After
many years upholstering in antique and modern textiles –
studying and visiting textiles manufacturers across Europe,
Felix Spicer has designed & produced his first collection
of silks – woven at Gainsborough Silk Weaving Company
– using jacquard looms, the design unchanged since their
invention 1801.
His designs represent the 19th century French
hairpin motif, have been woven beautifully using silks dyed
to his specific colour palette as well as incorporating gold
& silver thread supported with silk which he purchased
from a redundant factory south of Lyon (the centre of the
silk and textile manufacture in the 18th and 19th century)
unused since the 1920s when lamé & ribbon were
amongst the textiles produced there – (Felix Spicer
lived in one of the properties outside Avignon, which used
to house the silk worms which produced the silk whilst designing
the fabric ).
This is a highly unique cloth which would be
impossible to reproduce without the methods & looms used
by Gainsborough – together with the purchase of the
silver & gold thread.
The first weave at Gainsborough stunned the
workers and designers who see fantastic silks daily/yearly
– " The use of real gold and silver within these
silks gives the finished fabric an incredible light-reflecting
sparkle as well as an intensely seductive texture and weight....
we are all astonished ..... Mr. Spicer has shown that the
impossible can be achieved with perseverance and a true understanding
of the history of silk production”. Neil Thomas –
Director of Gainsborough Silk Weaving Company.
Due to the limited availability of the silver
& gold thread this cloth can only be produced in a restricted
quantity – never to be woven again
A cloth of such unique appearance and design
yet with an extremely versatile use today, will be a historic
and beautiful end to the accomplished history and peerless
quality once used and still possible (just) to dress and decorate
the lives and homes of the European aristocracy and royalty.
A 21st century fairy-tale cloth which will mark a time the
fabric world would not have thought possible – the end
has arrived.
If you wish to view this remarkable cloth
or have any queries please contact Emma McNiven for an appointment.
for an appointment.
Uccello di Seta comes in three colourways;
Gold / Russet Red
Gunmetal Silvrer Grey / Black / Chocolate Brown
Black / Silver / White
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