Haptic & Hue

Latest Episodes:

A Feeling of Wealth Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

Cloth and wealth have gone hand in glove for much of history: where there are textiles there has almost always been money, and often lots of it. The Medicis of Florence started life as wool traders in Tuscany before they became bankers, popes, princes, and queens. It was wool that started them on a journey that saw them become the principal financiers of the Florentine Renaissance, they were the backers of almost everyone who mattered including Michaelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael, Machiavelli, and Galileo and they weren't the only ones.

This episode looks at why and how cloth and money have been inextricably linked throughout history. It unravels the story of how what we recognise as the consumer society and the capitalist system began largely with cloth trading. It looks at the times in which cloth itself has become a currency and uncovers some surprising links between textiles and banking that many have forgotten.

If you go to Haptic and Hue's website at www.hapticandhue.com/listen, you will find a full transcript of this podcast and pictures of some of the work that is explored in this episode. You can also sign up there to get these podcasts directly in your inbox, and to have a chance to win some of the textile-related gifts I give away with each episode.

Virginia Postrel's book which was the principal inspiration for this podcast can be found at https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/haptic-hue-booklist, along with a number of other textile-related books that I have found interesting and enjoyable. It is hosted by a small independent shop in Dorset specialising in Nature and Story.

A Feeling of Sorrow May 20, 2021

Show notes

How cloth helps us grieve.

Sorrow is a universal human experience – whether it's for a loved family member, for a way of life that once was, or for events that engulf nations and sweep away millions.

The episode looks at how textiles are an essential part of the process of grieving, and how they bring us comfort and help us deal with deeply felt emotions. It looks at the special place cloth plays in mourning a much-loved father, the loss of a child or partner in political repression, or how they can help us commemorate those who were victims of appalling events like the Holocaust.

The issues this episode deals with are not easy, but in one form or another, sorrowing is something all of us will do in our lives, especially as we come out of a pandemic that has claimed millions around the world.

With thanks in this episode to Caren Garfen, whose stitched work on the Holocaust is enormously powerful, to Deborah Stockdale at the Centre for Conflict Textiles in Northern Ireland and to Judith Staley of Sew Over 50 for sharing the memory aprons, she made to remember her Dad.

If you go to Haptic and Hue's website at www.hapticandhue.com/listen, you will find a full transcript of this podcast, and pictures of some of the work that is explored in this episode. You can also sign up there to get these podcasts directly in your inbox, and to have a chance to win some of the textile-related gifts I give away with each episode.

The books that I found useful for this series can be found at https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/haptic-hue-booklist which is a small independent shop in Dorset specialising in Nature and Story.

A Feeling of Warmth May 06, 2021

Show notes

Unravelling the journey that fleece takes from the fells to fabric. This episode tracks how greasy wool bred in the wind and rain of a Lake District Farm becomes a smartly tailored jacket, a beautifully knitted pullover or a laceweight shawl, fine enough to pull through a wedding ring.

A Feeling of Warmth looks at the skills and processes needed from the shepherd, the spinner, the weaver, and the tailor before we can put a wool garment made sustainably and ethically on our backs.

Thanks to Maria Benjamin and John Atkinson, the farmers and entrepreneurs, Lara Pollard Jones of the Spinners, World of Wool, Sam Goates the weaver from Woven in the Bone, the tailor, Karyna Sukha from Fabrika, and the designer the maker Sally Cowell, from Leven Knit and Sew and to Donald S Murray for permission to read his poem, Woven in the Bone.

If you go to Haptic and Hue's website at www.hapticandhue.com/listen, you will find a full transcript of this podcast, and pictures of some of the fabrics and techniques we talk about. You can also sign up there to get these podcasts directly in your inbox, as well as having a chance to win some of the textile-related gifts I give away with each episode.

