Yarn Shop Day! Come see us! Saturday 2nd May!

Following the success of last year’s event, Fabrications is pleased to announce that we will be participating in the national ‘Love Your Yarn Shop’ campaign, initiated by Let's Knit Magazine which aims to raise the profile of the value that bricks and mortar yarn stores bring to the local community. Part of the campaign includes ‘Yarn Shop Day’ taking place on Saturday 2^nd May.

On ‘Yarn Shop Day’, Fabrications will be hosting a ‘Close-Knit Community Knit-Tea Party’ open to all ages (from 7+) and all levels of crafter from 1:30-5:30pm. 

Flowers, leaves, and garlands will make up the creations for the day, which can be knitted or crocheted in detail with small needles and hooks or large on their unique MACRO knitting needles and French knitting wheels. All of the items created will be added to a flourishing knitted trellis installation on Fabrications shop front, so that everyone can admire them! 

Special Goody Bags are set to be available for the first 25 customers of the day to start off the event. Everything will be provided, from the materials to the food, with Fabrications lovely teachers on hand to help, so all you need to bring is you! Everyone is welcome to this free event, but space is limited, so be sure to book your spot NOW!. 

Participating in this exciting day is just the beginning of the celebration to mark Fabrications 15th birthday! 

Knitting - a space for creation and destruction

This month Fabrications' blog has a special contribution from Jonathan Faiers, reader in fashion and textile theory at Winchester School of Art. Part of this text has been previously published in the essay by Jonathan ‘From Rei Kawakubo to Mark Fast: The Void in Knitting, Or How Formlessness Shaped Up’, in Unravel: Knitwear in Fashion, MOMU, Antwerp, 2011
Jonathan has also published a few books and last month launched his latest book "Dressing Dangerously" - Dysfynctional Fashion in Film (published by Yale University Press ) at Hackney's 'Trampery'.

'Dressing Dangerously' book cover Yale University Press

Since 1982 when Rei Kawakubo instructed her knitting machine operators to loosen some of the screws on their machines so that random holes would be knitted into her sweaters, the distressed or 'unravelled' has taken centre stage on the knitting runway. The radical approach adopted by Kawakubo and her contemporaries was simultaneously indebted to punk’s rejection of conventional formulations of body aesthetics as well as a philosophical exploration of the potential of the void or the 'formless'. Holes in knitting imply chaos and order, destruction and creation, and Kawakubo’s apparent random deployment of them suggested the limitlessness of space. This text will utilise Georges Bataille’s investigation of the term informe (formless), to consider Kawakubo’s ‘lace’ sweater as an operation or process that encourages a dialogue regarding notions of craft (knitting and lace), the complete and the partial, and the dysfunctional as an alternative way of understanding clothing and its relationship to the body.

Image sourced from KnitGrandeur

In the early 1980s the appearance on the European fashion stage of Rei Kawakubo’s work, including garments such as the ‘lace’ sweater, has been well documented. The confusion caused by her work as well as Yohji Yamamoto’s is succinctly expressed by Colin McDowell who notes that: “within one season, they gave French fashion an inferiority complex verging on a communal nervous breakdown; excited hopes and dreams in young British designers and students; panicked the Italians and totally bewildered the Americans.”[i] However, whilst the assessment of the so called Japanese revolution in fashion has naturally centred on the most spectacular/difficult/aesthetic/nihilistic collections (any number of adjectives have been deployed to describe their work according to the prevailing perspective of the commentator), it is perhaps a garment such as the ‘lace’ sweater which most effectively conveys Kawakubo’s approach to making clothes.

Knitting at its most fundamental level is an operation that makes something from nothing. The act of enclosing spaces or more precisely setting up temporary enclosures is after all what the practice of knitting consists of. The exploration of tension, both literally as in the tension of the particular knitting stitch and emotionally when conscious of knitting’s potential to unravel, seems in Kawakubo’s ‘lace’ sweater to be its primary function. Furthermore it can be argued that the demonstration of this tension and other states (which will be discussed shortly), takes precedence over its function as a garment. As a dysfunctional garment, however, the ‘lace’ sweater presents a number of opportunities to explore how knitting relates to other crafts, how it oscillates between fashion and non-fashion and how it intersects with the body. 
                               

