artistic researcher Pamela Nelson, with a contribution from Dutch artist Anna Andrejew, participants will materialise this system- both by looking at what is readily available information about ourselves online, and by entrusting another participant with a memory, intended only for them. A piece of information stored in another participant, encoded and visualised will become an embroidered broach over the course of the workshop.
Materials required: a phone/laptop with access to internet, scissors, a needle, threads, felt backing, glue and pins. Attendees must have these with them for the workshop.
Pamela Nelson is an artistic design researcher from Ireland, currently based in Amsterdam. For the last four years she has been looking into how slowness and feminist values can be inserted into the digital design process using embroidery and sewing circles as a tool.
Kurume Kasuri: Weaving Tradition into the Future
Talk & Exhibition
This is a special one-day exhibition and presentation during Textile Month in NYC, where Sakata Orimono is proud to showcase the timeless art of Kurume Kasuri. This event will provide a rare opportunity to immerse in the rich history, vibrant present, and innovative future of this traditional Japanese textile.
The day will feature a keynote presentation by Mr. Kazuo Sakata, the visionary behind Sakata Orimono, who will take participants on a journey from the origins of Kurume Kasuri to its contemporary relevance. Mr. Sakata will share his insights on the intricate production process, the cultural significance of this craft, and the steps being taken to preserve and spread awareness of Kurume Kasuri both in Japan and internationally.
The event will also highlight the creative perspectives of three talented textile artists who have participated in the Sakata Orimono Craftsman Experience Program. These artists, all graduates of the Parsons School of Design Master’s Program, will share their experiences from their time in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, where they immersed themselves in the art of Kasuri weaving and the local lifestyle.
They will discuss how their time in Kurume has profoundly influenced their artistic visions, highlighting the unique characteristics that make Kurume Kasuri so distinctive. This program is not only for artists with deep knowledge of Kurume Kasuri or weaving; it is also accessible to anyone, regardless of prior experience. Join them for this exhibition and presentation to hear about their experiences and learn more about the Sakata Orimono Craftsman Experience Program.
Additionally, attendees will have the chance to view an exclusive exhibition of artworks created by previous residency participants, inspired by their exploration of Kurume Kasuri.
This exhibition will also offer a glimpse into the future of Kurume Kasuri, showcasing the work of young Japanese artists who are reinterpreting this traditional textile for modern artistic expressions.
Just as the double ikat of Kurume Kasuri intertwines vertical and horizontal threads, this event aims to honor tradition while fostering innovation, weaving together the past, present, and future of this extraordinary textile. Sakata Orimono invites you to be part of this enriching experience.
sakataorimono.com/en/index.html
SAKATA ORIMONO INC, founded in March 1948, is a distinguished name in the world of traditional Japanese textiles, located in the heart of Fukuoka, Japan. The company specializes in the intricate art of Kurume-Kasuri, a textile technique unique to the Kurume region. This method involves skillfully weaving vertical and horizontal threads to create complex patterns that are both visually striking and exceptionally comfortable, improving with age.
SAKATA ORIMONO INC continues to be a beacon of cultural heritage and innovation, fabricating exquisite Kurume-Kasuri that is cherished worldwide.
Contemporary @ Heirloom presents Cristina Wright
Talk & Exhibition
Join Heirloom for a talk and exhibition where Zach Zaman and team will host artist Cristina Wright as part of their Contemporary @ Heirloom series that spotlights local contemporary fiber artists, highlights their process, unique themes, and the ways in which traditional techniques are celebrated and pushed forward.
Cristina Wright (she/they) is an explorative artist and collector originally from South Carolina. Wright holds a BA from North Carolina State University for Art and Design. Wright’s initial textile and fiber studies have been integrated with photography and other pictorial finds. As a self taught photographer, Wright captures the colors of natural world and personal moments with family and strangers. Driven by dyeing, weaving and quilting, Wright builds from personal dreams and reflections from the past. Wright intersects narratives from American history and folklore through photography, textiles and found objects.
600+ Wool Skirts: Collection Preview and Conversation
Talk
Join fashion archivist Sarah C. Byrd in conversation with Mae Colburn and her mother, Carol Colburn, about a collection of 600+ secondhand wool skirts assembled by Mae’s grandmother, Audrey Huset (1922-2022), between 1960 and 2000.
This spring, Mae, Carol and other family members worked together to catalog the entire collection, before moving it from Carol’s home in Duluth, Minnesota to Mae’s rag rug weaving studio in Brooklyn, New York. In the process, they created a striking photographic record of the wool skirts, now viewable on the collection website.
For this event, Mae and Carol will introduce the collection and trace its evolution to date, as well as discoveries made during their cataloging process. In conversation with Sarah, they seek to create a broader platform for discussion about home collections, inter-generational stewardship, and possible futures for this collection and others like it.
Sarah C. Byrd is a textile archivist with a special focus on American designers and the artifacts of daily living. She currently teaches courses related to the history, preservation, and material culture of fashion and textiles at FIT, NYU, Parsons, and the Textile Arts Center, and is co-founder of the Fashion Studies Alliance.
Mae Colburn is a scholar and weaver with a particular interest in textile archives, collections, and legacies. She works as archivist for tapestry artist Helena Hernmarck and collects her own weaving activities under the name Common Loom.
Carol Colburn is Professor Emerita in Theatre, Costume Design at the University of Northern Iowa. Her graduate studies included art history, museology, and textiles and clothing. She currently teaches sewing workshops at North House Folk School and John C. Campbell Folk School.
The Blending Project I
Open Studio
New York Textile Month is a time when textile makers create radical conversations and connect with their ingenious community. This coming 2024 New York Textile Month, Annie Coggan and Janis Stemmermann will be inviting people to Russell Janis Gallery for two days of community quilting on a series of digitally printed textile images. These images are generated by combining Coggan and Stemmermann’s immediate bodies of work. Images built by ceramics, chairs, block printing and smocking are all blended by the Midjourney AI platform, creating more than just patterns but a series of provocations. The large scale digital images will result in four life size quilts.
At the September 27th and 28th 2024 quilting sessions, Annie and Janis will discuss and demonstrate their use of AI, ponder their collaboration and simple quilting techniques; all to create a new brand of collaboration where haptic practices and tecnology unite for a new textile future.
Artists Russell Steinert and Janis Stemmermann met in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1990 and launched the Russell Janis website in 2012 as a platform to experiment with presenting visual, cultural and art-making ideas. In 2014, they moved into the current studio location. They facilitate and exhibit projects with invited artists across disciplines.
In 2020, during the pandemic, Russell and Janis established a presence at Fiddle Styx and studios for their art practices in the northwestern Connecticut in Sharon in a former childrens’ violin school.
Crochet & Tell
Workshop
It’s like “Show and Tell”, but crochet. You get it.
Participants are welcomed to bring a project they’re working on, a project they’d like to begin, or a project they’ve recently finished!
Either way, participants can bring a crochet hook and come hook in William’s new art studio and yarn factory in Brooklyn, NY.
Ticket includes one 4oz cake of yarn, a selection of Whirlwind Yarn will be available for their choosing.
Refreshments and yarn provided!
@william_storms @whirlwind_yarn
William Storms is a mathematically driven craftsman “fortunate enough” to have discovered the loom- whose work is an ongoing effort to produce three-dimensional work in a traditionally two-dimensional world.
Straddling the worlds of Art and Industry, Storms began his weaving career with a bespoke textile studio in Brooklyn, NY in 2011- where he was quickly introduced to the world of custom handweaving for the Interior Design Trade. This exposure to crafted, custom luxury became the foundation of his practice; working next as a Designer for several prominent Jacquard Mills and simultaneously establishing his signature as an Artist.
The continual focus on blending Craft with Custom Manufacturing is a staple in Storms’ body of work, as both an Artist and a Designer.
Tickets cost $30.
Talk & Presentation: YOROKE-ORI (Ondulé Weaving) by Yukiko Yokoyama
Talk
Loop of the Loom is featuring a talk and presentation by textile artist Yukiko Yokoyama, renowned for her YOROKE weaving (aka Onduree weaving technique). This in-person event is a rare opportunity to meet Yokoyama, visiting from Japan, and discover the beauty of this contemporary meticulous craft. During the presentation, participants will learn about her 50 years of experience in dyeing and weaving while demonstrating with a loom and viewing her work. Attendees will also hear stories from her creations and participate in a Q&A session. If it's not possible to attend her other workshops or are just starting to weave, don't miss this!"
Loop of the Loom is a wonderful retreat for those seeking relaxation through textile art. It allows participants to unleash their infinite creativity using looms and various textures. Since 2005, we have offered ""Zen weaving"" a free-spirited approach to weaving with SAORI's weaving philosophy that breaks away from traditional weaving concepts.
