An interview with master metal smith Cheri Dunnigan about her extraordinary knitted jewelry, her creative process and living the life of an artist.

The first time I saw a braided white palm from Elche (Elx) was in Seville, it was tied to a balcony in the street where my husband and I were staying. It was such a lovely object; the perfect marriage of rustic material and delicate, complex form. I began to see them t...

A couple of years ago my husband and I printed t-shirts for our nieces and nephews for Christmas, each shirt was different and the one which we made for Kitty – who was three at the time – had a pink alien printed on it. The first thing she said when she opened her par...

The 9th edition of the Milan Design Museum exhibition at the Triennale in Milan is devoted to the important and frequently hidden role which women play in Italian design.  Curated by the museum’s director Silvana Annicchiarico, the exhibition is a rich, stimulating and...

Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists take the Vaporetto to visit Venice’s charming Lace Island, Burano, with its brightly coloured houses and excellent museum. As soon as you get off the ferry, as a tourist you are immediately wrapped up in all things lacey for...

In the world of fashion each company, atelier and even country closely guards the trade secrets which give them the necessary edge to be the best in the market place. Taking into account the importance which high end fashion places on craftsmanship in general and parti...

We are all familiar with the names of great Italian fashion designers, we see their names in magazines, on shop windows and on the labels of fashionable clothes and accessories, but behind the scenes there are many other less-known names who are responsible for turning...

Just over a week ago I had the pleasure of accompanying a group of textile lovers to visit the weaving workshop of Luigi Bevilacqua in Venice as part of our Textiles in Italy tour. After wandering through the narrow venetian allies leading from the ferry to the worksho...

As you all know I am currently in Italy and today will begin this year's textiles in Italy tour which you will be able to follow on Instagram. Last week I was in Tuscany and was struck by the amount of wild broom still in flower and wanted to talk a little about this w...

For over a decade bamboo fibre has been hailed as the new eco-friendly textile of the future... but how sustainable is it really? How much of the hype around bamboo fabrics is valid and how much is simply good marketing? This week I take a look at this subject examinin...