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Today, Friday 16th January, we finished the first stage of the TRC move to other premises. We started off today with a traditional meal prepared by Herra, our Indonesian volunteer. The meal included rice, salt and boiled eggs. Such food, accompanied with shrimps, is associated with the blessings for a move and good luck with all that will happen in the future. How appropriate. And how kind of her to prepare and bring the meal. 

For three days the removal people have been busy loading the c. 4,000 boxes of the textiles and dress collection, plus furniture and whatever else that has to be shifted, into twelve containers. These will be stored and be taken to the Boerhaavelaan in Leiden in early March.

The removal team and TRC staff posing in front of the rapidly emptying former premises of the TRC along the Hogewoerd.

The last few days were very exciting, and the removal lads were absolutely great. They worked very hard, perhaps stimulated by the coffee and biscuits that we provided. We are looking forward to seeing them during the second stage of the move, and we are sure that they won't mind helping us again.

Indonesian meal, prepared by one of the TRC volunteers, to guarantee good fortune with the move. Friday morning, 16th January.

It is very empty!

 The last act: Removing the TRC sign board. We will stick it up in the new building.

Two TRC colleagues helping to move the c. 4,000 boxes with the TRC collection. Thursday, 15th January 2026.Today, Thursday 15th, the move of the Textile Research Centre from the Hogewoerd to the beautiful urban villa along the Boerhaavelaan, just behind the railway station, went on with the help of the removal team and a group of TRC volunteers.

Tomorrow we carry on, and yes, by the end of the afternoon we expect to leave the Hogewoerd for the last time and lock the doors. We have been working there since September 2009. Mixed feelings!

The 'old' TRC is rapidly getting empty. Thursday, 15th January 2026.

This morning, 13 January, the first container is being filled with part of the TRC collection and other materials. More containers will follow the next few days. We can only move into our new premises (Boerhaavelaan) by the end of February/early March, but the containers and their contents will be safely stored by the removal firm (wonderful people!).

However, we have already stored still-to-be catalogued textiles and teaching materials for the upcoming Five-Day Intensive Textile Course (23-27 February; and yes, this will be the first major teaching 'event' in our new home) at another place, and so has our computer system, so we can continue our work in the next few weeks, mostly from home, but also from suitable meeting places in Leiden.

The TRC is moving

De komende weken, tot half februari 2026, zijn we druk bezig met de (zo voelt het tenminste) gigantische verhuizing van het TRC (en de collectie!) van de Hogewoerd naar ons nieuwe pand aan de Boerhaavelaan (nr. 6), vlak achter het Centraal Station Leiden.

Maar na de verhuizing staat de laatste week van februari alweer in het teken van de volgende editie van de befaamde TRC Vijfdaagse Intensieve Textielcursus.

Voor de zes maanden daarna hebben we een vol programma samengesteld met workshops, lezingen en cursussen. Kom gerust langs en neem deel aan onze activiteiten, en neem tegelijkertijd een kijkje in ons nieuwe onderkomen. Het activiteitenprogramma kunt u hier bekijken en/of downloaden. Meld u aan voor een of meerdere evenementen en houd de agenda in de gaten. We plannen nog veel meer activiteiten!

Some time ago the TRC published  a blog about a visit to Estonia by Gillian and Willem Vogelsang. They wrote about the local production of camouflage netting for Ukraine. Last week the TRC IT-consultant, Jonathan Visser, who currently carries out volunteer work in Ukraine for several local organisations, sent us the following appeal for support:

Kitty Pechersk (Печерські котики, 'Kittens from Pechersk') is a volunteer community based in Kyiv, Ukraine, which plays a significant role in the provision of vital fabric-based items to the Ukrainian military. This collective has been producing, by hand, camouflage nets, ghillie suits, helmets, and paraffin trench-candles since the start of the Russian invasion in early 2022.

Group of volunteers of Kitty Pechersk.

(Leiden, 6 Nov. 2025) Kirkus Review is a book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The publisher, Kirkus Media, has its headquarters in New York. Its online version has just published a review of Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood's latest book: The Atlas of World Embroidery. A Global exploration of Heritage and Styles and awarded it with the coveted 'star'. For more information about the book, see an earlier blog.

The review can be read and downloaded here. The Atlas will be published by Princeton University Press on 17 February 2026. A Dutch version will be published at the same time by WBooks. A book launch of both the English and Dutch versions will take place on Friday, 20 February 2026, in the new 'home' of the TRC at the Boerhaavelaan 6, Leiden.

(Leiden, 5 Nov. 2025) The Stichting (Foundation) Monumentenbezit, the owner of Boerhaavelaan 6 where the TRC soon hopes to find a new home, has published an article about the building, its history and its architectural jewels, but also about the new occupants of the building, namely the TRC. You can read or download the article, which contains a number of beautiful photographs, here.

Boerhaavelaan 6 Leiden

Princeton University Press has just announced the upcoming publication (Febr. 2026)  of The Atlas of World Embroidery: A Global Exploration of Heritage and Styles. The book was written by Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, director of the TRC, and uses a large number of textiles housed in the TRC Collection.

The book is described in the announcement as "A richly illustrated history of embroidery and needlework, showcasing the glorious range of styles, motifs, and materials used around the world."

"Embroidery is one of the world’s most widely shared forms of creative expression—and one of its most varied and diverse. It can be found in every region, yet its visual languages, themes, and techniques vary greatly: some are marked by unique styles and others show influences from neighboring cultures. The Atlas of World Embroidery examines many distinctive embroidery styles and traditions found across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia."

"From the quillwork and birch boxes of Indigenous North America to the decorative matyo style of Hungary, the zardozi embroiderers of India, and the satin stitches of Han Dynasty China, Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood provides a comprehensive history of embroidery, describing its materials and tools, its designs and symbols, and its uses and makers. Emphasizing the visual aspects of embroidery across cultures, the atlas features an unprecedented array of color images celebrating the art form."