At their two weaving dojos, they sell Japanese natural dyes, organic yarns, and SAORI looms, carefully curated with sustainability and wellness in mind and suitable for environmentally conscious crafters.
Tickets costs $30.
World Hope Forum ANTI_FASHION
ANTI_FASHION
Curated by Li Edelkoort & Philip Fimmano, Co-Founders, WHF
Since its creation in 2014, Li Edelkoort's much-talked about ANTI_FASHION Manifesto was the first to raise awareness about the shifts and upheavals experienced in the global garment system. Ten years on, the world has changed as much as the fashion industry itself; often welcoming a more restrained approach that combats fast consumption, spurring a powerful movement towards sustainability, creativity, diversity and uniqueness. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of ANTI_FASHION, World Hope Forum is pleased to present a special webinar, sharing stories of people that lead by example — a slow fashion revolution that includes independent brands, folk favourites, outsider artists, artisan makers, textile farmers and style philosophers.
This free online September event is hosted in collaboration with New York Textile Month and forms part of our ongoing Talking Textiles educational programme.
The winner of 2024 Dorothy Waxman International Textile Design Prize will also be announced in the conference!
The World Hope Forum was launched on October 24 during Dutch Design Week, during the depth of the pandemic caused by Covid-19, and founded by Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano, in collaboration with Dezeen as a media partner. The objective of this platform is to federate, to bring together the major players who have developed new industrial, economic, and more virtuous processes, where the center is people. The World Hope Forum’s main goal is to create a holistic global platform for the exchange and expansion of knowledge, innovation
Carbon Farm Tour 2024
Farm Tour
Join New York Textile Lab at Faraway Farm Alpacas to dig into healthy soil and see how your material sourcing can have a positive impact on climate change.
Tour the farm and meet innovators from the agricultural, design, and manufacturing industries who are actively working to shift our regional textile systems to regenerative, abundant models. Explore Climate Beneficial textiles and engage in a Q&A panel to learn about carbon farm protocols, cooperative economic frameworks, and other strategies to help us grow a textile industry rooted in social and environmental equity.
Our Carbon Farm Planner will give a talk about practices that are used on the farm to sink carbon into the soil and visitors will have a tour of Faraway Farm to learn about their composting system. Hear from experts about regional fiber cultivation, processing and manufacturing, and the connection between soil health and fiber quality. Learn about building a bioregional farm- to- product supply chain focused on slow growth models. Visitors will get to see the alpacas up close!
TRAVEL DETAILS
Take the train from Grand Central Station to Croton Harmon
10:45 AM arrives at 11:53 PM (train to Croton Harmon)
10:50 AM arrives at 11:43 PM (train to Poughkeepsie)
11:23am arrives at 12:37pm (train to Croton Harmon)
A shuttle will take you to and from the farm, PLEASE reserve your spot!
email info@newyorktextilelab.com
New York Textile Lab is a design and consulting company. We design yarns and textiles that connect designers to fiber producers and mills to help grow an economically diverse textile supply ecosystem. The resources that we provide give designers agency to make better decisions about their social and environmental investments. Our textiles embody deep value through our sourcing and production practices. The fibers we use are grown on healthy, climate beneficial soil within our region, and we partner with mills and manufacturers that are local, transparent, and ethical.
NY Textile Lab believes that the world's textile production should grow out of abundant, regenerative systems that emerge from collective thinking, rather than centralized systems that rely on extraction, scarcity and competition.
Workshop: KASURI Warp Dyeing with Japanese textile artist Yukiko Yokoyama
Workshop
Loop of the Loom receives Yukiko Yokoyama, a Japanese artist with 40 years of experience who is also holding a third exhibition in New York this fall, to teach simple techniques with many secret tips for warp dyeing and methods for setting the warp threads to maximize pattern potential. This technique not only highlights her unique Yoroke weaving but also serves as a valuable ticket for advancing to someone next stage of hand weaving. This is an intermediate level but beginners level are also allowed, however, the instruction will be tailored for those with some knowledge of warp setting on a two-shaft loom.
Participants will practice with pre-dyed Kasuri yarn by warping. And the instructor demonstrates how to thread them onto the reed and insert them into a 2-shaft loom. If time permits, some participants may try threading on each loom. After grasping the image post-threading, each participant will dye their own undyed wool yarn. Dyeing will use synthetic dyes and microwave methods. Attendees can take home the dyed yarn, but it will be wet, so please bring a plastic bag for transport.
They recommend also attending a Yoroke weaving workshop (9/29 or 10/5), which will add to your skills and help you create even more beautiful Yoroke weaving.
Loop of the Loom is a wonderful retreat for those seeking relaxation through textile art. It allows participants to unleash their infinite creativity using looms and various textures. Since 2005, we have offered ""Zen weaving"" a free-spirited approach to weaving with SAORI's weaving philosophy that breaks away from traditional weaving concepts.
At our two weaving dojos, we sell Japanese natural dyes, organic yarns, and SAORI looms, carefully curated with sustainability and wellness in mind and suitable for environmentally conscious crafters.
Tickets costs $200.
The Blending Project II
Open Studio
New York Textile Month is a time when textile makers create radical conversations and connect with their ingenious community. This coming 2024 New York Textile Month, Annie Coggan and Janis Stemmermann will be inviting people to Russell Janis Gallery for two days of community quilting on a series of digitally printed textile images. These images are generated by combining Coggan and Stemmermann’s immediate bodies of work. Images built by ceramics, chairs, block printing and smocking are all blended by the Midjourney AI platform, creating more than just patterns but a series of provocations. The large scale digital images will result in four life size quilts.
At the September 27th and 28th 2024 quilting sessions, Annie and Janis will discuss and demonstrate their use of AI, ponder their collaboration and simple quilting techniques; all to create a new brand of collaboration where haptic practices and tecnology unite for a new textile future.
Artists Russell Steinert and Janis Stemmermann met in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1990 and launched the Russell Janis website in 2012 as a platform to experiment with presenting visual, cultural and art-making ideas. In 2014, they moved into the current studio location. They facilitate and exhibit projects with invited artists across disciplines.
In 2020, during the pandemic, Russell and Janis established a presence at Fiddle Styx and studios for their art practices in the northwestern Connecticut in Sharon in a former childrens’ violin school.
Tapestry Weaving Workshop
Workshop
Amirtha Arasu and Lin Qiqing will host a workshop to teach the basics of tapestry weaving and how to use a simple frame loom. Participants will be introduced to non- traditional materials such as hand-made paper yarn, and natural fibers such as cotton, hemp, and linen. Each participant will be able to take a hand-made loom home after the workshop, so you can keep on weaving!
Fibers will also be provided.
amirthaarassu.wixsite.com/amirtha-arasu
Amirtha Arasu and Lin Qiqing are both distinguished textile artists, each with a unique approach to weaving.
Amirtha Arasu is based in New York and is renowned for her woven sculptures that blend man-made and natural materials. Her work examines the relationship between humanity and the natural world, using intricate textures and combinations to evoke a dialogue about environmental and existential themes.
Lin Qiqing (pronounced Chi-Ching), based in Brooklyn, explores themes of feminism, language, accessibility, and politics through her textile art. Her weaving practice addresses these complex concepts, using textiles as a medium to reflect on and engage with social and political issues, often highlighting the power of materiality to convey nuanced narratives.
Tickets costs $30.
Workshop ” YOROKE＂Weaving
Workshop
Join Loop of the Loom for a unique opportunity to delve into the captivating world of Yoroke-ori and dying with master weaver Yukiko Yokoyama.
Loop of the Loom will hold a workshop to learn the rare hand-weaving technique of Yoroke-ori, aka Ondure weaving, which creates enchanting curves on warp threads. They have invited Yokoyama from Japan, who possesses outstanding skills and experience among the globally rare Ondure weaving artists, to offer the participant to learn special weaving techniques using unique tools and the techniques of warp dyeing that enhance them over the course of two days.
The dyeing technique to be learned this time can be applied not only to Yoroke-ori but also to regular weaving. As the weaving workshop includes the process of setting meticulous warp threads, it is designed for intermediate to advanced-level participants.
During Yokoyama's visit to New York after 8 years, she will generously impart the masterful techniques and knowledge born from 50 years of experience to many people.
Don't miss this extraordinary opportunity to explore the art of yoroke-ori with Yukiko Yokoyama.
Loop of the Loom is a wonderful retreat for those seeking relaxation through textile art. It allows participants to unleash their infinite creativity using looms and various textures. Since 2005, we have offered ""Zen weaving"" a free-spirited approach to weaving with SAORI's weaving philosophy that breaks away from traditional weaving concepts.