Image from 'Unravel - knitwear in fashion' exhibition MOMU, Antwerp 2011

On examining the sweater in more detail it becomes apparent that it is a ‘formless’ garment structurally - it is full of holes that position it as a piece of clothing on the verge of imminent dispersal or collapse, and it is also formless in relation to how it might be worn – there is a superfluous ‘peplum’ hanging below the ribbing, the sleeves cover the hands if not folded back and the larger holes offer the possibility of multiple points of entry for the head and arms. Its holes also undermine one of the most commonly prized attributes of knitting, which is to provide warmth. As is well known mesh, or net-like fabrics (such as knitting) consisting of regular enclosures have an ability to trap air and therefore provide a layer of warmth when worn on the body (the string vest effect), Kawakubo’s sweater with its random larger holes disrupts this, negating its thermal properties and transforms it into a dysfunctional sweater. Of course as can be seen in the illustration the sweater was originally designed to be worn over another garment, which would go some way to restoring its heat generating properties; however it could also be argued that this transforms the sweater into a purely decorative garment divested of its chief function.

Image from StitchDiva's tutorial on how to purposefully drop stitches!

The apparent devaluing of the process of following a pattern, of not ‘dropping a stitch’ and finishing off the garment sought after in hand and machine knitting alike, coupled with the ‘betrayal’ of knitting’s function to keep us warm positions the sweater firmly as fashion rather than knitting. The bewilderment, and in some quarters, anger that garments such as the ‘lace’ sweater generated when first produced suggest that it presented a threat to accepted vestimentary codes, and in addition it exposed the intrinsic formlessness and impermanence that resides at the heart of the craft of knitting. But, as Bataille proposed when discussing Manet’s painting: “To break up the subject and re-establish it on a different basis is not to neglect the subject; so it is in a sacrifice, which takes liberties with the victim and even kills it, but cannot be said to neglect it” [ii] These “liberties” are presumably what the fashion establishment felt could not be taken, but as we have seen Kawakubo’s desire for the imperfect and the accidental that is found in the operation of formlessness has since become part of the language of fashion.

Image from 'Unravel - knitwear in fashion' exhibition MOMU, Antwerp 2011. Thanks to Shady Chronicles Blog

It is perhaps on the level of economy that Kawakubo’s ‘lace’ sweater diverges most significantly from Bataille’s notion of the informe, and provides new insight into the sweater’s titular reference to lace making. Lace, like knitting is a fabric that is constructed from the enclosure of small spaces, but this structural relationship aside, the two crafts differ significantly. Of course both are labour intensive activities, but hand-made lace far outstrips hand knitting in terms of the amount of time taken to produce an equal amount of fabric. This fundamental difference of course results in lace’s most commonly understood quality – its rarity and therefore value. As a result of its costliness the history of lace is both violent and strangely corporeal, littered with murders, and other more bizarre bodily contacts between fabric and flesh. The stories of lengths of lace bound around the body, of being secreted amongst corpses and even inserted underneath the skinned pelts of dogs, all in order to escape the heavy tax duties imposed on lace during the height of its popularity, suggest a discourse that juxtaposes the prized with the worthless similar to Bataille’s consideration of the “movement from refuse to ideal.”[iii]

But Kawakubo’s ‘lace’ sweater is far from refuse, even if it could be argued it is masquerading as such. Its classification as ‘fashion’ elevates it from its contingent knitting groups of the second-hand, the moth-eaten, and the thread-bare and passes from formless knitting to fully formed fashion. As Bataille warns: “In this way formless is not only an adjective having such and such a meaning, but a term serving to declassify, requiring in general that every thing should have a form. What it designates does not, in any sense whatever, possess rights, and everywhere gets crushed like a spider or an earthworm.”[iv] The economy of fashion is such that Kawakubo’s sweater can only survive fleetingly as ‘formless’, its larval stage as an indeterminate form somewhere between knitting and sculpture cannot be allowed and therefore lasts no longer than its initial showing and then is swiftly transformed into its mature form – fashion.                

