I’ve been preparing to teach an upcoming workshop on costume mounting, and looking for approachable resources to recommend to people with limited experience. Conveniently, Janet Wood’s book Creating the Perfect Form: How to Interpret and Display Historic Dress was just published on 27 June 2024 by Bloomsbury. Summary This new book starts at the very […]
history
Tartan Reflections and Repetitions (PieceWork, Summer 2024)
I’ve just published a new magazine article in the Summer 2024 edition of PieceWork magazine. “Tartan Reflections and Repetitions” covers the history of one of Scotland’s most iconic textiles. I delve into how the fabric is defined, its history as a symbol with many meanings, and how it’s worn from the traditional fhéilidh-mór to the […]
Margaret Macdonald: The Other Mackintosh of Glasgow Style (PieceWork, Summer 2022)
When you walk the streets of Glasgow, Scotland you’ll be struck how much the city loves the local architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. However, Mackintosh’s wife Margaret Macdonald was also a wonderful artist. I believe that she should be recognized for her contributions to the distinctive Glasgow Style. My latest article in PieceWork examines her influence […]
The Salt-Box Shoe and Deliberately Concealed Textiles (PieceWork, Spring 2022)
My latest article is now out in the Spring issue of PieceWork magazine! It focuses on the Salt-Box shoe, a small child’s boot that was found in the ruins of a house in Shelton, Connecticut. But how did the shoe survive the elements for almost one hundred years and why was it thought to bring […]
New Lanark: Robert Owen’s Great Social Experiment (PieceWork, Fall 2021)
Although it’s still summer, the Fall issue of Piecework is arriving! This issue follows stories of how textiles have acted as “Threads of Change.” My article follows the history of the New Lanark textile mill which eagle eyed readers may recognize in my banner photograph! I explain how the nineteenth century social reformer Robert Owen […]
Azlons: The Lost Regenerated Fibers
What are azlons? Azlons are regenerated protein fibers. Proteins are molecules made of long chains of amino acids found in plants and animals. Azlons are known as regenerated because proteins are taken from natural sources and reformed into usable fibers. Historically, many sources of animal and plant proteins were used such as eggs, gelatine, feathers, […]