At their two weaving dojos, they sell Japanese natural dyes, organic yarns, and SAORI looms, carefully curated with sustainability and wellness in mind and suitable for environmentally conscious crafters.
Tickets costs $300.
EcoThreads Sustainable Smart Textile Workshop
Workshop
Please join The Hybrid Body Lab for a one-day workshop in NYC to DIY sustainable functional fiber for e-textiles.
E-textile fabrication combines soft textile materials and hardware prototyping processes. However, rapidly prototyped e-textile projects often become a mixture of textile and electronic waste that presents challenges to recycling. The permanency of the material can become an added environmental burden. The EcoThreads sustainable smart textile workshop will let participants incorporate sustainable practices into their smart textile craft and will cover hands-on experience for fabricating EcoThreads materials.
During this workshop, attendees will get hands-on experience learning wet spinning techniques for functional fibers and fabricating e-textile swatching for various sensing functions. This workshop will focus on the experimentation of material and technological investigation and let them incorporate their own artistic style into your fabrication. Using biodegradable material choices, EcoThreads aims to provide a path for individual creators to incorporate sustainable smart textile practices into their work. They will guide the participants through the process of working with EcoThreads, from thread fabrication to swatch creation using your preferred textile crafting technique: weaving, knitting, braiding, and stitching. At the end, they will host a discussion and reflection session to allow attendees to share their experiences with other people in the workshop.
www.hybridbodylab.com/ecothreads-workshops
The Hybrid Body Lab at Cornell University, founded and directed by Prof. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, focuses on the invention of culturally-inspired materials, processes, and tools for crafting technology on and into the body surface. Designing across scales, they explore how body scale interfaces can enhance our relations with everyday products and both natural and man-made environments. They conduct research at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction, Wearable & Ubiquitous Computing, Digital Fabrication, Interaction Design, Fashion Design, and Body Art. They synthesize this knowledge to contribute a culturally-sensitive lens to the future of designs that interface the body and the environment.
Regeneration of Flax: Linseed, Linen, Shive & Oil
Exhibition
The Parsons Healthy Materials Lab presents Regeneration of Flax: Linseed, Linen, Shive & Oil at the Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries on 5th Avenue in NYC. The exhibition will display the breadth of applications of products from the flax plant and encourage increased regional development of flax fiber in North America. Through the diversity of innovative designs, historic and current, our goal is to reconnect designers with the lifecycle of their materials.
Flax has been used for centuries for ropemaking, as a food source, and for textiles. It is a bio-based replacement for petrochemical-based products. The entire flax plant (Linum Usitatissimum) can be utilized, leading to zero-waste, healthier materials for textiles, finishes, paints, insulation and flooring. Through showcasing photography, material samples, written text, diagrams and artwork, the exhibit will display the flax plant through its life cycle, in various applications, and ultimately its compostability. Currently, fiber flax is primarily grown in Western Europe. Our exhibition will bring discourse to revitalization efforts of flax for linen textile production in North America. Additionally, the exhibition will highlight and display the use of linseed oil and shive byproducts for the built environment.
In response to the current climate crisis, our exhibition and related public programming will contribute to the crucial discussion concerning carbon sequestration, regional economies and the ongoing shift towards healthier, bio-based materials.
Exhibition: September 30th-November 12th, Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries 66 5th Avenue, NY
Opening & Panel Discussion: October 7th, Register Here
Spinning Workshop: October 30th, Register Here, Limited Registration for Students of Parsons
Healthy Materials Lab is a design research lab at Parsons School of Design. They are dedicated to a world in which people’s health is placed at the center of all design decisions. They are committed to raising awareness about toxic chemicals in building products and to creating resources for designers and architects to make healthier places for all people to live. With a dedicated team of design researchers, faculty, and student researchers, they work every day to creatively raise awareness of the impacts materials can have on our lives… and equip designers and architects with knowledge to build healthier places for all people to live and understand the lifecycle of their material choices.
Conversation with the Artist: Digital Weaving & Plant Technology
Galactic Garden Exhibition Tour & Artist Discussion Event
“Galactic Garden” by Robin Kang celebrates the fusion of organic wisdom from ancient civilizations and electronic futurism. Inspired by her travels to the Amazon rainforest, where she studied indigenous textile techniques and medicinal plant technologies, “Galactic Garden” merges the traditional craft of weaving with modern computational methods. This integration envisions a harmonious coexistence between technological advancements and ecology.
Kang uses a digitally operated Jacquard loom, which is a contemporary evolution of the first binary-operated machine and a precursor to early computers, to hand-weave her tapestries. Her vibrant artworks explore themes of information processing blending mystical energy and symbolism with elements of computer glitches and digital mark-making. She combines organic yarns from plant materials and natural dyes with glittering iridescent synthetics to create imagery that melds motherboard hardware with natural forms inspired by the Art Nouveau movement’s textile patterns. In “Galactic Garden,” the vibrancy of the natural world meets the complexity of the digital so as to present the unique juxtaposition and harmony that can simultaneously be achieved between these two seemingly opposing forces.
Join them for Drinks & Snacks at Hudson Eats following the event!
This event also has an exhibition page, check here: Exhibition: August 20th - November 11th
Robin Kang is a Brooklyn-based artist, educator, and student of ancient mystical lineages. Her art reinterprets the tradition of weaving within a contemporary technological context. Utilizing a digitally operated Jacquard hand loom, the contemporary version of the first binary operated machine and argued precursor to the invention of the computer, she hand weaves tapestries that combine mythic symbolism, computer related imagery, and digital mark making. The juxtaposition of textiles with electronics opens conversations of reconciling old traditions with new possibilities, as well as the relationship between textiles, symbols, language, memory and spirituality.
Robin has practiced the art of weaving for over 10 years, teaching courses in fiber arts, fabric dyeing, and digital weaving. Kang holds a MFA from SAIC and is a recipient of the 2017 NYFA Fellowship in Craft/Sculpture. Robin has studied ancient textile techniques with Mayan, Quechua, and Scandinavian weavers and has been initiated into the Amazonian Shipibo tradition, to learn the mystical textile techniques of the lineage. Robin highly values the sacred histories of textile arts, seeking to align her creative and spiritual practices.
Threads of Memory
Exhibition
During New York Textile Month 2024, four graduate students from the Swedish School of Textiles—spanning both the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs—are proud to present their innovative degree work. This exhibition showcases the intricate craftsmanship and deep knowledge required to create textile pieces in an increasingly digitalized world. As emerging designers, they share a commitment to sustainability, recognizing the vital role it plays in shaping the future of design.
In a time when the digital realm often overshadows the tangible, these textile designers emphasize the importance of staying grounded in our craft and environment.
Their works draw inspiration from their surroundings, telling stories and conveying awareness through textile techniques. Each artist in this exhibition integrates sustainable practices into their creative process, making deliberate choices that reflect a deep respect for the environment and a desire to influence the future of design positively.
This event also has an exhibition page check here: Exhibition: September 17th - 30th
work by Josephine d'Avis
work by Marije Dijkstra
work by Hedda Lundström
work by Boukje Kemper
boukjekemper.nl marijedijkstra.com
@boukjekemper @heddalundstrom.textile @marijexdijkstra @fine_davis
The artists for this show are four graduate students from the Swedish School of Textiles: Boukje Kemper Hedda Lundström, Josephine d'Avis and Marije Dijkstra.
People’s Paper Puff Jumper | Workshop with Isabel Berglund
Workshop
Presented in TEXTILE TAKEOVER, a weekend-long showcase of innovation in Nordic textile art at Scandinavia House, join them for an adult art workshop with Danish artist Isabel Berglund! In this three-hour workshop, participants will join Berglund in creating a performance-piece, “People’s Paper Puff Jumper,” a work knitted by hand in paper yarn. The participants in the workshop will hand knit puff sleeves in light gray paper yarn with a colored edge that emphasizes the puff sleeve. The puff sleeve will be added to a larger hand-knitted piece, which will eventually become a large textile installation in the form of a communal paper sweater. The viewer will be able to enter the work and stick their arms through the pouffe arms and thereby become part of the work. The craft of “knitting” is set aside for a process where the work is created by the handprints of many different people.
All materials will be provided. TEXTILE TAKEOVER is presented in partnership with New York Textile Month.
