Participants of the August TRC Intensive Textile Course. Gillian Vogelsang stands to the left. Photograph: Evelyn ValenciaEvery piece of garment holds a wealth of stories. What is the story behind what you are wearing? After attending the Intensive Textile Course at the TRC, I see my wardrobe, accessories, spools of threads, and visits to museums in a completely different way. I definitely appreciate the clothes I have a lot more.
Education and research aside, if anyone is serious about downsizing their wardrobe or to stop buying unnecessary garments, this workshop is also a great bootcamp for you. Side effect warning: you may get a compulsion to spin anything that looks like they can be spun into yarn. Keep away from your neighbours’ furry friends.
I stumbled upon the intensive textile workshop at the Textile Research Centre while searching for Uzbek suzani embroidery patterns. As a textile enthusiast and hobbyist, I wondered what the intensive textile course offers beyond what I can research and do by myself from home.
Figuring out how to spin a thread using spindle and spinning wheel. TRC Intensive Textile Course, August 2021. Photograph: Evelyn ValenciaMy hesitation partially came from me questioning if what I learn from the workshop could apply to my field of work. I am not a historian, anthropologist, and neither am I from the fashion sector. By profession, I am an environmental engineer (if anything, waste from textile processing and dyeing are among the most difficult to manage.) I am glad, however, that I decided to go. The intensive textile workshop was a travel through time and a tactile experience which one cannot get through virtual presentations or a museum visit.
One of our final tasks was to make a piece of velveteen. TRC Intensive Textile Course, August 2021. Photograph: Evelyn Valencia.One of the amazing things is that the TRC Leiden is a volunteer-run organisation. Upon walking in, I felt a sense of love and care, enthusiasm and dedication put into the centre and its activities. I absolutely love that the centre has numerous collections of garments and samples from different countries, ethnic groups, and various socio-economic groups. There are well-made heirloom pieces and others which are not. All of them provide excellent learning opportunities.
Dr Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood is also a great teacher and historian. She is wonderful at extracting the stories behind every piece of fabric—or a strand of thread. The workshop runs from 9:00 to 16:30 for five days, but time flies because we are always engaged in hands-on tasks and in examining historical garment samples. These are opportunities unavailable in most schools, universities, or museums. In fact, by the fifth day, I felt like there are more things to learn—we have barely scraped the surface!
I was also happy to meet fellow textile enthusiasts – people from all walks of life whom I probably otherwise would never meet. It felt wonderful to meet people in person after more than a year of working from home and distance learning. We were a small group of five this time because of social distancing requirements. Nevertheless, we were a diverse group and I thoroughly enjoyed interactions with my coursemates.
Embroidered panel from the Mapula group in South Africa (TRC 2021.2541).
There are always unexpected surprises during the workshop, sometimes equally eye-opening as the task at hand. For instance, we had visitors from an embroidery group called Mapula in South Africa. In museum displays, I often see tapestries or embroidered art telling stories of royal, religious, and military triumphs. These stand in stark contrast to the Mapula pieces which speak of daily challenges the community faces during the pandemic, beauty in everyday routines such as cooking, biodiversity in South Africa, and fantastical images from dreams.
My takeaways from the workshop may not have immediate implication in terms of my profession. But who knows? After all, one is more than one’s profession. I walked out from the workshop with a more discerning eye and feel for textiles, and a greater appreciation of the richness of life from a basic need that is often taken for granted: clothing. To quote Dr Vogelsang-Eastwood, “None of us walk around naked.”
The next TRC Intensive Textile course is planned for 11-15 October. There are two places free, so please let us know asap whether you want to attend. After that, the following dates have been scheduled: 15-19 November, and for 2022: 21-25 February, 4-8 April, 22-26 August, 10-14 October, and 21-25 November. For more information, see the relevant webpages, or contact the TRC directly: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Evelyn Valencia, 5 August 2021