If you want to see more about the jackets and shepherds bags that are the subject of this podcast or find out more about John and Maria's work at Nibthwaite Grange Farm, with the knitting yarn, the fabric, the soap, the meat, or the holiday accommodation then the links are https://dodgsonwood.co.uk/about/ and https://nibthwaitegrangefarm.com/about/ You can see the full drama of this year's lambing on Maria's Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/levenknitandsew/

World of Wool can be found at www.worldofwool.co.uk

Sam Goates and Woven in the Bone are at http://www.woveninthebone.com/ or https://www.instagram.com/woveninthebone/

Karyna Sukha, whose London tailoring shop makes the jackets are at https://fabrika.london

Sally Cowell of Leven Knit and Sew – who makes the Shepherd's Bags can be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/levenknitandsew/

And the poet Donald S Murray can be found at http://www.donaldsmurray.co.uk/

A Feeling of Resilience Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

On the face of it repairing and reinforcing textiles simply prolongs the life of our clothes and helps minimize textile waste, things worth having – but for many, it also delivers much more than that. The French sculptor, Louise Bourgeois said: 'The act of sewing is a process of emotional repair', it helps to centre us, and tells us stories about ourselves and the resilience of our families and communities.

This episode looks at the case for mending and thinks about how different cultures approach this, from the wool-rich districts of Yorkshire with their darning to the rural areas of Japan with Sashiko and Boro textiles, and onto Indian traditions of telling stories in Kantha cloth and making something completely new out of something old.

Thanks to Claire Wellesley Smith, who is a community worker in Bradford, West Yorkshire, Hikaru Noguchi who lives in Tokyo and is an expert darner now writing a new book about Sashiko, and Ekta Kaul, who tells stories of place, history, and belonging through thread and fabric.

If you go to Haptic and Hue's website at www.hapticandhue.com/listen, you will find a full transcript of this podcast and pictures of some of the fabrics and techniques we talk about. You can also sign up there to get these podcasts directly in your inbox, as well as having a chance to win some of the textile-related gifts I give away with each episode.

If you want to see more of Claire Wellesley Smith's work you can find it on her website: http://www.clairewellesleysmith.co.uk/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cwellesleysmith/

Her new book: Resilient Stitch: Wellbeing and Connection in Textile Art is published by Batsford and can be ordered from independent booksellers at https://uk.bookshop.org/a/260/9781849946070

Hikaru Noguchi's website is at http://hikarunoguchi.bigcartel.com/, and she on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hikaru_noguchi_design/

Her book called Darning: Repair, Make, Mend can be found at https://uk.bookshop.org/books/darning-repair-make-mend/9781912480159. Her new book on Sashiko is due to be published next year.

Ekta Kaul's work can be seen on her website at https://www.ektakaul.com/. She is on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ekta_kaul/. Ekta is running virtual courses on Kantha stitching and a variety of other classes over the next few months – you can find details at: https://www.ektakaul.com/product-category/embroidery-masterclasses/

A Feeling of Transformation - Preparation Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

Is costume design magic or camouflage? The second part of A Feeling of Transformation, looks at the enormous heart and skill that goes into getting costumes right for screen and stage. Find out how costume designers look at textiles and fabric with a different eye: they think how this will tone in overall and how will it read on camera? A talented, young costume designer, Sinead Kidao, who has worked on films like Beauty and The Beast, Little Women, and The Dark Knight Rises talks about how she uses textiles and the role the deep hand-skills of embroidery, weaving, knitting, and tatting play in creating authentic costumes. Sinead has created the first Costume Directory to help other designers use sustainable textile makers who pay a living wage.

We hear from the Breakdown Artist, Jo Weaving, whose job it is to make costumes look lived in, from ballgowns to battle dress. She specialises in wear and tear, from blood to bird poo.

If you go to Haptic and Hue's website at www.hapticandhue.com/listen, you will find a full transcript of this podcast, pictures and links. You can also sign up there to get these podcasts directly in your in-box, as well as having a chance to win some of the textile related gifts I give away with each episode.

Thanks to Sinead Kidao and Jo Weaving for sharing the way they approach fabric and cloth, and what they do to it to make it look believable. If you want to see more of Sinead's work you can find it at https://www.sineadkidao.com/. Her Costume Directory is a treasure trove of interesting and sustainable suppliers: it is free to download. And you can follow the Directory and Sinead on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thecostumedirectory/

Jo Weaving can be found at costumeprintworkshop@gmail.com. She has just moved into her new studio in Hastings, but she is planning to run some breakdown classes at the studio in future. E-mail her if you would like to go on the mailing list to stay in touch and find out what she's up to.

A Feeling of Transformation - Performance Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

Do clothes conceal us or reveal us? Listen to how actors use clothes to make stories believable. Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer, who have played a huge variety of roles between them, from mobsters to Tudor ladies in waiting, from regency bucks to flower sellers, talk about why costume is so important to them.