Isabel Berglund uses yarn as a material to both embrace and challenge well-known shapes and objects. Sculpture and installation being her elements, Berglund’s works unfold in the boundary between the recognizable and the abstract where objects such as table legs, dressers, sticks, and bulky shapes blend. These well-known elements seem to be remodeled and given new meanings as they are covered in knitted cotton yarn. In the hands of Isabel Berglund, the knitting appears strong and energetic, often with loose ends fluttering in all directions and Berglund's knit allows her to make a shift or a displacement of her motifs; The works appear fluid in their form whether the knitwork is presented alone or as an organic extension of found objects. In this way, Isabel Berglund creates new rhythms in the recognizable objects, and she challenges the form and function which are otherwise clear. Isabel Berglund's works unfold as sculptural objects that are subjugated to a constant investigation of material, color, and space keeping the material's aesthetic quality and tactile sensibility in focus. The work titles are an entrance to a large, conceptual universe and the sculpture suddenly appear as animated objects that are awakened through their organic shapes and expressions. Isabel Berglund is interested in how different identities can concretely materialize in her works, and for that reason, she has on several occasions invited others to participate in the craft side of creation.
Isabel Berglund lives and works in Copenhagen. She holds an MA in Fashion Knitwear from Central Saint Martin’s College of Fashion and Textile, London and a bachelor in textiles from the School of Design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. In 2024, Isabel Berglund received the Ejvind Kold Christensen award and in 2018, Isabel Berglund received the Danish Arts Agency’s three-year work grant. Isabel Berglund is represented by Galleri Specta, Copenhagen.
Tickets cost $30.
Community Patchwork Lavender Sachet Workshop
Workshop
Textiles are Love. A vessel for our bodies, they protect us from the elements and help us to feel safe, beautiful and seen. Through them we express our identities, cultures and histories. Often we treasure them for the precious memories hold. Join M Patmos in the garden for an afternoon of patch working and shared conversations with textile artist Sue Allbert of Various Mediums Inc. They’ll swap stories and make patchwork lavender sachet together.
Participants can bring your own cherished fabrics or work with their swatches.
Lavender provided by Catskill Mountain Lavender in Upstate New York catskillmountainlavender.com
Refreshments will be served.
Established over ten years ago, M.PATMOS designs modern wardrobe staples and sophisticated, textural knitwear meant to be passed down to future generations. Focused on high quality and minimizing our environmental impact, they’ve worked with small family owned factories and workshops for many years, merging sustainable artisan hand crafted techniques and technology to create beautiful designs in luxurious, natural fibers. They opened their shop in the fall of 2018 in Brooklyn, New York where they focus on bringing the best from like minded independent designers.
Tickets costs $25.
TEXTILE TAKEOVER
Scandinavia House offers a weekend in September filled with contemporary textile art, including artist talks, workshops, performances, and an exhibition showcasing the diverse techniques and expressions of Nordic textile artists.
Fragments of Faith: New pathways through the culture of natural dyeing
Talk, Exhibition & Workshop
Community textile creation with Blue Light Junction & Oko Farms
Join the artists of Blue Light Junction (Baltimore, MD) and Oko Farms (Brooklyn, NY) to create a communal textile art piece on site at Oko Farms’ waterfront Williamsburg location. We will gather in celebration of stories, lineages, reconnections, journeys and fellowship. Surrounding ourselves in the natural environment, we will come together to learn, craft, and commune as our ancestors before have done. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about traditional ways of dyeing and creating fabric with plants while working together to collectively create something improvisational and new.
The event will start with a discussion-based panel from our textile artists. Kenya Miles of Blue Light Junction, Yemi Amu of Oko Farms, and Kenn Pan of Oko Farms (with other guests) who will share their experience, cultural practice, and new knowledge around the revitalizing field of traditional natural dye and textile production. Event participants will then receive a short instructional lecture on the traditional plants, materials, and techniques we will be using. Using the precious natural dyes and fibers grown on both of our farms, all participants will join together to make a communal textile art piece. Participants will also have the opportunity to take a small item home.
bluelightjunction.com www.okofarms.org
Founded by textile artist, farmer, and natural dyer Kenya Miles in 2020, Blue Light Junction is a natural dye studio in central Baltimore focused on growing, processing, and preserving the history of natural dyes and their artistic, practical, and commercial applications.
Founded by Yemi Amu in 2013, Oko Farms is NYC’s only publicly accessible outdoor Aquaponics Farm and Educational Center, where we grow plants and fish together sustainably in a recirculating ecosystem. In 2021, we started our Clothing Restoration Project, growing fiber and dye plants (cotton and indigo) to learn and preserve how to create textiles by hand the traditional way.
The Pocket Project by Sandye Renz
Workshop
The Pocket Project is an exhibition, workshop, and performance. It's also a talk, as everyone has a pocket story that they are happy to relate and we all commiserate, laugh, and chat as Sandye Renz crafts and sews on their new pocket.
Sandye encourages participants to bring the item they want pocketed (she has a rack of "blanks" just in case.) To make the actual pocket she has two small suitcases filled with fabric, pre-made pockets and pouches for attendees to rummage through and pick what they want me to use for their pocket, or participants can bring their own pocket materials. Sandye has all the tools and supplies. Now, where do you want this pocket?
“As soon as I learned to sew clothes I would add pockets to the patterns”- Sandye Renz. She doesn't sew her clothes anymore but she still puts pockets on almost everything. She is a pocket addict. It is so much easier to go through the day with pockets so why don't women's clothes have enough pockets? She schleps her sewing machine near and far to remedy this.
Upcycling with Block & Screen Print
Workshop
Cynthia Director is hosting a workshop in Upcycling with Block & Screen Print. This event will start with a talk about how one can embellish old or existing textile items around the house (tea towels, napkins, placemats, second hand garments, clothes) and give them a new life with some surface techniques.
After the talk, Cynthia will give a demonstration on how to create surface patterns using: block prints (sourced from India) and screen prints. All inks are water-based.
At this point, the participants can decide which techniques they want to use to reimagine their home textile item or garment.
Cynthia Director is a fashion and home textile designer and educator based in New York City and New Delhi. She has lived and worked in India for over a decade. Cynthia currently teaches screen printing for textile design at FIT, consults with design businesses, and has a home decor textile line of craft based products. She received her MA in sustainable textiles from University of the Arts London: Chelsea, and her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design.
This event is paid.
Paper to Cloth, Cyanotype Workshop
Workshop
Primary Essentials invites participants to join them for a hands-on workshop to explore the art of creating unique designs through cut paper collage and cyanotypes.
This workshop emphasizes design, featuring a number of drawing exercises to ignite creativity. Participants will create collages, produce images, transfer them to fabric using cyanotype techniques, and depart with a finished cyanotype masterpiece alongside a comprehensive instructional guide to take home. It's an incredible opportunity to learn how to design your own fabric!
Secure your spot in advance to attend the workshop, all sales are final.
(Rain Date: Sunday, September 15 at 10am-12pm)
The Primary Essentials opened in Brooklyn in the Fall of 2013 as a place to provide an edited mix of special objects for the home and gift, with an emphasis on how we live our daily lives.
Tickets costs $65.
Pop up : Martina Dietrich Couture / hand painted
Exhibition
Martina Dietrich will be participating in the Not-a-Normal Market NYC | Fall 2024, a curated market featuring over 120 intentional makers, sellers, and creators. She is the founder of Martina Dietrich Couture, a sustainable high fashion brand known for its one-of-a-kind, handcrafted pieces. Her designs are timeless, seasonless, and trend-free, crafted to build a sustainable and authentic wardrobe.
Martina Dietrich Couture is a sustainable direct-to customer collection of hand crafted one-of a kind creations partitioned in themes (not in seasons) for individuals to express their natural elegance. MDC combines style, quality and fit to the highest level.
MDC RE•Creations and MDC Zero•Waste accessoires were incorporated to amplify their philosophy of “MORE with LESS” and redefine luxury to observe true sustainability and give a fresh perspective on what luxury fashion (should be) in today's world.
Tickets costs from $17.85.
COVER Connect New York
Exhibition
COVER Connect New York is an annual boutique trade show for high-end rug brands, curated and hosted by COVER magazine, held at two neighbouring venues in central Manhattan. The show has become a firm favourite on the calendars of buyers, gallerists, retailers and design studios. The 2024 edition will feature a lineup of forty-five international rug and carpet companies, demonstrating the most creative, artisan-made weaving on the market today.
Since the first edition in 2021 CCNY has expanded with steady momentum, increasing the breadth of products offered by attracting more top-level dynamic exhibitors. The exhibitors have been carefully selected to complement one another, and to ensure a wide variety of production and styles will be available, under one roof.
