The study of textile art, design and history is also an important facet of the work of the Textile Society which aims to bring together designers, teachers, artists and anyone interested in textiles.
Each year the Textile Society, a registered charity which this year celebrates its 25th birthday, organises a one-day Antique Textile Fair, a major event in the field of textile appreciation and conservation. Not only are there around 130 dealers selling a wide range of vintage textiles, costumes and accessories from across Europe, but it's a serious occasion too with a series of lectures and workshops.
Meg Andrews, a textile dealer and one of the society's spokespeople, said: "One of the speakers this year is Ann French, conservationist at the Whitworth Art Gallery and Museum in Manchester who is talking about the planning and preparation of the gallery's current exhibtion Indigo: A Blue to Dye For."
The Annual Textile Fair takes place on Sunday March 4 in Manchester at the Armitage Centre in Moseley Road, Fallowfield. Admission £5 from 10am to 5pm; trade £10 from 8.30am).
Tel: 0161 860 0922.
BY JOAN PORTER
