Textile designers head north to inspire Yorkshire students

Emma Sewell and Harriet Wallace-Jones, the designers behind Wallace Sewell, will give a talk, called Handloom to Powerloom, on February 14, at theTextile Centre of Excellence, Huddersfield, to the Yorkshire and Bradford Textile Societies and students from Huddersfield University.

Wallace Sewell is famous for the highly individual scarf collections it creates, with classic signature styles of pure silk in bold stripes, cashmere and wool crepe, exhibited at shows in Paris, New York and London.

Alongside the scarf collections, Wallace Sewell also takes on commissioned designs which have ranged from scarves for the Gauguin exhibition at the Tate Gallery, to a scarf collection for Anthropologie, and it has also worked with interior designers on furnishings for hotels and the London Underground. They also design a lambswool diffusion range with a variety of looks, created for both men and women.

The Handloom to Powerloom presentation will show the individual yet traditional way that the company produces its textiles.

Heather Darling, studio manager of Wallace Sewell said: "Emma and Harriet work hard to design innovative woven fabrics using traditional industrial techniques. They design everything by hand and then work closely with a mill in Lancashire to produce the pieces, which are then finished in Huddersfield."

Emma and Harriet are also keen to inspire new designers and often hold lectures at colleges and universities to talk to students about the textile industry.

Heather Darling pointed out how important it is for students to have access to the textiles industry, saying: "Emma and Harriet regularly take students on for work experience as they believe that it is important for students to gain experience of the industry first-hand and see what it is like to work within an individual company like Wallace Sewell."

For more information on the designers, check out www.wallacesewell.com