The 10 newcomers for 2024 are Sergio Mannino Studio, Bespoke Tibetan Carpets, Banu Home, Izza Berber, S&H Rugs, Galiche, Lila Valadan, Momeni, Satar Carpet and Akhavan Farshtchi. Returning brands include Rug & Kilim, Tamarian, Samad Rugs, French Accents, Kirkit Rugs, Lapchi, Wendy Morrison Design, New Moon, Knots Rugs, Jaipur Living, Sumaq Alpaca, Creative Matters, Zollanvari, Battilossi and Creative Touch.
Expect to find beautiful handcrafted rugs from around the world.
Open hours:
September 14th and 15th, 9AM - 5PM
September 16th, 9AM - 3PM
COVER magazine is a quarterly title dedicated to the latest international trends, products and innovations in high-end handmade carpets and textiles for interiors. It is the leading publication in this fast-developing creative field. Since 2005, COVER has been at the heart of the world of contemporary handmade rugs. Buyers, architects and interior design professionals across the globe rely on us to discover new collections, network and keep up with the latest news. With unrivalled expertise and a far-reaching network, we connect makers, producers, designers and retailers worldwide.
Wool Dreamers at Cleo's Yarn Shop
Talk & Exhibition
Join Wool Dreamers for an evening exploring breed specific fibers from Spain! Wool Dreamers is a conservation driven yarn company working to uplift traditional fiber cultivation practices that have endured for centuries. Hosted by Cleo's Yarn Shop, this event will feature hands on sampling of Spanish wools, a trunk show, and a discussion on handwork as a conservation practice.
@wooldreamers @wooldreamers_us
Wool Dreamers is a mill based yarn company based in Mota del Cuervo, Spain. Wool Dreamers sources natural fibers cultivated throughout Spain to bring uniquely beautiful and hearty materials for knitting, crochet, weaving and anything you can dream of!
Wool Dreamers was born from the legacy of the Cabo family and their history in the Spanish wool industry. Their story begins more than 100 years ago when the family would purchase wool from local ranchers, wash it in the river by hand, and then spin and weave the fibers into blankets for horses and other agricultural purposes. As farming practices changed, the Cabo family adapted their operations and they acquired large-scale scouring and spinning equipment. These advancements allowed them to process raw wool and produce woolen spun yarns primarily for industrial rug making throughout Europe.
FLOCK: A Celebration of Regional Fiber
Fair
GrowNYC in partnership with The New York Fibershed and the New York Textile Lab will be hosting FLOCK: A Celebration of Regional Fiber, a first of its kind event at Union Square Greenmarket. This event will bring together local fiber producers and artisans for a day-long celebration of regional, regenerative textile production that’s happening right here in New York State! There will be locally sourced and produced textile products, fibers and yarns available at the market as well as interactive demonstrations run by local artisans throughout the day.
The New York Fibershed will also be on the scene showcasing the yarn making process of transforming fibers from raw fleece to finished woven fabric. Festivities will include demonstrations (including but not limited to spinning, carding, dyeing, etc), a community art project, and vendors from across the region selling their fiber products. The goal is to educate New Yorkers about the connection between the fiber arts and regional agriculture, illuminate the process behind local fiber production, and highlight the vital role our regional fiber farms play in climate change mitigation.
@unsqgreenmarket @nytextilelab @nyfibershed
GrowNYC is a leading 501(3)(c) environmental nonprofit in NYC. They touch the lives of more than 3 million New Yorkers by providing essential sustainability services and opportunities to make NYC a greener city. One where every New Yorker can enjoy a healthier, more sustainable life. Their mission is to empower all New Yorkers with equitable access to fresh, locally grown food, neighborhood green spaces, and care for the environment.
They envision a New York City where fresh, nutritious food is ensured as a basic human right. Where our foodshed is protected and local farmers prosper. Where all have access to places to gather and grow. Where we handle our waste responsibly. And where all New Yorkers, especially those with frontline identities*, are empowered to enact their vision of a thriving community.
Textile Medley: Bryana Bibbs and Anna-Maie Southern in conversation
Talk
Join Intertwine Arts for an online talk wherein artists we admire describe their textile influences. We will examine two artists’ fiber art, as well as discuss the intersections and divergences of their craft and experiences. Featuring Bryana Bibbs and Anna-Maie Southern, they will explore how their art and teaching practices reflect a journalistic sense of weaving, navigate mental health, as well as highlight the virtues of plain-weave.
Bryana Bibbs is a Chicago-based artist who works at the intersection of textiles, painting, and community-based practices. Bibbs earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Fiber and Material Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She founded The We Were Never Alone Project - a weaving workshop for victims and survivors of domestic violence, serves on the Surface Design Association’s Education Committee, and was named one of Newcity’s Breakout Artists of 2024.
Anna-Maie is a teaching artist and maker originally from the UK, now based in Manhattan. She studied BA Textile Design from University of Arts London, where she specialized in woven design and construction. Since then, Anna-Maie’s practice has evolved to focus on the Japanese weaving SAORI - a free-form approach to weaving that encourages experimentation and self expression. Anna-Maie loves to teach students of all ages and abilities, and is also hugely passionate about disability advocacy and the therapeutic benefits of art making.
intertwinearts.org @intertwinearts
The mission of Intertwine Arts is to inspire creativity, joy, and self-confidence through free-form weaving for people of all ages with disabilities or chronic illness. Intertwine Arts envisions creating and promoting inclusive communities of weavers by partnering with organizations that provide programs and services to people with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities or chronic illness together with their families and caregivers. We aim to promote accessibility in the arts, as well as champion the legitimacy of disabled weavers in the art world.
TOAST Circle Pop Up | Intuitive weaving with fibre artist Kat Howard
Workshop
For this site-specific installation created for TOAST, Kat Howard was inspired by how we physically carry pain and how the turbulent interior of the self can come to emulate a tempest. Using recycled textiles from TOAST, she thematically links how we are formed and shaped by our past experiences
Alongside the display, she will be hosting a Learn to Weave Intuitively workshop where you will be guided through the process of hand-weaving with waste yarns and fibres. The workshop will explore texture, technique, and creativity while practising the basic skills of tapestry weaving on a frame loom.
Materials will be provided but you are welcome to bring any fabrics of your own to include in your weaving.
This event also has an exhibition page check here: Exhibition: September 2nd - 29th
Established in 1997 in Wales, TOAST began with nightwear and loungewear, inspired by nature and the surrounding landscape. The collections were designed with a relaxed sense of ease and made with quality materials in long lasting silhouettes.
Today, our approach remains true to our beginnings – creating simple, modern and functional pieces intended to last for years to come.
Our clothing, homeware and accessories are produced in collaboration with artisans, weavers, and mills from across the globe. We work together to support local communities, preserving craftsmanship and traditional techniques.
Tickets cost $45.
A Fiber Journey: Textiles Farmed and Made in New York State
Tour, Talk & Exhibition
The wool industry in New York State, in particular the Hudson Valley, is diversified and vibrant, but not without its challenges. Discover the various qualities of New York wool and the diverse products produced through a virtual tour of the Hudson Valley's textile supply chain, from farm to market. We'll begin with tours of farms and continue, at a mill, manufacturers, designers, makers and retailers. Isabella Rossellini, actor and Long Island sheep farmer, will introduce a panel made up of farmers and industry professionals who will summarize the strengths of our fiber industry as well as the challenges, and marketing opportunities, leaving time for Q & A.
The Hudson Valley Textile Project is a 501c3 non-profit organization whose approximately 150 members come from all parts of the textile supply chain, having come together to share their knowledge and resources. We support regionally sourced, sustainably processed, and ethically manufactured farm to fiber products through education, collaboration and market development initiatives.
Opening: Fortnight
Exhibition Opening
Visionary Projects presents Fortnight, a 2-week exhibition in collaboration with Haus Incubator, global fashion innovation agency. The show happens in the heart of Chelsea where art & fashion merge for a Fortnight.
The Haus Incubator event will be held at a stunning 3700 sq ft gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan. The venue is centrally located, easily accessible, and neighboring other showrooms and trade shows, providing an ideal setting for HAUS INCUBATOR. They will incorporate modern and functional design elements to create an engaging atmosphere, including a lounge area featuring a contemporary artist to foster a comfortable and inspiring environment.
Artwork curation and opening night by Visionary Projects.
Featuring Artists:
Agathe Bouton, Alex Wolkowicz, Bridgette Duran, Caroline Zimbalist, Emily Croteau, Fernanda Uribe, Lærke Lillelund, Marie Heléne Boone, Martina Dietrich, Roberto Godinez
visionaryprojects.org hausincubator.com
@visionaryprojectsnyc @hausincubator
Visionary Projects is a global art platform with an active community. We serve as a space for discovery, inspiration and connection. Our mission is to make the contemporary art world more accessible and approachable while working with some of today’s top emerging artists. Through art curation, membership and bespoke events we are able to bring this to life.
