LONDON GUILD OF WEAVERS, SPINNERS AND DYERS
Minutes of the Management Committee held on Saturday, 13th July 2013 at St. Stephen’s House, 48, Emperor’s Gate, London SW7 4HJ at 10.00 a.m. for 10.30 a.m.
Present:Eve Alexander (Chair)
Lyn Duffus
Penny Penton
Sharen McGrail
Roberto Campana
Jennifer Wearden
Wendy Morris
Jean Derby (Secretary)
- Apologies:
Apologies were received from Jane Rutt
- Minutes
The Minutes of the meeting held on 13th April 2013 were approved and signed.
- Matters Arising:
It was agreed that asking members if they would like a Workshop about natural dyes by Jenny Oliver at her home in Kent and asking members if they would like to receive Warp & Weft electronically, would be deferred for a few weeks (Action: Secretary)
- Finance:
Sharen McGrail reported:The bank balance is currently £6808.63 but this requires adjustment for a late invoice for the latest W&W and an invoice from Roberto Campana for the replacement projection screen estimated to be £130. It has been adjusted for the £150 owing to Eve Alexander for purchasing the display stands from Sonia Lawrence. Income was generated from commission on sales at the Big Weave £108.40 Expenditure since the last meeting has been largely for the new website and the forthcoming exhibition. Initial payment to Rob Butler £285 Roberto Campana will sort out the Warp & Weft invoices and get a quote for each issue. (Action: Roberto Campana)
Exhibition Cost ongoing
Venue £400Promotional £278.80Display stands £150
For discussion –
How are we going to records sales items, payments received and using the crypt’s cards processing facility?
How will the funds be transferred to the Guild account?
How do we ensure everyone on the rota is familiar with processes above?
Jan Slater sent a report:
I will not arrive at the Committee Meeting tomorrow until circa 11.30 so am giving some answers to Sharen’s query which we can discuss further when I arrive.
Sales through the Crypt shop will be recorded by them and at the end of the Exhibition they will give us a cheque for the full amount less their commission.
Sales items done via our desk in the Gallery will be recorded in an invoice book and we will tot up the amount at the end and deduct relevant commission.
There will be a locked cash box for smaller cash items and cheques. Small items such as postcards will be noted in a dedicated note book. There is a locked cupboard in the Gallery where these items can be put at the end of the day.
We plan to send everyone on the rota a list of instructions and telephone number/s to ring with queries. There will also be a copy kept at the desk
- Committee Reports:
a)Membership:
Christine Eborall reported:
- Statistics
At the time of writing the current number of Guild members is 142. This breaks down into:
- 9 Honorary members
- 123 previous members renewing for 2013
- 10 new members, all of whom have joined since the beginning of March. One is a student member.
Sources of the 10 new members
The “how did you hear of the London Guild” questions on the application form shows 3 of the new members heard of the Guild via the web, 3 at events attended by the Guild and 2 via courses/study days:
Weave Shed website / Clandon House eventInternet / Knitting & Stitching Show (Ally Pally)
Internet search / Picked up a leaflet at the Huguenots event at Spitalfields marquee
Previous member (resigned 2010) / My ex-tutor at Chelsea, Lorna Birtcham
Personal contact / Attended spinning day with Brenda Gibson
Methods of payment
The great majority of renewing and new members pay by cheque, by post or at meetings, and the remainder pay cash at meetings. However this year we have had one payment by postal order (which was accepted by the bank) and two enquiries about alternative methods. As there is said to be a gradual decline in the use of cheques, especially among younger people, perhaps it is time to consider offering payment by bank transfer?
In future we may need to consider offering payment by direct debit.
Sharen McGrail to give Christine Eborall instructions about bank transfers for membership payment. (Action: Sharen McGrail)
b) Warp & Weft:
Roberto Campana reported:
The last edition of Warp & Weft was very popular and I have an enquiry from Denmark
From a Lady who wants to join the Guild so she can receive the newsletter.
