A Festival of Colour
I am working flat out to put together our first Textile and Garden event. This Festival will combine the glories of garden autumnal beauty and textile colour. It is going to be held at Penpont House, a privately owned 17th Century country house situated on the River Usk, with stunning gardens and grounds near Brecon, www.penpont.com. This is a joint venture between Penpont and my shop, The Great English Outdoors
The Great English Outdoors is a shop based in Hay on Wye with a website, www.greatenglish.co.uk, specialising in World textiles, in particular old and new Welsh Blankets.
At, The Festival of Colour, there will be a variety of specialist textile stands located within The Old Stables, trading and exhibiting all kinds of fabrics, cloth and clothing from around the World, along with jewellery, books and plants. We have worked really hard to make this event child friendly with lots of events and workshops for children which will be free of charge.
We have organized a programme of workshops, demonstrations, lectures and films throughout the weekend. Amongst those exhibiting, speaking and demonstrating will be:
JOHN GILLOW: renowned author and textile expert will be talking on world textiles. John has spent the last 35 years roaming across Asia and Africa collecting stunning examples of embroidery and weaving. ELIZABETH GIBBONS: lecturer at The Royal School of Needlework, sources antique textiles from around the globe, including hangings, rugs and unusual small pieces for example English and European lace embroideries. INGRID WAGNER: contemporary textile designer will be showcasing Big Knitting on her colourful stand. She holds the world record for knitting with the largest Needles ever, up to 1.2m long. Don’t miss it. Ingrid will be giving a visual and entertaining talk on Moroccan woven textiles, life, love, and couscous, as well as creative workshops. ROS PRICE JONES: will be exhibiting her stunning jewellery designs using semi-precious stones, Czech and Murano glass, and sterling silver. ATHENE ENGLISH: the Blanket Lady and owner of The Great English Outdoors will be unravelling the history of Welsh Blankets. PATRICIA DIGBY: head tutor of the Art department at Ruskin Mill, Stroud, will be hosting a wood block printing workshop/demonstration.
THE GARDENS contain many fine trees which will be in full autumn glory. Visitors are invited to walk through the grounds, discover the maze, topiary hedges and the walled kitchen gardens. Flag installations by Shona Watts will be specially erected for the Festival. Shona has exhibited around the world and at many of the major music festivals in the UK.
ART EXHIBITION: New works from the Penpont Artists. Featuring Robert Macdonald, Tessa Waite and Morag Colquhoun. This exhibition forms part of the Powys Arts Forum Month.
REFRESHMENTS (Most Importantly!): Homemade lunches and teas will be served all day from The Stable kitchens cooked with organic produce grown in Penpont’s Victorian walled gardens. The farm shop will be selling organic fruit, vegetables and plants from the Estate.
ADMISSION: £4.00 per adult, Children FREE.
