Hello and welcome to the September issue of the HotHive Textiles newsletter. We have had another busy month in August with a visit to the fabulous festival of quilts, which seems to keep getting better every year. We also attended the Farncombe Estate Centre open day where we got to preview some of the great courses they are offering in their 2010 programme. If you haven’t come across them before their website is well worth a look at www.farncombeestate.co.uk.

We also have some great articles for you to read this month which includes some much needed good news about artwork being a good investment in a recession. So anyone who is finding being an artist quite a struggle at the moment then this article should help re-focus you! There has also been a great scheme announced in the last few weeks to help turn empty shops in our town centres into attractive art spaces, again more information is below.

Don’t forget to keep in touch with the team here at HotHive Textiles to tell us what you’re up to as we may well be able to feature you. We are always open to suggestions for stories and articles to publish on the website and have lots of opportunities for artists, designers and makers to sell their books, DVDs and kits through us – so do get in touch! We can be reached at the usual places – by email at textiles@thehothive.com or by telephone on 01386 760406. We look forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes
Sara
Editor of HotHive Textiles (www.hothivetextiles.com)

Why art is becoming a recession busting investment
	We are all familiar with the doom and gloom of the economy at the moment but for those who make their living from producing artwork the recession could turn out to be a good thing. With low interest rates and an underperforming stock market investors are looking for somewhere else to put their money and with genuine artwork holding its value there may be no better place. Jeremy Lamond an auctioneer at Shropshire-based Halls Auctioneers told the My Finance website: "The credit crunch has seen new buyers coming into the market who believe that they might as well buy art because their money is certainly not earning significant interest in the bank." Jeremy also has some wise words for those investors who believe that artwork shouldn’t be expensive. "If you buy something that is cheap at the time, it will still be cheap in ten years time.” He believes that the best way to ensure you get your money back on an art investment is to "Make sure whatever you buy is in good condition and is genuine.” Take me to the Full Article

Silversoles by Emma Jackson takes gold in the craft&design national awards
	Regular visitors to the website will remember an article published back in June in which we interviewed feltmaker Emma Jackson of Silversoles. In the interview Emma was telling us how she had been nominated for an award in the Textiles and Needlecrafts category of the 2009 craft&design Selected Awards for her collection of scarves, bags, wraps, corsages and wall pieces. We are thrilled to be able to report that Emma has scooped the very first Gold Award in her category, winning her a fabulous £2,500 as well as a great range of promotional benefits from Craft and Design magazine. Emma told HotHive Textiles, “I was delighted to receive the craft&design textiles award and very flattered that so many people voted for me and my work.” Take me to the Full Article

Join our textile community

Take a listing in HotHive Textiles to get in touch with the textile community and be sure your work will be seen by the people who matter!

A basic listing in the directory is absolutely free and there are some fantastic low-cost packages available for those of you who would like to promote your business even more.

To list yourself today please click here or for more information give us a call on 01386 760406

Grants to help bring art into vacant high street shops
	Arts Council England’s £500,000 initiative to help artists turn vacant high street shops into artistic and vibrant places is now open for applications. Artists are able to apply for grants to support artistic activity that will transform empty retail units into creative spaces – anything from an art gallery to recording studios or family arts workshops which the whole community can enjoy. The programme, ‘Art in empty spaces’, which was announced in April, will run in partnership with the Department for Communities and Local Government’s scheme ‘Looking After Our Town Centres’ which will invest £3 million to reinvigorate ailing town centres during the recession. Take me to the Full Article

Midlands Textile Forum Annual Symposium and Members Open Exhibition
	Members of the Midlands Textile Forum should keep Saturday 14 November clear in their diaries for the MTF Annual Symposium. Held at the Birmingham and Midland Institute in Birmingham’s vibrant city centre, the symposium is part of the Members’ Open Exhibition, and members are invited to come and display their work. The Symposium will feature a stand for Chrome Yellow Books, with the latest books on contemporary textiles, arts and crafts on sale, as well as two speakers. Michael Brennand-Wood, who is internationally regarded as one of the most innovative and inspiring artists working in textiles, will be discussing his recent collections of work – these range from small limited-edition pieces of jewellery to 12-metre long pieces that feature in his latest project. Henrietta Lockhart will also be speaking about the current collection of beautiful work by local dressmakers and tailors, held at Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, examples of which have recently begun to be investigated by the curatorial team. The day will also include a buffet lunch, and time for meeting the speakers and networking. Take me to the Full Article

Embroidery with style: A new Hand & lock conference
	With its growing reputation as one of Britain’s fastest developing fashion cities, Glasgow was the obvious choice for Hand & Lock when the time came to decide the location of its third annual conference: Embroidery …with style. Supported by Glasgow Caledonian University, the Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Cardonald College, the London Embroiderer will again organise a unique and amazing one-day symposium with a focus on tomorrow’s fashion! Accompanied by world-know fashion experts – Francois Lesage, James Sherwood and Sir Tom Baker to name a few – Hand & Lock will decipher which ingredients are essential to set a style, while their speakers captivate the audience with stories of their own successes and experiences. Take me to the Full Article