It was agreed that submission of articles for the next issue of Warp & Weft should be four weeks before the publication date i.e. the Monday following the meeting before.
c) Speakers:
Penny Penton reported on the Draft Programme for 2014
*Titles to be confirmed
January 12Emma Boyles: ‘British Fleece from Farm to Fibre’. (Emma breeds specially for fleece and is involved with Campaign for Wool. [£100 + travel from Basingstoke]
February 8Hillu Liebelt *Update on Tapestry
March 8AGM
April 12Debbie and Pete Tomkies *Procion dyes and
Sunday April 13workshop ‘Introduction to Dyeing’ [£300 total +t.approx £140 b + b requested for 2 fri and sat}
May 10Gina Corrigan ‘Spinning and Weaving in Tibet’ [£150 t. Bognor Regis] with textiles to show, tales of travel and the changes taking place.
June 14 Rachael Matthews from Prick your Finger ‘Unfinished Objects’ creative knitting
And Workshop in the morning [£100 total t. London]
July 12Emma Sewell of Wallace and Sewell: From Hand Loom to Power Loom [£100 t London]
August 9?? suggestions from the committee please –question panel perhaps
Sept 13Gareth Jones Producer Relations Mger* Br Wool Marketing Board [t. Powys]
October 18Melanie Venes *The Handweavers’ Diploma – where do I go from here?’
November 8Mary Sleigh internationally known embroidery tutor with publications on the subject of ‘Inspiration from Africa’ [£150 t Grantham]
DecemberCompetitions
d) Library:
No report about the Library.
Visits and Exhibitions:
Roberto Campana reported that the The Big Weave was a great success and he had had a lot of feedback from it. We have been asked to demonstrate again in October 2015.
Visit to the Museum of London is fully booked and 21 Guild members will
see the Spitalfield silk collection.
Visit to the London Cloth company and also to Vanners or Gainsborough silk mills in Sudbury are being arranged in conjunction with Charlie de Wet
Felting Workshop:
Either one or two days. I will announce to members if they are interested in attending then I can set this up.
Letter from Sabine Fouchier,
“Hi Roberto,
Sorry for the delay in replying but I've been very busy working in schools for the last few days. As discussed on the phone I 'm interested for a future talk about the Art of Feltmaking and my personal practice as a Milliner & Feltmaker.
About the Feltmaking workshops, please find the following details:-
Up to 15 students can join in. The cost per person is 35 pounds/day + materials (depending on the project, between 5 to 15 pounds)
1 day (5 hours) :- Hand Felted Corsage/Jewellery/Beads
Using soft Merino wool , soap and water the students will learn the Art
of Felt making techniques(wet felt).They will be able to make their own corsage brooch, beads and jewellery following their personal ideas
2 days (10 hours) :- Hand Felted Hat or Bag
Following their own ideas the students will design and make a HandFelted Hat or a Bag !
Using wool and other natural and synthetic fibres the students will learn how to make a template to create a Hand Felted 3D seamless Hat or Bag
Roberto Campana to find out what is factored into the cost for these workshops. (ActionRoberto Campana)
(i) Dot Seddon’s Workshop, 9th November 2013
Warp Weave Beetle and Mount. Max 10 people for 2 hours and if sufficient nos, £25.00 ea.
- Coordinators:
September: Daphne Ratcliffe
October: Penny Penton to announce proceedings
November: Jenifer Midgley
- Arrangements for October’s Meeting:
The people taking part are Eve Alexander, Lyn Duffus, Jan Slater and Jean Derby
Each person to spend a few minutes at the front of the meeting to give a very short introduction and then go to their individual stations. Members would then move from one to the other as they wished
- Website Issues:
(i) Teresa Couceiro’s e-mail to Eve Alexander.
This was discussed again and it was agreed that our communications with Teresa had not been clear enough to explain what was needed and what procedures we wanted to follow. It was unanimously agreed that the Secretary should write to Teresa to apologise for this and also apologise for not sufficiently involving her in decisions made. It was hoped that she would understand that the Committee had acted throughout with the best of intentions
The quote from Rob had been the best one having consulted another designer and the feedback we had had from another organisation who had used his services.
(ii) Report on Progress:
Eve Alexander reported that she hoped that the site could go ‘live’ on Tuesday, 16th July or as soon as possible thereafter.
Eve Alexander was thanked for all the work that she had put it to get to this point. It was felt that without it we wouldn’t have achieved so much. However, Eve advised that as Webmaster she would not be able to carry on as Chair of the Guild since there was still a lot of work to be done and to carry on doing. Eve said that she had approached Christine Eborall to take over from her, but Christine was unable to do so at present, but it was possible next year. Jane Rutt would be asked if she could do it until Christine was able to.