Mark Twain once wrote: "without his clothes a man would be nothing at all; that the clothes do not merely make the man, the clothes are the man; that without them he is a cipher, a vacancy, a nobody, a nothing… there is no power without clothes."

Clothes cover us and warm us, but at the same time, they reveal what we want to say about ourselves as well as the gap between how we'd like to be seen and how people actually perceive us. This matters to actors and this episode looks at how actors study the tiny details of clothes and costume to help them deliver great performances. Alessandro and Emily share the secrets of the work and thought that goes into their performances.

If you go to Haptic and Hue's website at www.hapticandhue.com/listen, you will find a full transcript of this podcast, pictures, and links. You can also sign up there to get these podcasts directly in your inbox, as well as having a chance to win some of the textile-related gifts I give away with each episode.

A Feeling of Comfort Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

There is nowhere in the world quite like Gees Bend, Alabama with the story of how its quilt-makers were acclaimed as artists, and their work bought by galleries and museums around the world. Necessity is the mother of invention and this is particularly true in this small community, where for generations women have created quilts to keep out the cold and to furnish their homes. They used anything and everything that came to hand, and over time they honed their skills and their designs. Isolation, poverty, and a strong community spirit nurtured an acute eye for colour and design that is unequalled. It took 100 years for their work to be properly appreciated, and when it was, the critics believed that the work of the quilters prefigured the work of the Modernist Art Movement. This is the story of the quilters, how they grew up, and how they work. It tries to answer the question of how they took quilting to the level of great art.

Introduction Series 2 Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

Why does touch matter so much to us? What is the connection between cloth and our emotions? This new season of Haptic and Hue's Tales of Textiles explores how we express ourselves through cloth, whether it's the comfort quilts and blankets bring us, the way we use clothes to take the burden of losing someone we love, or why certain patterns and fabrics connect us strongly with memories of childhood, school or first love.

Each episode takes a different feeling and unravels what it means to us in textiles. The series is narrated by Jo Andrews a handweaver and broadcaster. In this season we travel around the world, from Alabama to India, Tokyo to the London Underground and Ghana to North East Scotland thinking bout different traditions of making and using fabric.

I provide a full transcript, pictures and links to the work of the contributors to these podcasts, as well as a list of books and articles that have inspired me on my website at: www.hapticandhue.com/listen.

If you would like to sign up for your own link to the podcasts as they are released, for extra information and a chance to access the free textile gifts that I'll be offering for each podcast in this series then please fill out the very brief form here or find it on the Haptic and Hue Listen page above.

If you are interested in a long read or two, or want to know why and how cloth speaks to us then you can find articles at www.hapticandhue.com/read

You can follow Haptic and Hue on Instagram @hapticandhue on Facebook or Linked In under the Haptic and Hue name. You can see more of my work and that of other makers there or on the website.

Majesty and Mannequins Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

Majesty and Mannequins Episode 7

Catch her out of the corner of your eye as she skitters across the stage of history. She has seen revolutions, war, disaster, pandemics, peace and joy, and survived it all. She is probably 3,500 years old, maybe more. She is called Pandora.

This episode looks at the unseen role miniature mannequins, or Pandora figures, have played in diplomacy, war, royalty, communications, and marketing, down the centuries from the time of the Egyptian pharaohs, through the Second World War, until today. Not bad to have been in fashion for several thousand years.

This podcast would not have been made without the knowledgeable and heartfelt contributions of Rebecca Devaney, Textile educator and embroiderer, Steve Grafe, Curator of Art, Maryhill Museum of Art, and Sean Byrne, Maquitiste and proprietor of Madame Fou Fou.

Here is the Moshcino Spring/Summer 2021 Collection referred to by Steve Grafe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dpNzuRda0Y

And here is the wonderfully fey Dior collection for Autumn/Winter 2020, referred to by both Steve Grafe and Sean Byrne. It has a lot of shots of the work on the tiny models on their ateliers. The skill is astonishing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxBFwqRbI8c

I provide a full transcript, pictures, links to the work of the contributors to these podcasts, and a list of that have inspired me on my website at: www.hapticandhue.com/listen.

If you are interested in a long read or two, or want to know why and how cloth speaks to us then you can find articles at www.hapticandhue.com/read

You can follow Haptic and Hue on Instagram @hapticandhue on Facebook or Linked In under the Haptic and Hue name. You can see more of my work and that of other makers there or on the website.

Making Men Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

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

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