Haus Incubator aims to revolutionize the tradeshow and showroom experience by creating a dynamic platform for mission driven independent brands with a strong DNA to connect with industry leaders. Their mission is to provide a curated space where independent brands can showcase their innovative perspectives, foster meaningful connections, and shift industry trends.
Opening: Padina Bondar
Exhibition Opening
For Textile Month, Padina will be presenting a surreal collection of art and fashion, produced with groundbreaking textiles that redefine sustainable design. Her initiatives integrate traditional craft into technology, modernizing existing tools and techniques to develop new sustainable systems in textile production.
Through her practice, she has developed many proprietary tools and systems the most notable being a spindle that spins LDPE (aka garbage bags) into a range of monofilament yarns that can be used for domestic or industrial textile production.
The plastics used in this process are sourced from street waste bins. This 0-waste process produces minimal secondary pollution and is more energy efficient than the industrial alternatives. This versatile yarn can be knit, crocheted, laced, woven, braided, and even sewn in a variety of garments, accessories, or framed art.
Inspired by early anatomical, botanical, and entomology imagery; used to build a narrative that explores the impact of plastic pollution on the human body and the environment. Padina's mission is to establish new industry standards, create with purpose, and harness the power of design to contribute to a bright, sustainable, and impactful future.
Padina Bondar is a fashion designer, textile artist, and all-around maker with a passion for beauty and sustainability. In an average week, her work consists of diving waist-deep in recycling bins, felting human hair, dumpster diving, sterilizing tampon applicators, building electronics, designing tools, spinning, weaving, knitting, lacemaking, or simply drawing. She renders “waste” with beauty and value, giving it new life and stopping it from ending up in landfills and oceans. Some notable materials in her portfolio include tampons, cardboard, human hair, straws, wrappers, food waste, and more. Subscribe your trash is her treasure! Join her on her mission to save the planet and change the fashion industry, one plastic bottle at a time.
K´ita Tarwi en el Mechanic Shop Opening Block Party
Talk, Exhibition & Workshop
In 2016, archaeologists from George Washington University found a piece of a 6,000 year-old indigo dyed textile at Huaca Prieta (*), a prehistoric settlement in Peru. Until then, the oldest indigo-dyed fabric in existence was believed to be a 4,400 year old piece in Egypt. This piece gives a new perspective on the technologies developed across the American continent by its original inhabitants.
K´itha Tarwi en el Mechanic Shop is a public-art installation by artist María Elena Pombo inspired by this discovery at F&T Auto Repair Shop, a car-repair shop in Bushwick owned by a Peruvian-Dominican family. The installation uses deadstock silk organza dyed with Indigofera Suffruticosa grown in Puerto Rico by Trama Antillana and Indigofera Guatemalensis grown in El Salvador by Hacienda Los Nacimientos. Two of few projects growing native American indigo in present times.
The installation is named after a Quechua word for the indigo plant.
Opening Block Party
6:00pm - 7:00pm: Indigo Workshop with Fragmentario (María Elena Pombo)
6:00pm - 8:00pm: Andean Sounds by Mundo Extraño (Andrés Altamirano)
8:00pm - 9:00pm: Music Performance by Flutist Camilo Ángeles, Bassist Henry Fraser, and Drummer Jason Nazary
Sweet potato snacks inspired by Huaca Prieta, where the oldest remains of sweet potatoes where also found.
María Elena Pombo is a Venezuelan artist based in NYC. Since 2016 she has designed and taught classes on natural dyes through a decolonial and non-extractivist lens in cultural centers, botanical gardens, film festivals, nightclubs, and more, across the USA, Europe and Japan.
Andrés Altamirano is an Ecuadorian-born visual artist and photographer working primarily between New York City and Latin America.
Opening: New Work By Sue Allbert Of Various Mediums Inc.
Exhibition Opening
Mending, combining and re-configuring found and vintage textile scraps, Sue creates abstract compositions, essentially painting with fabrics. Her process is slow, deliberate, and instinctual, born of a deep love of fabrics and rooted in the traditions of quilting and mending that she learned as a child. Transforming and repurposing these common, everyday materials she asks the viewer to pause and take a closer look, to consider the histories of these fabrics and the new stories they are telling.
Various Mediums Inc. is a proud member of 1% for the Planet.
Join them in the in the shop to celebrate and view New Work by Sue Allbert of Various Mediums Inc. Refreshments will be served.
This event also has an exhibition page, check here: Exhibition: September 8th - November 6th
photo by Sue Allbert
photo by Felix Scaggiante
photo by Sue Allbert
photo by Sue Allbert
Established over ten years ago, M.PATMOS designs modern wardrobe staples and sophisticated, textural knitwear meant to be passed down to future generations. Focused on high quality and minimizing our environmental impact, they’ve worked with small family owned factories and workshops for many years, merging sustainable artisan hand crafted techniques and technology to create beautiful designs in luxurious, natural fibers. They opened their shop in the fall of 2018 in Brooklyn, New York where they focus on bringing the best from like minded independent designers.
Fiber Fusion: Crafting Sessions
Workshop
Step into a cozy Brooklyn studio for a fiber arts workshop during New York Textiles Month fiber arts workshop with Aneri and Mehak. Participants will Relax and unleash their creativity with fellow crafters in an inspiring indoor space. This event invites them to weave small tapestry pieces, crochet, knit, and embellish while enjoying the vibrant community of fiber artists. They will focus on mindfulness and sustainability, using eco-friendly materials and practices.
Whether they want to finish a project or start something new, this is the perfect space to share ideas and connect with others.
Creative Collaboration:
Participants are encouraged to bring their projects or materials and join others in creating unique and original tapestries while blending various techniques. If they lack materials— artists have plenty. Just bring their enthusiasm for crafting.
Sustainable Practices:
Experiment with incorporating natural elements like leaves, wool, and branches into your tapestry, fostering a more eco-friendly approach to fiber arts. This is a wonderful way to blend creativity with sustainability.
Community Connection:
Meet fellow crafters, share their knowledge, and get inspired by the projects around you. Whether they are experienced or a beginner, this event is a great opportunity to exchange tips and techniques with like-minded individuals. No experience is necessary—Aneri and Mehak have got you covered.
All Materials Provided:
Artists will supply all necessary materials, including naturally dyed fabrics and Saree yarn, for those eager to start something new or explore different techniques. Dive right in and start creating!
Join Aneri and Mehak for a workshop of creativity, collaboration, and a community of fiber artists and art enthusiasts. They look forward to seeing you there!
www.mehaksurana.com
www.aneri-shah.com
Aneri and Mehak are Indian textile artists based in New York, with recognition from the Surface Design Association, Fashion Studies Network, and Econyl Brand respectively. Their work is focused on sustainable practices while being culturally, environmentally, and geographically conscious of the materials they use and slow textile-making practices. Between them, they employ various range of techniques and they both have experience teaching at the prestigious Parsons School of Design, New York, while expanding their art practices.
Opening: The Beautiful Forevers
Exhibition Opening
The Beautiful Forevers is curated by Margaret Lanzetta
Artists: Steve DeFrank, Tamara Gonzales, Joyce Kozloff, Holly Miller, Margaret Lanzetta, and Sarah G. Sharp
The Beautiful Forevers, an exhibition of contemporary painting in dialogue with historic global textiles, opens on Saturday Sept 7th from 3 -6 pm. A conversation between the artists and Leesa Hubbell, textile designer and batik expert, will be held Saturday Sept 21st at 3 pm. The Beautiful Forevers presents a visual and conceptual dialogue between six artists and textiles drawn from artist Margaret Lanzetta’s extensive collection. This collection began with the acquisition of a blue and white cotton weaving in Luxor, Egypt in 1978. Her diverse collection now includes Guatemalan huipils, African bark cloths, Malaysian songkets, and Indian tie-dyed and block printed fabrics, etc. The title, The Beautiful Forevers, is excerpted from the 2012 non-fiction book by Katherine Boo, chronicling the lives of slum dwellers in Mumbai. These slum dwellers, like many textile artisans, toil anonymously; rarely credited for their work or talents. Yet, like textile artisans, they create works that are beautiful forever. Each artist has an affinity to a significant aspect of textiles: color: Steve DeFrank, symbolism: Tamara Gonzales, politics: Joyce Kozloff, pattern: Margaret Lanzetta, materiality: Holly Miller, and thread: Sarah G. Sharpe.
