Right sides together

Always on the lookout for exciting creative talent to encourage and nurture, the Textile Society is keen to connect with their ‘right side’.

Graduate Rachel Howarth was spotted while exhibiting her inventive textile designs at the ‘New Designers’ event in London and selected from over a 1,000 design graduates to receive the Society’s 2014 Lucienne Day Innovative Textile Design Award.

Rachel told me: “I was on my stand at the ‘New Designers’ event, when Fiona and Debra from the Textile Society came on to talk about my designs and the Lucienne Day Award. It was very exciting but totally out of the blue and unexpected.”

“It came just at the right time after my graduation, when funds were low, giving me the belief, opportunity and finances to realise my next project."

“I feel greatly honoured to have won this award, not least because Lucienne Day is one of my heroines - always an inspiration to me, her designs have stood the test of time and still look fresh and contemporary today.”

Rachel also won the ‘New Designers, One Year On, Part 2’ award at ‘New Designers’ last year and recently had a solo exhibition at the National Centre for Craft and Design in Sleaford, as part of her prize.

Taking her inspiration from modern architecture and the interesting way light is reflected in glass, Rachel uses digital print to create a tonal azure palette that perfectly combines with her innovative geometric patterns, to create evocative artworks and homewares.

“My solo exhibition was another great opportunity and was well received.  I wrote to the Textile Society to let them know how I am progressing, as I like to keep in touch because of their incredible support.”

As a past Lucienne Day award winner, Rachel has been invited to come along to the Society’s 25^th Antique Textile fair in Manchester on Sunday 30 April, 2017.

Coinciding with Lucienne Day’s centenary, Paula Day, Lucienne’s daughter will be there too and would love to meet other past winners of her mother’s prestigious award. 

Have you previously won this award? If you have, we would love you to join us in Manchester.

Please get in touch by emailing Lynn Broster at bursaries@textilesociety.org.uk

Visit www.rachelhowarth.co.uk to find out more about Rachel and her work.