 Image by Twisted Twee 'Moth patches'

So it would seem that within the fashion industry at least formlessness is never allowed to remain so for long. Rei Kawakubo's 'lace' sweater momentarily seemed to fulfill Bataille's promise of the informe being not only an adjective but also an operation, however her work was swiftly categorised as conceptual fashion, and has become fossilised as such. 'Formless' fashion it seems is not permissible and as Bataille declared: "…does not, in any sense whatever, possess rights, and everywhere gets crushed like a spider or an earthworm."[v] So perhaps it is fitting that the only true architect or designer of the formless in fashion knitting: "… is something akin to a spider of a gob of spittle." – the moth.[vi]

Jonathan's paper "Knitting and Catastrophe" will be published in Issue 12:1 of the Textile Journal of Cloth and Culture alongside a selection of paper from the 'In the Loop' conference. 

[i] Colin McDowell (2000) Fashion Today, p.134.

[ii] Bois & Krauss, p. 21.

[iii] A concept detailed in ‘The Big Toe’ in Allan Stoekl (ed.) (1985) Georges Bataille: Visions of Excess Selected Writings 1927-1939 , pp.20-3.

[iv] Georges Bataille ‘Formless’ in (1995) Encyclopaedia Acephalica, p.51.

Hackney's Design Award 2012

Fabrications new 'Imaginerium' space is among the shortlist for Hackney's Design awards, alongside other schemes such as The handball arena at the Olympics! Fabrications is the smallest project to be nominated, so we need your help to vote for us for 'The People's Choice' award. I'm posting a little late but still got a couple of days to get your vote in! Voting closes on Monday 5th November.
Please vote by following THIS LINK - Thankyou!

Open house, Open City

The Open House event has closed it's doors again this year. For those of you not familiar with the event, it has taken place every September across all the boroughs of London for the last 25 years. I discovered this year that it has become a global phenomena, stretching to other major cities such as New York and Tokyo.

 

Notable buildings, dwellings and other construction projects both large and small host tours and presentations for 1 weekend only to give visitors more insight into the history, architecture, construction and ethos of the space. Many of the places on the Open House trail are not usually open to the public, so the event encourages our natural curiosity to 'nose around' and gain an 'access all areas' pass!

What I think is wonderful about the event is it also provides the space to appreciate the diversity of buildings that make up our city, each has a special story to share and over just 1 weekend 1,000's of people are united in looking, listening and experiencing living history.

I decided to apply and put forward Fabrications new 'Imaginerium' craft space to be part of this year's event. The organisers came to visit and were keen for Fabrications to be on the Open House map. This year they were also encouraging hosts to put on 'late night' events to take place on the Saturday evening. After talking to my architects Eric Martin and Nikolai Delvendahl (DM Architects) we decided on hosting a good old fashioned slide show all about the making of the new space followed by a Q&A session with the team.

I decided to weave in some of my own buildings history into the slide show, pictures of the shop when I first discovered it in 1997. Back then the shop was in a bad state of disrepair and dilapidation as were a majority of shops on Broadway Market at that time. Preparing for the slide show and our daily tours (with myself and DM architects), made me realise the journey I have been on with the fabric of my shop building and how much I have achieved and improved. When I got the shop, the name on the front was "All Well" - Appliance Rescue Centre - a reoccurring theme in Fabrications story!!

