Output details

The Beauty of Experiment: The Rediscovery of Shadow Tissues

Funded by an £111,648.00 Leverhulme research grant (2010). Trish Belford (PI) led a collaborative project with design historian Dr Philip Sykas, (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Turnbull Design Ltd, an international printing company, holder of the Turnbull and Stockdale Archive.

Granted access for the first time to this important design archive, the team were able to investigate a lost technique known as ‘shadow tissue’. Using historical and theoretical methods combined with archaeological techniques they determined how shadow tissues and associated processes were produced. Supported by Research Assistant Beth Milligan, the project team recreated textile samples and artefacts that were informed by the historical research. Turnbull Design Ltd liaised with the academic researchers to develop viable commercial applications using current industry-leading production.

The initial research was presented on the 17th November 2011 at TRIP: An international symposium exploring the role of traditional ‘hand skills’ in contemporary textiles, and the value and status of craft process. Belford was awarded the Textile Society Professional Development Award for her contribution to this research project.

The research has several legacy outcomes: Archival recording of designs and samples relating to shadow tissues in the Turnbull & Stockdale archives; a body of contemporary design work developed from previously lost historical techniques; contemporary commercial applications for the research and production of new materials. The physical outcomes are limited edition pattern books containing tactile samples which are available to academic, museum and educational libraries/research archives.