Opening Sat Sept 7, 3 - 6 pm
Regular Opening Hours 1- 6 pm
Sunday Sept 8
Friday Sept 13
Sat Sept 14
Sunday Sept 15
Friday Sept 20
Sat Sept 21 Panel Talk 3 pm with Leesa Hubbell
Closing: Sunday Sept 22
This event also has an exhibition page check here: Exhibition: September 8th - 22nd
Holly Miller, Stelle 2023
Steve DeFrank, Pervisity
Joyce Kozloff, Battle of Richmond 2023
Acrylic, collage and embroidery on canvas
30 1/4” x 30 1/2"
Tamara Gonzales, Poisi de Garden
In Margaret Lazentta's work, she investigate cross currents of world decorative traditions in relation to contemporary cultural, political, and environmental narratives. She combines the structure of patterned textiles with painting, silkscreening and digital technology to create tactile, layered works that explore conflicting references with centuries-old decorative motifs.
The Beautiful Forevers exhibition presents a dialogue between historical global textiles from the collection of Margaret Lanzetta and six contemporary artists. Artists include Steve DeFrank, Tamara Gonzales, Joyce Kozloff, Holly Miller, Margaret Lanzetta, and Sarah G. Sharp
Opening Party: ½ Flex
Exhibition Opening
‘1/2 Flex' is a three-day exhibition, September 6-8, hosted by Rag Rug Study Group (RRSG) that includes fresh-off-the-loom rag rugs by New York-based artists Mariah Smith and Mae Colburn and invited guest artist, Francesca Martinazzi from Italy. All three use scraps of worn, surplus and discarded fabric to create complex, meaningful compositions that refer to this medium’s domestic function while examining its aesthetic and narrative possibilities. The exhibition title, combining the terms 1.5-bedroom and 2-bedroom flex, refers to the flexible, improvised nature of NYC apartment living. If an apartment can be transformed from a 1-bedroom to a 2-bedroom, why can’t a 1.5-bedroom become a gallery? For this exhibition, RRSG is transforming Smith’s bedroom into an exhibition space to create a viewing environment and discursive context specific to this ‘flexible medium’ of rag rugs. ‘Flexible medium’ is Martinazzi’s interpretation of the title, ‘1/2 Flex,’ translated from English to Italian to English. She points out that this interpretation also evokes Anni Albers’ phrase, ‘pliable plane’.
Register to attend the opening party and / or visit the gallery during open hours.* We will send you an email with address and details.
*During open hours, we invite visitors to bring reworked textiles in all techniques to be documented for RRSG’s digital archive.
Opening Party on Friday, September 6, 6-8pm
Open Hours on Saturday, September 7, 12-6pm
Open Hours on Sunday, September 8, 12-6pm
photo Mariah Smith
photo Mae Colburn
@g_r_a_t_a @smithmariahs @commonloomstudio
Rag Rug Study Group is a research project that facilitates dialogue about textiles produced using worn, surplus, and discarded materials. They advocate an expansive definition of ‘rag rug’ that includes reworked textiles in all techniques including weaving, knitting, quilting, embroidery, crochet, mending, and sewing. They have a mailing list, host in-person events, and manage an online archive of the work they study. Rag Rug Study Group is a collaboration between New York-based artists and researchers Mariah Smith and Mae Colburn.
Alice Maher & Rachel Fallon: The Map Artist Talk and Opening Reception
Talk & Exhibition
Irish Arts Center presents “The Map,” a monumental textile sculpture by Irish artists Alice Maher and Rachel Fallon, commissioned by Maolíosa Boyle for “The Magdalene Series” at Rua Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland. “The Map” will be installed in IAC’s state-of-the-art flexible performance space with an accompanying sound installation. On Friday, September 6, IAC hosts an artist talk with both artists, a viewing of the work, and reception.
As an exhibition program, “The Magdalene Series” sought to consider the historical and cultural figure of Mary Magdalene as a powerful motif for varying explorations of language, agency, colonialism, and institutionalization.
The artists particular exploration of this theme led to the creation of a monumental textile sculpture, “The Map” (6.50m x 4m), sewn, hand embroidered and painted by both Alice and Rachel over a three-year period.
They approached the subject through the lens of the “mappa mundi,” in which the elements of the cartographer’s practice are used as a device to imagine and re-imagine the life, legacy and mythology of the Magdalene and its impact on women’s lives, through an Irish but also universal lens. “The Map” traces an historical, mythological and future cosmology that is open and fluid and full of possibility.
Irish Arts Center is a home for artists and audiences of all backgrounds who share a passion or appreciation for the evolving arts and culture of contemporary Ireland and Irish America. We present, develop, and celebrate work from established and emerging artists across visual arts, theatre, dance, music and more, providing audiences with emotionally and intellectually engaging experiences in an environment of Irish hospitality. In a historic partnership of the people of Ireland and New York, Irish Arts Center recently completed construction on a fully-funded $60MM state-of-the-art new facility to support this mission for the 21st century.
Welcome Stranger @TEMPEST - Opening Reception
Exhibition Opening
Tempest gallery presents the exhibition Welcome Stranger.
“The study & practice of craft is [] a form of material resistance against ethnic cleansing, genocide and occupation.”-Jenna Hamed
“The stranger, on the other hand, can also easily become and already is each one of us, as we exist as both subjects to ourselves and objects to others in the world.” -Laurel V. McLaughlin, “As Strangers And Refugees: Olu Oguibe’s Performing Monument” in Monument Lab.
For September 2024 NY Textile Month, a group of artists will present new work on layette pincushions. Titled Welcome Stranger, the group show will focus on amuletic craft and Palestinian steadfastness.
The current genocide and displacement of Palestinians stands in discussion with the hopeful beauty and labor inherent in these objects. We see layette pincushions as a punctum of resourcefulness, resilience, and evidence of a gifting culture amongst a community that supported each other through the serious mortal threat that childbearing and birth could be. Currently, giving birth in Gaza is more dangerous than it was for the Victorian women sewing layette pincushions in the 1800s.
The threads tying Victorian layette pincushions to Palestinian resistance are imaginary, but we are interested in the way material culture and especially amuletic or emotionally charged objects can widen our lens with which to see current events.
Research on the themes in Welcome Stranger by Lauren Bradshaw & Jenna Hamed will accompany the exhibition.
Please visit to see works by Taesha Aurora, Amir Badawi, Lauren Bradshaw, Katherine Earle, Francisco echo Eraso, Gigi Gruenburg, Jenna Hamed, Clare Hu, Vandana Jain, Ayqa Khan, Amalya Megerman, Theo Trotter, Defne Tutus and Natasha Vega.
This event also has an exhibition page check here: Exhibition: September 6th - 28th
Amir Badawi - photo_ Jenny Gorman @eyescamp
Clare Hu, Prospective Patch 14, 2023, 20" x 16", Double weave overshot, painted warp, digital image on fabric, duck cotton, thread
Lauren Bradshaw, Repletion, 2023, Embroidered shoulder pads
Lauren Bradshaw, Lush, 2024, Embroidered shoulder pads, hook & eyes
At TEMPEST, we want to talk about art in a maelstrom. We invite artists to be unafraid to broach difficult conversations and address colonial structures of violence through their practice in textiles, sculpture and installation. Through our programming and events, we aim to create community and a space for gathering, presenting work and building relationships in Ridgewood Queens.
We are open to scheduled visits outside of regular hours, please direct message us on instagram @tempest.gallery
How to Make Weaving Work For You
Workshop
In this relaxed and exploratory workshop, participants will be encouraged to try a range of loom types to find what works for them, as well as discover customizations to make weaving easier for their unique wants, needs, and difficulties. From frame loom to rigid heddle to backstrap, and from DIY to professional looms, participants will get to explore what mode of weaving works best for them. A range of materials will be available, from yarn to recycled materials to natural materials, and everyone is allowed to find their unique way of creating.
The mission of Intertwine Arts is to inspire creativity, joy, and self-confidence through free-form weaving for people of all ages with disabilities or chronic illness. We envision creating and promoting inclusive communities of weavers by partnering with organizations that provide programs and services to people with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities or chronic illness together with their families and caregivers. Intertwine aims to promote accessibility in the arts, as well as champion the legitimacy of disabled weavers in the art world. We also believe everyone should be able to experience the therapeutic benefits of weaving.
What Does Your Textile Day Look Like: 50 Days of Morning Notes
Workshop
Taking time to write down morning notes has been a habit for Tzu Li since 2021. Using words to record everyday life, experiences, emotions and feelings, became a way for Tzu Li to sort out her mind and talk to herself.