- Exhibition – report on progress:
Jan Slater reported as follows:
Press release– Jane Rutt will be sending this out to Time Out, Evening Standard, Guardian, Alllondonlive, London Town, Whats on in London, Metro and the Westminster Council. Others charge. We are also in the Craft mag and Selvedge, The Journal and Yarnforward. St Martins’s have a quarterly with all their activities which is given out free in the Crypt shop and is also distributed around all the main central hotels and other places where there is tourist information.
We have also sent exhibition leaflets and information to 20 local-to-London Guilds and PrickyourFinger (in London) and, I hope, IKnit and any other knitting shops we can get to.
Preview Party - Joan Scriven is sending out email invites early July to past speakers. I hope to get from Roberto Campana the contact details of the Spitalfield event lady and his V&A contact. Also I am asking Wendy for any heads of textile colleges that she think would be worth inviting. Jean Derby has written formally to William Jefferies to invite him to open the exhibition and had a formal reply back. We will contact him nearer the time to ask him to just say a few words half an hour into the preview party. Currently we have circa 20 replies from Guild members, add another 20 for late-comers and committee members and I hope we can stay within about 50-60 people.
We have to use the Crypt Cafe caterers but we have earmarked their cheapest wine. We will also have orange juice and water. Initially people will be given a glass on arrival, thereafter they can go to a table at one end of the gallery to get a second one. Thus we will not have waiters going round topping people up willy-nilly, thereby not getting through too many bottles, we hope. Bottles of wine are £13.50. The Guild will be liable for only half the cost of the party, the other half is being paid by a donation.
Rota– Jean Derby is doing amazing work, but we still have quite a few gaps. The exhibition committee and, I think, some of the main committee will be able to help here. At the end of July (after our next exhib committee meeting) we will be putting together a list of instructions for those on rota – particularly re payment (cards going through Crypt shop etc).
Collection of pieces/delivery - Some pieces have come in already and more will come at the Guild meeting. Lyn Duffus will collect those going to Handweavers and will bring them down to the Crypt on setting up day. Jane Rutt and Jan Slater will bring the rest (plus poles and box of equipment). The Crypt give parking permits for a short period just outside Crypt entrance. They suggest we arrive after the main rush hour – ie 10am.
Hanging– we would appreciate help on the actual hanging day (Monday 19th August). David Armstrong has kindly volunteered to be in charge of advice and I will be seeing him in the week running up to the exhib to discuss. I think two people working under him on the big three main bays (with Jean Derby coming up behind and doing a little stitching once things are in place). And two to three people on the smaller bays and two to three on the pillars. I am preparing poles with hooks , Jean Derby is preparing muslin sleeves to go over them so it is only a question of draping things artfully and tastefully.
Labels – we will be producing labels to a set formula (so there is uniformity throughout) taking the info from the submission forms. Lyn Duffus will be in charge of this. These will go up right at the end and be numbered. This will correlate with the main catalogue to be held at the desk with all relevant information.
Other items– we will have a display of about 9 photos, all being well, which we will group together at the entrance with a few words about the Guild – background and general info. These photos will be of spinning, weaving, various textiles and, if Roberto Campana can supply them, two of the Ghanaian weaver. On the desk we will have postcards for sale and any small items from Guild members. Also by the desk we will have one bay for immediate sale items. All these will have to go in and out of the locked cupboard each day.
- Any Other Business:
(i) Reimbursement for overnight accommodation for speakers – to be discussed at the next Committee Meeting in October 2013.
(ii)It was agreed that more people should know how to set up the equipment for the meeting. Half an hour to be spent at the next Committee meeting for instruction.
(iii)It was suggested that ‘How to photograph our work’ could be a topic for next August’s meeting. Wendy Morris will liaise with Myka Baum (the photographer who took the photographs for the Exhibition flyer) (Action: Wendy Morris)
(iv)A complete list of the Committee should be circulated to Committee members
(v)Jane Rutt is still waiting to hear from Selvedge about their suggestion that the Guild might like to have a stand at their Trade event.
(v) Jason Peters, Learning and Conservation Officer of the Forty Hall Estate, Enfield had asked for the Guild’s help about dye plants and fibre production. Daphne Ratcliffe has been in touch with him and will follow it up.
- Date of next meeting– 19th October 2013