For the tours and the slide show I wanted to promote the people and organisations that have contributed to creating the new space and my collaborative / community approach. One of these organisations is 'Out of the Dark' an inspirational social enterprise who "uncover the hidden potential of old furniture and young people by training and employing dissadvantaged youths to recycle and restore vintage furniture" (this quote came from a recent review of The Imaginerium by Inhabit ) Out of the Dark got stuck in with reworking old lock wood, fruit crates and a G Plan wardrobe to provide a kitchen and storage area for The Imaginerium. They also suggested curtaining across the front to hide workshop resources and a creative way to incorporate and showcase my own upcycled textile work.

On the previous weekend, for the London Design Festival, Out of the Dark ran a special workshop here 'Revamp your old furniture' which was so popular and well received, we've decided to run another workshop in December.

I really enjoyed being part of the Open House event. I was overwhelmed and really pleased by how many visitors came along and were captivated by The Imaginerium and our stories. I'm looking forward to participating next year!

The Concious Alphabet Thief Mystery

A few months ago I put a request out on Fabrications Facebook page to see if anyone had seen our 'R'. Much to my disappointment on arrival at the shop that morning, I discovered the theft of the 'R' from Fabrications shop sign.

As I continued with my morning routine of opening the shutters, I looked over the road and noticed that the estate agent's Davistone or Da istone had lost their 'V'. It seemed too much of a coincidence so I decided to investigate the rest of Broadway Market.

Sure enough I discovered that the school uniform shop Trutex or Trut x had lost their 'E' and the urserverance had lost their 'P'. My morning was turning into a sureal game of Blockbusters or was Carol Vorderman loose in the street?

Last Sunday, I am happy to report dear readers that the Alphabet thief returned our 'R' through the letter box during the night. What's more all my neighbours have also received their letters back too!

We are very HAPPY to get them back but very mystified as to where our letters have been?? If you have sighted these letters anywhere, I would love to know more!!

DIYcouture

 The brand new bumper DIYcouture book

I first met Rosie Martin 2 years ago when she walked into Fabrications to show me her self published garment instruction books 'DIYcouture'. I remember flicking through the pages and getting excited to see very easy to follow visual step by step instructions which demystified the process of making clothes. I have always found other pattern cutting books overly technical and hard to follow. Rosie's books reminded me of the buzz I felt when I started to make my own clothes in my bedroom by taking patterns from existing clothes and measuring my body to make a 'basic block' then adding elements and details, chopping and changing, using lots of elastic to create shape, in true punk DIY spirit - Just Do It!

2 years on and the talented Miss Martin has been snapped up by Laurence King publishers. Her enhanced bumper 'DIY Couture' instruction book in full colour shows you how to create your own fashion collection. Her original step by step photo - diagram illustrations have been maintained, but the genius of this book is that Rosie explains how to make 10 different kinds of garments presented in 8 suggested 'collections' (I'm keen on the 'Jungle Punk' and 'Safari Prep' collections) showing how many more exciting variations, personality and ethical choices you can inject into your wardrobe when you make your own clothes, just by the fabric you buy, gaining understanding of the making process, being able to change the length, tweak the waist line, adding some pockets, a collar or a hood - the possibilities are endless when you enter the world of DIYcouture!

Momtaz welcomes Rosie up on the stage

Last week the book was launched at a new monthly craft night 'The Make Escape' in the 'Attic' in the Hackney Picture House. The Attic had a great vibe with lots of upcycled furniture, lovely stretched canvasses of African prints, a stage and a bar. The evening was a great success, the place was jam packed with local people, fashionistas and a great turn out from London's craft community. I was hosting a sewing area, teaching people how to make Rosie's 'Turban Headband' project. Many of the enthusiastic participants had never sewn before, which was quite a challenge teaching next to a massive speaker, I hope I didn't scare anyone off by shouting at them too loudly!! Somehow I think everyone had fun, here are some pictures from the night....