One day at the beginning of this year, Tzu Li came up with the idea of translating these morning notes into small pieces of textiles, where her passion always sits in. Furthermore, she’s attracted to the idea of regularly recording something for a while. She found a series of simple and direct, just day-after-day records, can be so powerful, so intriguing.
Inspired by each day’s deepest thoughts or feelings, Tzu Li translated these messages into her textile languages among knitting, weaving, quilting, mending, and many other techniques. Being familiar with playing with colors and textures, Tzu Li used left-over, recycled, or vintage yarns and fabrics she collected over times, and manipulated with different techniques to represent her morning notes.
Tzu Li invites the participants to interpret their days into a piece of textile.
In the workshop, participants will first write down one of their recent days, for one-page long, and then will highlight the strongest or most appealing sentences within the notes. Afterwards, Tzu Li will encourage the participants to pick fabrics, yarns, and any other appliqués, according to the emotions and feelings in those highlighted sentences. Having several textile elements in front, participants can be inspired by Tzu Li’s “50 Days of Morning Notes”, and will be guided by Tzu Li to create their own one-of-a-kind textile page.
This event also has an exhibition page, check here: Exhibition: September 7, from 12pm to 5pm.
Tzu Li Hsu is a knitwear designer and textile artist graduated from Parsons School of Design. In 2016, Tzu Li launched her knitwear label, to create and bring yarns and knits to more of those who share the same value of cherishing quality and details.
Over the past few years, with her fashion background, Tzu Li has developed from single medium of clothing to further interpretations in terms of textile throughout her creative journey. Having lived in New York, London and Taipei, Tzu Li embraces diverse cultures and experiences, which shapes her visual sensibility on textiles. Her work revolves around personal experiences and narratives in life, and continuously conveys the same context of colors and textures in diverse forms through different textile elements.
Opening: NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST
Exhibition Opening
NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST Peter Knapp unites the world with his Fashion photography is curated by Joji Mita.
Hideo Yamakuchi Presents Textile Art in Tribute to Peter Knapp’s North South East West Exhibition.
Peter Knapp is the legendary Swiss artistic director and influential photographer who unintentionally but indelibly inspired Japan’s media landscape with his pioneering fashion photography. In 1959, Hélène Lazareff, founder and editor-in-chief of French Elle, entrusted Knapp with the artistic direction of the magazine. Knapp’s innovative approach to applied fashion photography captivated the public and left a lasting impression in Japan, leading to the launch of an an / Elle JAPON in March 1970 by Heibon Shuppan, Co., Ltd. (now Magazine House, Ltd.), as a licensed extension of Elle in Paris.
Growing up in a renowned textile weaving family, Hideo Yamakuchi developed a passion for fashion and photography inspired by an an / Elle JAPON. The image chosen for his tapestry features the work of KENZO, aka designer Kenzo Takada, who, like Yamakuchi, is an alumnus of Bunka Fashion College. This intergenerational connection underlies their collaboration.
As Peter Knapp pioneered applied fashion photography, Yamakuchi invented photo-weaving, integrating personal “memories” into his textiles using unique weaving techniques. Traditionally, tapestries are limited to themes like religious paintings or picturesque landscapes. By merging this craft with digital technology, Yamakuchi enables weaving personal memories into his textiles.
Yamakuchi’s artistic theme, “encounter daily memories through woven memory,” is a tribute to Peter Knapp’s remarkable contributions to applied fashion photography.
This event also has an exhibition page, check here: Exhibition: September 6th - October 6th
www.yandgallery.com/hideo-yamakuchi-en
Born in 1962 in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, Hideo Yamakuchi is the third generation in his family’s weaving business. After graduating from Bunka Fashion College in 1988, he blended traditional weaving techniques with digital technology in 1990 and launched his artistic career in 1992.
Yamakuchi is an artist who portrays images through textiles, with “memory” as the central theme of his works. He likens the weaving process with warp and weft threads to the mechanism of memory in the brain, weaving his own photographs into textiles. In 1997, his book “Weaving Memories” attracted the attention of Jack Lenor Larsen. President of the American Craft Museum (now the Museum of Art & Design) in the U.S., leading to a solo exhibition at the Larsen Foundation’s Long House Foundation Gallery.
His works are part of the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Art & Design, and other museums. Yamakuchi has also produced numerous public works in Japan, including an official tapestry portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and a portrait of the Otocho of Sensoji Temple.
TOAST Circle Pop-Up With Designer Sarah Jean Culbreth
Workshop & Showroom
TOAST has collaborated with Sarah Jean Culbreth on a repurposed capsule collection. Sarah Jean, a textile historian, designs and makes clothing inspired by her research, focusing mostly on eighteenth and nineteenth-century fashion and vernacular dress.
Part of this event is a patchwork class hosted by Sarah at TOAST Brooklyn. In the class the artist will guide participants on how to blend patterned and plain fabrics using remnant TOAST material and those from her own collection. Participants will come away with their own handmade piece and the skills to create more at home.
This event also has an exhibition page check here: Exhibition: September 2nd - 29th
Established in 1997 in Wales, TOAST began with nightwear and loungewear, inspired by nature and the surrounding landscape. The collections were designed with a relaxed sense of ease and made with quality materials in long lasting silhouettes.
Today, our approach remains true to our beginnings – creating simple, modern and functional pieces intended to last for years to come.
Our clothing, homeware and accessories are produced in collaboration with artisans, weavers, and mills from across the globe. We work together to support local communities, preserving craftsmanship and traditional techniques.
Tickets cost $35.
Opening: Tentacular Threads
Exhibition Opening
"Tentacular Threads” is curated by Kathie Halfin, the exhibition "Tentacular Threads" delves into the intricate relationship between hybridity, the experience of everyday, and the process of making to explore how desperate elements converge to create new narratives and experiences. Featuring artists Natale Adgnot, Frid Branham, Rina AC Dweck, Kathie Halfin, Yudit Katz, Elizabeth Tolson, the show investigates the concept of tentacular thinking—a term coined by scholar Donna Haraway to describe a holistic approach to consciousness. Tentacularity acknowledges the multiplicity of converging and expanding threads of sentience that co-exist together, much like tentacles that allow organisms to sense, feel, and interact with their environment.
These artists explore "Tentacularity" through diverse materials and tactile experiences to connect with one another and the world around us, re-imagining the possibilities and forms of fiber art. Adgnot contrasts objective facts with cognitive biases through sculptures inspired by bird-related idioms and includes materials such as horse hair and thermoplastic to mark chapters of her life. Branham highlights the marks and flows in our environment left by nature and community through the practices of crocheting and drawing. Dweck's hair sculptures are intertwined with juxtapositions, braiding together organic and synthetic materials to reflect everyday diversity, while Halfin's woven sculptures re-establish a connection with diverse life forms through activation of human senses. Katz’s weavings evoke the architecture of the human body, inviting contemporary connections in fiber art, and Tolson creates ceramic looms threaded with delicate textiles to explore themes of fertility and motherhood.
The exhibition celebrates diverse forms of making, with artists communicating their hand-woven, sewn, braided, and crocheted narratives through haptic labor. Utilizing materials such as paper, raffia, human and animal hair, clay, discarded items, and found objects, they build bonds with their everyday surroundings. Through their work, these artists collectively emphasize the interconnectedness of lived experiences, natural environment and cultural narratives, creating a rich tapestry of sensory and conceptual engagement that bridges gaps in understanding of contemporary fiber art.
Opening event: September 5th 5-8pm
Closing event: September 19th 6-8 pm
This event also has an exhibition page check here: Exhibition: September 5th - 19th
Kathie Halfin was born in Crimea, Ukraine and raised in Israel. She is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist and educator working in fiber media, installation and performance art. Halfin earned her Masters with honors in Fine Arts from the School Of Visual Arts, (NY) and Bachelors from Shenkar College in Israel. Halfin presented her work in group exhibitions at the Bronx Museum AIM Biennial (NY), The Immigrant Artist Biennial, (NY), AIR Gallery (NY), NARS Foundation (NY), and Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, NY. Halfin had a solo show at the Ely Center Of Contemporary Art, New Heaven, (CT).
Halfin presented her performances at the Immigrant Artist Biennial: Contact Zone, Itinerant Performance Festival in Smack Mellon ( NY), Knockdown Center: Sunday Series, (NY), Art In Odd Places Performance Festival, (NY) among others.
Halfin has been an Artist-in-Residence at The Icelandic Textile Center and SIM Residency in Iceland . She was an AIM fellow at the Bronx Museum Of Art (NY) and received a full Fellowship at Vermont Studio Center. Halfin had two months of full Educational Fellowship at Wassaic Project Residency (NY) and was an artist in residency at A-Z West (CA) and Cha North Residency (NY).