Talking Tapestries Project
Talking Tapestries is a vibrant community project that honours the legacy of West Auckland’s clothing factories by archiving the voices and memories of those who shaped its industrial past. Through recorded oral histories, shared stories, and creative interpretation, the project celebrates the resilience, skill, and camaraderie woven into the village’s textile heritage. It also shines a light on the present-day makers who continue this tradition with pride.
The initiative will culminate in a joyful event at West Auckland Memorial Hall, bringing generations together to reflect, reconnect, and reimagine the future — kindly supported by Historic England.
Discover more about the event and book your free tickets here
our past
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our present
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our future
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OUR HIDDEN STORIES
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our past 〰️ our present 〰️ our future 〰️ OUR HIDDEN STORIES 〰️
Hidden Story Textile Artist Alex visited Oakley Cross Sewing group to talk about all things textiles, imagination and stories, using inspiration from the past from the growing archive to create designs and garment ideas for the future.
Photo credit: Hope Caitlin Photography
Bishop Button Box with local artist Jackie Stonehouse
Bishop Button Box with local artist Jackie Stonehouse
Photo credit: Hope Catlin Photography
During the listening events and conversations held with people throughout the project there was a great nostalgia around buttons within the garment making industry and family life.
Bishop Button Box Creative Workshop
The Bishop Button Box workshop was inspired by this and brought together a space for people to chat more about their lives in the clothing industry locally and explore what future fashion may look like in years to come.
Buttons in this context are a reflection of the people and places which hold things together, family button boxes of which the community talked so fondly were always a multicoloured mismatch of shapes and sizes and a poignant reminder of how communities with rich diversity can be beautiful and a source of conversation and curiosity about each other. Strong threads of understanding hold the fabric of the local area together creating room for new positive stories to be stitched together
