SUMMARY OF TEXTILE AWARDS 2006/2007

The Weavers' Company Silver Medal


The Company's Silver Medal, awarded in recognition of an outstanding individual contribution to the weaving industry in the field of technology, management, education or the craft of weaving, has in 2008 been awarded to Professor Chris Carr, Head of Textiles & Paper, School of Materials, University of Manchester.

Professor Carr gained a BSc and PhD at University College Cardiff before taking up research fellowships in Australia, the USA and the Scottish College of Textiles, where he was made a Lecturer in 1988.  He moved to Manchester in 1992, as a Lecturer in the Department of Textiles, UMIST and was appointed Senior Lecturer in 1994.  The Chair in Textile Science & Technology was conferred in 2004 and Professor Carr became Head of Department, Textiles & Paper.  In the same year, UMIST merged with Manchester University and he was appointed Deputy Head, School of Materials at the newly formed University of Manchester. 

Professor Carr lectures on a broad range of textile?related undergraduate and Masters courses at the University of Manchester, and on the European Textile Engineering Masters centred in Belgium.  He is an External Examiner at a number of universities both in the UK and abroad, has extensive experience as a postgraduate supervisor and, since 2006, has held a Visiting Professorship at the Textiles Department of Zheijiang Sci-Tech University, China.
In addition to teaching, Professor Carr has journalistic responsibilities as Deputy Editor of the Journal of the Textile Institute; an Editorial Panel member of the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, and a referee for Cellulose, Journal of Materials Science, Textile Research Journal, Journal of the Textile Institute, and Journal of the Society of Dyers and Colourists.

He has been on the Organizing/Advisory Committee for Polymer 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008, the International Wool & Hair Research Conference 2005 and the Autex Scientific Advisory Panel 2007 Conference, Tampere.
As Head of Textiles & Paper at Manchester, Professor Carr has helped to establish the 3D carbon fibre weaving facility, 3D CAD research/teaching facility and Protective Garment Assessment laboratories.  He has also been to the fore in developing the MRes in Technical Textiles in support of the expanding Technical Textiles sector of the UK industry.

 
The Weavers' Company Silver Shuttle Award

The Silver Shuttle Award, offered for the first time in 2008, seeks to honour the achievements of young talent within the UK woven textile industry and in so doing to promote the industry.
It is directed both at graduate and non-graduate employees from any sector or discipline, eg production, design, management or research.

Companies are invited to nominate an employee under the age of 40 years who has worked in the industry for at least three years, demonstrating exceptional talent and commitment, proven ability and the potential one day to become a leader within their area of expertise.

The first winner of The Weavers' Company Silver Shuttle Award is Mrs Joanne Alsop, Head Designer at Moxon Huddersfield Ltd.  She was nominated by Mr Geoffrey Ellam, Managing Director, as ?a remarkable designer and manager, and a valuable asset to the business?
Joanne joined Huddersfield Fine Worsteds as an Assistant Designer on leaving school in 1994. She demonstrated an early enthusiasm for the textile industry, undertaking day release study at the University of Huddersfield, where she gained a BSc (Hons) Textile Design in 2002.
Also in 2002, Joanne received a commendation in the Weavers' Company Textile Industry Awards.  With an obvious talent, she was advised to gained more experience and re-apply.  Heeding this advice, she was nominated Young Designer of the Year (Traditional Design)
2005 and took control of Huddersfield Fine Worsteds' design department in the same year.
A glittering career seemed assured but the company went into administration and problems within the group resulted in closure of the on-site manufacturing facility.  The new company, HFW Huddersfield Ltd, traded as a manufacturer without looms.

Despite being deeply traumatised by these events, Joanne maintained both her enthusiasm for textiles and her determination to continue working within the industry.  In November 2006, given the opportunity to take control of the design department at Moxon Huddersfield Ltd, she grasped it with both hands.
In just one year Joanne has transformed the design department, producing superb collections and encouraging new customers, including Tom Ford, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Kiton and Isaia to visit the mill and work with her to produce exclusive collections. In addition to attending both Premier Vision in Paris and Ideabiella in Italy, she has twice travelled to the Far East to work on styling projects with new and existing customers.  The contracts she has won are expected to make a considerable difference to the profitability of the company.
Joanne is recognised as having the potential to become a leading player in UK textiles.

The Silver Shuttle Award replaces the Weavers' Company Textile Industry Awards, which were offered in the categories of Young Weaver, Young Designer and Young Manager of the Year.

 
Awards to Educational Establishments

The principal aim of the Weavers' Company is to uphold and enhance its tradition, fellowship and assets in order to apply them for the benefit of the weaving and textile industry, the chosen objectives of the Company's charities and future generations of the Weavers' Company.