Reinvent your work with Friendly Plastic
	Liz Welch’s online resource site, Rare Bird, tells you everything you need to know about Friendly Plastic and how to use it. The online shop is bursting with equipment, DVDs, books and kits to help you use Friendly Plastic on its own or as part of your textile and craft applications. Liz also runs classes in using Friendly Plastic to create jewellery, masks, embellishments, beads and much more. We spoke to her to find out more… How did the idea to set up Rare Bird come about? The idea evolved from my initial discovery of Friendly Plastic when I lived in the USA 20 years ago. When I arrived back in the UK, I ran parties selling the hand-crafted jewellery I made using Friendly Plastic. As I didn’t like to make the same thing twice and the things I was making were a little unusual, the name Rare Bird came about. Take me to the Full Article

Supplier interview - Hilltop
	Hilltop are specialist suppliers of hand spinning, hand weaving, dyeing and felt making equipment. The owners, Sue and Bill Chitty, have been spinners, weavers, dyers and felt makers since 1972 and want to encourage people to get involved with textile crafts. We spoke to them to find out more. What was the inspiration for starting up the Hilltop Spinning and Weaving Centre? The only other Kent spinning and weaving supplier was retiring and there was no one else to supply the two Kent Guilds of Spinners, Weavers & Dyers. Our enthusiastic passion and knowledge of textile crafts would, we hoped, create interest from others. That was in 1990 and since then our hopes have been realised with spinners, weavers and dyers from every corner of the world finding us. Take me to the Full Article

Fashion through the Ages
	Fashion today seems to be about making a statement. With designers such as John Galliano who creates amazing outfits, but who also makes sure he puts on a runway production that will wow his audience, fashion no longer seems to be just about the clothes. It’s about the meaning behind them, the statement and how they are presented to the public. But how did fashion get to where it is today? It all started in 1947 when Christian Dior famously launched his New Look Collection, his aim being to bring back femininity to ladies fashion after the military and masculine uniform clothing of the war years. The most famous of his designs is the Bar Suit from his 1947 collection, a fitted white jacket and a full black skirt that came out from the waist, which gave the classic hourglass shape. His timing was immaculate, although some did criticise Dior, many women wanted to forget the clothes they had been wearing for the past years and wanted something new. He made a statement, it was this that made him one of the most famous and successful designers not only of his time, but in the history of fashion. Take me to the Full Article

Giveaway
	This month we have a great giveaway for anyone out there who loves books. September has been declared 'Read-A-New-Book Month', a national event dedicated to promoting the lost art of reading and to celebrate we are offering one lucky newsletter reader the chance to win a free book of their choice from our bookstore, up to the value of �20.00. There are more than 1000 books to choose from so whether you would like to learn a new technique, brush up the skills you already have or just learn more about a particular artist then this competition is for you! To see our complete range of books please visit www.hothivetextilesbookstore.com To enter simply email your name and address to textiles@thehothive.com with 'book' in the subject line. Good luck! We would also like to congratulate Lucy Jennison from Exeter who is the lucky winner of a pack of 10 assorted handmade beads from Mothers for All, as offered in last month's newsletter. If you weren't the lucky winner but would like to use these fabulous beads in your work then you can order them from www.injabulo.com. To remind yourself of the great work Mothers for All do please click here.

Experimental Textiles
	By Kim Thittichai Published by Batsford ISBN: 978 1 90638 847 8 Price: £19.99 Reviewed by Katie Powell This lavishly illustrated book is Kim Thittichai’s interpretation of what she learnt through teaching her highly successful course, ‘Experimental Textiles’. The first part looks at how to record ideas and create original designs, before moving on to how designs and ideas can be developed. Subsequent chapters include choosing a subject, interpretation, working in 3D, scale and where to find inspiration. There’s even a section on colour. Throughout the book a good selection of experimental techniques are covered, including free-machine embroidery, printing, felting, image transfer and collage. Although a wonderful resource for inspiration, this book does not include instructions for the techniques featured. The showcase of work by the best experimental textile artists working today is pure creative indulgence and provides a fabulous wealth of inspiration for textile enthusiasts of all skill levels. Artists featured include Wendy Dolan, Mary Drew, Ruth Isset, Angie Hughes and, of course, Kim Thittichai herself. The accompanying text for each piece of work featured gives an interesting insight into their inspiration and creation, as well as information about the artists themselves. Particularly interesting to those wishing to take their adventures in textiles further will be the very useful closing chapter about starting a textiles group and becoming a tutor. Click here to purchase

Diary Dates
1 September-26 November 2009	Textile Exhibition - Oad Street Centre, Oad Street, Sittingbourne, Kent.
2 September-26 October 2009	Knit one, Stitch one - by Juliet Bryson and Beverley Folkard - Rochford Adult Learning Centre, Rochway, Rochford, Essex SS4 1DQ
8-27 September 2009	HapticArt: On The Edge - The Sunbury Embroidery Gallery, Thames Street, Sunbury TW16 6AB
18-20 September 2009	Stitch & Creative Crafts Show - Sandown Park Exhibition Centre
19 September-3 October 2009	1509 and all that - Kingston Museum Art Gallery, Wheatfield Way, Kingston upon Thames Surrey KT1 2PS
19 September 2009	Sheep Day - Black Swan Arts, 2 Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BB
24-27 September 2009	Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts - Westpoint Centre, Exeter
25-27 September 2009	The Scottish Quilt Championships - MacRobert Pavilions, Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston, Edinburgh, EH28 8NB
27 September 2009	Prom Art - Grange-over-Sands Promenade, The Lake District
1-3 October 2009	Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts - Cardiff International Arena

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