News & Views > Newsletter > August 2011 Newsletter
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August 2011 NewsletterHello!I definitely have the feeling that I am losing to Mother Nature this year – I have been unable to travel three times in the last three months – once for earthquakes, once for volcanic ash and once for snow. So it was somewhat gratefully that I actually made it to Melbourne last week.
While it was fabulous just to be in a proper buzzing city while ours has temporarily lost its heart, we did have a fully booked agenda of inspiring stores and designers. The highlight for me was a morning spent at the boutique print studio Ink & Spindle, where textile designers Lara Cameron and Tegan Rose gave me my very own hand screen printing demonstration. In these days when price advertising is so prevalent and products are often produced far from our shores, it is something quite special to see the amount of work that goes into this inspiring duo’s textiles. They are not motivated by finding the cheapest way to do things – it is about achieving their vision with their principles intact.
Ink & Spindle take their impact on the environment totally seriously. As Teegs puts it, now that she knows how toxic the global textile industry can be on the environment and that some staff are working in questionable working conditions, she can’t just ignore it and doesn’t want to contribute to it. As a result they hand print themselves using only organic base cloth (which they wish they could buy without a large carbon footprint) and use water based inks.
But to the hand screen printing demonstration:  First Teegs mixes the colours needed. While they have a standard range of colours for their designs, they can match any Pantene colour on request. Note the trusty mixer!  The correct screen is selected and taken to the printing table. They print by passing a wooden paddle, which pushes the paint through the screen onto the fabric, across to the other person. It takes a tight team to be able to print half a screen each without it being able to be detected in the final fabric, as a difference in pressure would show up in the intensity of the colour in the finished fabric.  They print every second screen on the fabric, leaving what they have printed to dry before returning to print into the gaps.   When they have completed the printing the fabric needs to be heat set so the design is permanent.
We reckon that if you spot a print error in a hand printed fabric, you should treasure it, as it is pretty special to have something made so painstakingly, so close to home.
To see all fabric design from Ink & Spindle (designers Tegan Rose & Lara Cameron) click here.
P.S. For those who are new to the Weekly Specials here's how it works: Every second Monday we will be listing 5 specials on our web page. These will be available for two weeks only and while stocks last. To get the discount you need a coupon number that can be used on-line during checkout or in store at 216 Madras Street, Christchurch. You will automatically receive a code for these specials every second Monday via email. You can choose not to receive these emails at any time, simply by clicking unsubscribe on the bottom of this page. We add you to our system with your email address as your user name and a random password. You can retrieve this password by clicking on "Members login" in the top right of the home page, enter your email address in the field user name and click on "forgot password". Enter your details and your password will be sent to your email address immediately. Now you can log on to the member section, change your details and see all your orders. |
contact usBolt of Cloth
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Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm Bolt of Cloth Retail store The Colombo Mall 363 Colombo St Christchurch open Mo-Sun Phone: +64 3 341 5070 Fax: +64 3 341 5071 Email: info@boltofcloth.com |
about usMotivated by a love of fabric and design we make it fun and easy to choose beautiful things for your home. We are always on the hunt for new designers & products, so pop back regularly - there is always something new in store. Almost all of the fabrics & home furnishing products are held in stock, so you can have them straight away. Additionally we custom make products in our Christchurch Workroom, so you can get exactly what you want to individualise your home, while supporting New Zealand made. If you have any questions, please contact us - we'd love to help you. |
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