Final year Woven Textiles student, Leah Ashton, spent her summer at two exciting internships one with Anna Champeney in Northern Spain and the other with Christopher Farr Cloth in London. She tells us about her very different experiences at both learning about their design process and how each company is run.
Anna Champeney Textile Studio
“In June this summer I spent three weeks at Anna Champeney Textile Studio, learning about local weaving techniques and natural dyeing. AC Textiles is an independent studio based in the remote village of Cristosende, Northern Spain. I applied for the internship because I wanted to gain even more weaving experience; this internship allowed me to weave myself, which very few others gave me the opportunity to do.
During my internship I wove a linen scarf which was sold online as part of AC Textiles summer collection as well as some linen towels for a customer commission. I also learnt some techniques for dyeing using plants and other natural sources, many of which were grown locally on site; I found this a very interesting experience.
It was such a great opportunity to travel to Northern Spain and be able to weave with a freelance designer. Not only because of the textile knowledge that I gained but also because I got to learn about the culture of a remote Spanish village and how a designer markets herself in such an area.”
http://annachampeney.com
Anna Champeney will be running the same internship next year so considering applying if you’re interested in Leah’s experience. You can read more about Leah’s internship here – http://www.textilesnaturales.com/archives/16718
Christopher Farr Cloth
“My next internship was at Christopher Farr Cloth in Chelsea, London. I was there from the beginning of July to the end of August. Christopher Farr cloth is the fabric division of Christopher Farr (Rugs). Their collection has over 60 designs of prints and weaves, designed by a range of designers and artists. The printed collection is still produced in the UK, and I was lucky enough to visit the family-owned company and see how the designs were printed; both by hand and using a rotary.
My main role consisted of dealing with sample requests, whether that was sending sample refreshers to the showrooms abroad or to independent interiors designers. During my internship they were developing a new printed outdoor fabric line, I got to sit in on meetings with the international printers and work on colour ways for the new prints. Recently, Christopher Farr have brought out a new wallpaper collection. Each wallpaper comes in an assortment of colours and I helped to create a wallpaper colour collection book that allows clients to pick designs and colour ways.”
http://christopherfarr.com