Yorkshire based design brand, The Stitch Society, has announced it will take part in the first National Festival of Making; an exciting event spearheaded by designer Wayne Hemingway MBE to celebrate Britain’s history and creativity for talented makers.
The inaugural event will bring together artists, designers, manufacturers and small scale makers to celebrate the diversity, innovation and skills in British making and manufacturing. The showcase will be held over two days – Saturday 6th May and Sunday 7th May 2017 in Blackburn, Lancashire – the heartland of British manufacturing.
It is the Society’s shared appreciation for fabrics manufactured in the UK and talent for making beautiful, functional garments using the carefully considered, often vintage, cloths, that has so appealed to the festival’s curators, and has undoubtedly led to The Stitch Society’s recent success.
Founded just two years ago, The Stitch Society launched with a unique apron design – featuring a unique large pleated pocket and following its popularity, the pattern was patented by founder, Charlotte Meek.
All the garments are made from luxurious and durable cloth, featuring many heritage fabrics rescued by Charlotte as the iconic ‘dark satanic mills’ of the North of England closed their factory doors leaving their architecture still dominating the vernacular landscape.
It was an abundance of these fabrics, carefully hand-picked for over a decade that first led to the idea of a heritage design brand – a business cleverly weaving history with on-line commerce to produce a revered collection of designer-aprons and accessories.
The Stitch Society designs are anything but run-of-the mill however; aprons retail from £50 – £80, reflecting their high quality and durability, and appealing to discerning consumers, crafters, artisans and fellow makers.
Charlotte Meek, said of the National Festival of Making; “I am delighted to be taking part in this unique and exciting festival to celebrate the greatness of making and manufacturing in this country and to be so warmly welcomed into a thriving community of top talent and creativity. This unique event will celebrate the inspiring diversity in terms of range, scale and skills of UK based making, and will see emerging and established brands interlace traditional materials with contemporary ideas.”
The National Festival of Making is a FREE, family-friendly and fun event that will take place at venues throughout Blackburn town centre, the ideal location to host the first festival of its kind as it remains the beating heart of British manufacturing with 25 {afd41c4ab3623e68baffe29f6190c4c16e77cb65ef9a747ad10afe8b083b250d} of its population, twice the national average, still employed in ‘making’ industries.
The weekend’s activities will include innovative art installations, hands-on workshops, live performances and pop-up markets promoting handmade products alongside fine-festival foods and craft ales. More details on the event can be found at www.festivalofmaking.co.uk
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