  

Momtaz who organises the 'Make Escape' with Rosie Martin 

joins the lovely headband makers Karen and Dorcas

Bern shows off her newly created turban headband

Well done Rosie for all your hard work and achievements, I'm looking forward to seeing what people create using your book - which by the way is now ON SALE at Fabrications for £17.95. Rosie will also be running a series of garment construction workshops at Fabrications, including 'Make your own scater skirt' taking place this Saturday. If you'd like to find out more and book a place click HERE!

Pictures from Rosie's new book taken by Simon Pask

Knitters go wild in Hackney!

Our town hall square has been transformed overnight! On Saturday, I got the tip off in the shop that 'the woolly transformation' or 'yarn storm' would take place late on Sunday night. On Monday morning reporter Massey was at the scene! And what a beautiful and colourful scene it is! All 12 trees in Hackney's town hall square have been lovingly wrapped in knitted and crocheted patchwork covers, reminiscent of Freddie Robins tree cosies. I'm sure the trees are really happy with their new warm jackets! As are the passers by that I saw inspecting the trees, looking and smiling!

Power Up People...

This is one of my favorite pieces of street art at the moment, located on Hackney Road. if you're coming out of the overland Hoxton Station, keep left and you get a great view of it! It was created by Ben Eine following the purchase of a piece of his graffiti art '21st Century City' by Samantha Cameron, which she and her husband then gave as a gift to Barack Obama. Having a bit of knowledge of Ben's background (I used to see him and his wife most mornings on Broadway Market before getting priced out of the area) I can appreciate that it was 'the strangest week' for him and that this piece was an outlet for his amazement. However I am fascinated by his use of the words 'Power Up' in iconic smiley faces and been indulging in - terpretation pie.
The Smiley face symbol has been smiling back at us and making us happy since the 60's summer of love. It became an icon of the subculture rave scene of the late 80's. There's a great article about the history of the Smiley Face here.

I think Ben Eine is calling all us people at street level to get active, use our energies and love in a positive way to challenge societies power structures.

Small individual actions can create larger social changes.....

Join us Craftivists in stitching a giant love letter in response to Tracy Emin's retrospective at the Hayward Gallery this Thursday 25th August, 7 - 9pm at the Hayward Gallery

Emin’s exhibition ‘Love Is What You Want’ explores the theme of love through her personal experiences of abortion, relationships, and sex, and her provocative personality and strong political views.

The Craftivist Collective have been invited by the Hayward Gallery to lead a free craftivism workshop (activism through craft) inspired by Emin's exhibition. The Craftivist Collective are asking the public to stitch their signature onto their giant embroidered love letter and attach a handwritten tag with a description of how they will be showing their love and commitment this summer to other members of society.

The Craftivist Collective have been inspired but also challenged by this exhibition. Emin's art, political views and the current political climate are hard to ignore but we want to use this invitation from the Hayward as an opportunity of showing love to our global neighbours through the power of craft and public art.

Founder Sarah Corbett says "We don’t just want to talk about love or show it to a select few. We encourage everyone to show their love to the most vulnerable people in the world through action. Please join us and show your commitment to love others by lovingly stitching your signature onto our giant love letter, attaching a tag with a description of how you are going to show your love this summer."

Pearly Kings, Queens, Princesses + Princes

I have had the privilege of meeting a number of Pearly Kings and Queens recently, or 'The Pearlies' as they are affectionately known because of their outfits which are beautifully decorated with different symbols and patterns made up of hand sewn pearl buttons.
They have been around for over 1000 years and originate from London's 'street traders'. There is a lovely website set up by the guild, please have a look. These days The Pearlies roam events and festivals raising money for good causes and keeping their heritage alive.

On Broadway Market in April 2011

The Pearly Princess of Homerton was taught to sew by her nan. Each Pearly decorates their own outfit. Apparently lots of historical pieces went on display at The Craft + Stitch show (I think I've got the name right!) at excel last year. Tatty Devine were also inspired by their costumes and worked with them to create an exhibition of photography and jewellery pieces. Wee Birdy wrote about it at the time here.

