Gainsborough Silk Weaving
Last week we were able to pay a visit to Gainsborough Silk Weaving in Sudbury, Suffolk. One of our long term collaborators, Gainsborough are an industry leader in artisanal weaving. They invited us on a tour of their workshop to see the magic happen.
East Anglia has been the traditional home of the English weaving industry for centuries, a legacy that Gainsborough strives to uphold. Founded in 1903, they have been at their current location in Sudbury since 1924. Some of these looms have been in use since the 19th Century.
Ever present in the Gainsborough workshop is the Jacquard Loom. First created in 1804, these machines were a mainstay of textile production during the Industrial Revolution and after. They use cards punched with a binary system of holes to weave intricate patterns and designs. This binary control system makes the Jacquard Loom one of the earliest pieces of computer hardware.
We are very happy to have been able to work and collaborate with Gainsborough over the course of several years, and we hope to continue with our innovative collaboration.
In our next blog post, we will expand further on how Gainsborough have inspired our own work through their intuitive combination of vibrant colour and intricate design.