A series of markets celebrating the rich textile heritage of Kirklees will be held as part of a week-long festival in June.
The WOVEN festival aims to bring together the local community to take pride in the area’s globally recognised textile industry and to celebrate future opportunities for careers, creativity and innovation.
One of the festival’s first events, on 8 June, will be a luxurious marketplace for fine textiles at Upper Mills in Slaithwaite, presented by Made Beautifully Here, which champions great British manufacturers and local makers.
Kirklees is home to some of the finest makers in the country whose wares are often only available online. Visitors to the market will be able to feel the quality of the cloth, try the fit and meet the makers of these high-quality garments. Stallholders will include Joshua Ellis, McNair Shirts, Olicana Textiles, Antich Fine English Tailors, Hunt & Holditch, Schofield & Smith and many more. There will also be live music and delicious food and drinks from Rumpus, The Handmade Bakery, Dark Woods Coffee, Charlotte’s Jersey Ice Cream and Empire Brewery.
Speaking about the event Natalie Stapleton of McNair Shirts said: “All the team at McNair Shirts are really excited to be hosting the Made Beautifully Here event again at Upper Mills together with the other resident companies. It’s the first time we’ve done Made Beautifully Here with Woven and we have a fantastic line-up of amazing companies coming from across Kirklees and further afield”.
The following day, Sunday 9 June, Wild About Wool will transform the studio at The Watershed in Slaithwaite into a pop-up yarn market. An exciting collective of stallholders will offer a wide range of yarn, pattern designs, kits and accessories to inspire wool crafters of all abilities and interests. Featured designers will include Louisa Harding, Ann Kingstone and Sandra Nesbitt. There will even be a ‘stash bash’ stall for visitors to take their unwanted, banded yarn and swap it with others, a chill-out lounge and a ball winding service.
Gill Bond of Wild About Wool, said: “We’re delighted that our 4th pop-up yarn market at The Watershed, Slaithwaite, is part of the wider WOVEN festival on 9 June. It promises to be a great day for anyone with an interest in wool crafts at every level. We are featuring local artisan producers such as Yarntellier, Wooldale Wool and Millhouse Designs, with opportunities to meet top-rated designers including Anne Kingstone, Jaki Bogg, Sandra Nesbitt and Louisa Harding. So, come and indulge your passion!”
On Friday 14 and Saturday 15 June, Crafty Baggage’s Makers’ Markets will be held across two venues in Huddersfield town centre from 10am-4pm. Visitors will be able to see and buy some of the amazing and unique crafts that are being made in Kirklees, in the beautiful settings of the Lawrence Batley Theatre Courtyard and Byram Arcade.
Alison McIntyre, of WOVEN curators HATCH, said: “The markets will be an excellent opportunity for visitors to experience the wonderful crafts that are made across Kirklees. This area has played an important role in the textile industry for almost 200 years and continues to do so to this day. The WOVEN festival will not only celebrate our proud textile history but also champion its future. The textile industry is evolving with the digital age and, with 90% of the region’s manufacturers exporting their products, continuous innovation is imperative.”
WOVEN is to become a biennial event in the Kirklees’ events calendar and will help embed activity through long term projects across the cultural, education and industry sectors. It was initiated by Kirklees Council, which commissioned HATCH to collaborate with local businesses, schools, communities and artists.
The full list of events, which includes the Big Knit ‘yarn bomb’ on 8 June, heritage guided walks and pop-up exhibitions, can be found here https://woveninkirklees.co.uk/events/
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