Following a major review in 2006, new aims and objectives were set for the Textile Education Fund, summarised as follows:  To encourage excellence in all spheres of the United Kingdom woven textile industry by identifying, supporting and nurturing exceptional students training for and young talent working within the industry, supporting centres of excellence in textile education and recognising and working with those who have made the most significant contributions to the textile industry.

It was agreed that a small number of colleges offering textile-related degree courses should be identified as centres of excellence to which the Company's grant giving would be directed.  Visits were undertaken to a number of colleges across the UK and the following six selected to form an initial core group: Central St. Martins College of Art & Design, Chelsea College of Art & Design, Glasgow School of Art, Loughborough University, Royal College of Art and the University of Manchester.  Membership of the core group is subject to regular review and satisfactory performance.

Scholarships

The Company's scholarships were restricted to students at the above centres of excellence and although the number of awards was less than in previous years, the bursaries were much more significant.

Grant renewals totalling £5,850 were awarded to final year students whose colleges did not form part of the core group and a further £3,000 to students at the Royal College of Art.

In addition, nine new scholarships totalling £24,000 were awarded as follows:
Central St Martins College of Art & Design   £5,250
Chelsea College of Art & Design   £6,000
Glasgow School of Art   £1,750
Loughborough University   £3,000
Royal College of Art    £8,000

The Stuart Hollander Scholarship commemorates the life and work of Stuart Hollander CBE, a member of the Livery, who played a significant part in the UK textile industry.  This is the Company's top scholarship, comprising a bursary together with a bespoke short programme of study in a different but related discipline, and is awarded to the most exceptional candidate amongst the Company's scholarship winners.  The Stuart Hollander Memorial Scholarship 2008 was awarded to Zoë Acketts, an MA student at the Royal College of Art.

 
Support for Education Awards

Funding previously available for College Awards and Technology Awards was combined to form a new Support for Education Award, with the aim of helping weaving departments to upgrade or renew existing equipment, purchase new equipment, or enable their students to gain experience of modern technology.  In addition to capital projects, Support for Education Awards also provide assistance with work experience placements, the purchase of yarns and projects linked to industry which help students prepare for employment.

In the academic year 2007/08, the following awards were made:

Central St. Martins College of Art & Design - £10,732
Towards the purchase of three ARM electronic 24 shaft looms as part of a rolling programme to replace worn out looms and modernise the Weave Workshop; the college will be moving to a single site in 2010.

Glasgow School of Art - £2,536
To purchase three iMac computers and upgrade the Weavemaker package.

Loughborough University - £1,500
For the provision of small bursaries to help needy students on the BA (Hons) Textile Design course take up one-year industrial placements at the end of year 2, enabling them to graduate with a Diploma in Professional Studies.

Loughborough University - £1,500
To purchase newly developed and interesting yarns designed for manufacture and industrial applications, normally available only in large quantities at prohibitively high cost, from the Yarn Purchasing Association (YPA).  This organisation, set up by a group of Danish textile designers, buys in bulk and sells on in smaller quantities.

University of Manchester - £10,000
Towards the purchase of two more Scotweave 3D Technical Weaver systems leading to the establishment of a world class Weaving 3D-CAD Cluster Facility.
Royal College of Art - £1,500
To enable the annual intake of six MA students to visit trade fairs and mills, and take up a work placement during the holiday period between the first and second year of the course.
 

Design Awards

The Royal Society of Arts Student Design Awards is a prestigious, national competition for which the Company awards prizes in the Furnishing Textiles and Fashion Fabrics Sections; the Warner Medal and the Sir Ernest Goodale Memorial Award (a travel bursary).  In 2007/08 there were 217 entries from 26 universities and colleges of art.

The Sir Frank Warner Memorial Certificate and Sir Ernest Goodale Memorial Award were won by Liesl Despy of Central St Martins College of Art and Design, whose submission was far superior to any other.  In producing her interiors textile collection, she had aesthetic and environmental features in mind.  Inspired by country walks, especially by water, Liesl imagined her customers returning home and wrapping themselves in textiles whose colour, imagery and texture evoked memories of water, air and earth.  The designs suited modern interiors but they were not oriented to any particular style and would fit into many room settings.  The woven samples submitted had full details of warping plans and Liesl's sketch books were immaculate.

Other Awards

A grant was made towards the expenses of TEXPRINT, which each year provides an opportunity for the top 20 or so newly graduated textile designers to display their work within an international showcase, enabling them to make international contacts in the fashion industry and secure orders.

A grant was also made to the Design Trust, which helps young designers starting up their own business by providing financial and other advice, and showcasing their work on its website.

In addition, a few donations were made in response to appeals from textile museums and other textile-related causes