Info, news & debate
Plant fibres & textiles
Rebuilding the flax / textile industry as a commons: Fantasy Fibre Mill
Dave Darby of Stroud Commons and Lowimpact.org talks with Rosie Bristow and Nick Evans of Fantasy Fibre Mill, working to resurrect the flax / linen industry in the UK, as a commons.
Building back differently: peasant economics and heritage craft
If a fair share of the planet is a couple of ‘useful’ global hectares per individual, the planet could sustain about 10 billion people living primitively.
Why wastewater treatment plants are NOT the solution for microfibre pollution?
Microfibre pollution and wastewater? What can be done?
The return of local, natural fabrics and low-impact clothing
A recent surge in small ethical brands marks a new wave of a textile economy with a lower impact on the earth. Below are ten places you can find UK-made low impact goods.
Career change? Making a living from weaving
Career change? Making a living from weaving. At Lowimpact.org we’re interested in helping to bring production back to communities, and so we’re talking with craftspeople, smallholders, natural builders, renewables installers and small business owners in our range of topics. I’ll be asking them about their jobs, and for advice for people who might be interested …
Craft in a crisis: helping heritage crafts come back from the brink
With a host of already endangered heritage crafts at even greater risk as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, what does the future hold and how can we play a part in helping heritage crafts survive and even thrive? Sophie Paterson explores.
Making a netted bag using looped cordage with Ruby Taylor
Ruby Taylor of Native Hands shares how to make a netted bag using looped cordage and explores the history of using natural fibres to produce wild cordage.
The linen journey: locally-grown flax to yarn
In a spin-off from The Wool Journey series of blog posts, The Natural Fibre Company shares The Linen Journey, in which Sonja Bargielowska explores flax’s journey from field to yarn.
What we’re losing: the joy and satisfaction of crafting things by hand
The video below shows various stages of the production and finish of a 1-metre tall puppet by Jan Zalud. Jan makes all sorts of things – crafted by hand from wood.
How can we get our clothes from sustainable and non-corporate sources?
This is an interview with Jessica Smulders-Cohen of Greater London Fibreshed, who are trying to build a network of small-scale clothes manufacturers using natural materials produced in the UK.
The future will be handmade? The prospects for craft skills in ‘developing’ countries
The Future will be handmade? In the information age, the question has an absurd ring. But I ask after listening to Ashoke Chatterjee at the Artisans House in Mumbai. As a long time President of the Crafts Council of India, Chatterjee tells us that ‘The Future will be handmade’. The question mark is mine.
Craft skills are too important to lose
How many people do you know these days whose work involves traditional craft skills? For every craftsperson in the UK, there must be a couple of thousand working in telesales.