In time outfits become more and more laden with buttons and also lucky charms which are usually placed on the lapels or hats. Here is the Pearly King of Wapping threading a needle accompanied by the Pearly Queen of Highgate - he's spotted something on my workshop table at the Hatton Garden Festival recently!

He also helped me teach sewing stitches during the workshop!

Yes! He's spotted some unusual pearl beads, which he sewed onto his hat. A small piece of Fabrications added! Apparently he tries to sew on something new wherever he goes!
So the Pearlies outfits are not only exquisite mobile artworks but also an archive of history, meetings and memories gathered from the streets of London.

Fab's Top 10 Hackney gifts

You won't believe your mince pies at this selection!

1) Clapton Pond - Bus blind cups (£9.50) by Michelle Mason. Hackney based designer Michelle Mason's finest bone china range.
2) I Love Hackney cross stitching kit (£10) by Clare Sams. Everything you need to learn how to cross stitch and make a lovely sampler.
3) East London Landmarks mugs (£8 each) by local architect Sara Godrich:
- The Rio cinema in Dalston.
4) The Hackney Empire
5) The Gasworks next to the Regents Canal and Broadway Market.
6) Hackney Sweet Hackney knitted sampler (£25) by Clare Sams. A small taste of Clare Sams's larger knitted tableaux which feature Hackney incidents such as 'The Hackney Siege' and the 'The fire at E.Gibbons' and Hackney people including 'The Mole man of Hackney'.
7) Felt taxi decoration (£5.50) by Michelle Mason. One of London's greatest services and icons and being next door to Cooke's Pie n Mash, lots of taxi's pull up for re fuelling!
8) Shite Food T-Towel (£8.95) by Hackney graphic designer Toby Leigh aka Tobytron stuff. The t-towel features a number of locally sourced delights including Special Brew and fried chicken.
9) I Love Hackney knitted purse (£15) by Clare Sams. Ideal for any spare change.
10) Greetings from Hackney postcard (60p) by the Caravan Gallery. Features local scenes including Hackney city farm.

Gin + Sympathy?

* * News flash coming in * * from Fabrications Craft Club, held at Off Broadway from 6pm every Wednesday. Hendricks Gin are now officially sponsoring the club!

They are providing beautiful bone china t-cups and t-pots containing a lovely earl grey Hendricks gin cocktail mix!

8 out of 10 craft club participants decided that the cocktail definately helps them with their crafting and creativity!!
The club is free and open to all, it's very social and relaxed, just bring along a project or join in on ours, get chatting, making and sipping!

Make Rosettes and celebrate new area of our market!

Join Fabrications this Saturday at our new activity stall in London Fields primary school on Westgate Street, next to Broadway Market and the park. This new area of the market will focus on showcasing and selling craft + design by local creatives. Open usual market hours 9am - 4pm.

We hope to offer a programme of quick 'taster' activities aimed at all ages and abilities. We also want to invite along other designers and artists we work with also.
This Saturday is recycled rosettes. The following Saturday (10th July) make a T-Bag from a re used t-shirt then customise it with a pick n mix of haberdashery. We're then out n about at some other events (scroll down the posts for info) and we'll be back in the school yard for August onwards. Hope to see you there!

Happy 10th Birthday!

Come along and join in the celebrations at the shop, 12 - 5pm. There will be fine wines supplied by Mac Black + Vine, Smoothies generously sponsored by Innocent+ snacks at the shop, pie n mash at Cooke's next door, raffle and a sing along with Dan, Broadway's baseman. bring along your 4mm knitting needles (there will plenty of yarn) and make a little hat in aid of Innocent's 'Big Knit' campaign.

They are hoping to raise £200k for Age UK this year, to help keep old people warm this winter - for each hat knitted, they'll donate 25p to Age UK. This year they're aiming to collect 800,000 little bobble hats this year which will be going into stores in November. For more info and down loadable little hat patterns check out www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/thebigknit

Here is Clare Sams at our Relaunch party in 2006. (Innocent kindly supplied refreshments)