We are excited to invite you to our extraordinarily special Gloucestershire Guild only Exhibition with a few invited guest artists, who fit with the theme, which this year is 'Flowers and the Maker’, after the discovery of a 1974 recording made by BBC Radio Bristol of the first time that the house was opened to the public which was for a Flower Festival.
Crafts Alive at Rodmarton Manor – 10 – 14 September
For timed entry tickets https://guildcrafts.org.uk/pages/crafts-alive
EXCITING ARTICLE IN SELVEDGE MAGAZINE THIS MONTH!!
https://www.selvedge.org/blogs/selvedge/crafts-alive-and-in-bloom-at-rodmarton-manor
Crafts Alive and in Bloom at Rodmarton Manor
August 26, 2025
This September, the Gloucestershire countryside will be in full bloom — not only with late summer flowers, but with craft, colour and creativity. From 10–14 September 2025, the Gloucestershire Guild presents the fourth edition of its much-loved festival, Crafts Alive – Flowers and the Maker, transforming Rodmarton Manor into a living gallery where historic architecture and contemporary craft entwine.
Rodmarton is no ordinary backdrop. Built by Ernest Barnsley between 1909 and 1929, it remains one of Britain’s finest Arts and Crafts houses — a home conceived as a community project, shaped by local hands, and steeped in the ideals of the movement. This year’s floral theme reaches back to a charming discovery: a 1972 recording of Mary Biddulph recalling the manor’s first flower festival, organised to raise funds for the village church.
The textile line-up is remarkably diverse. Alison Dupernex’s sculptural felt and silk garments unite Donegal tweed with fine silk in “cobbles in a myriad of colours,” while Helen Foot’s Rebellious Nostalgia scarves fuse traditional patchwork with bold geometry — techniques that have already attracted Paul Smith and Alexander McQueen. Embroidery also takes centre stage: Jan Knibbs’ award-winning “Poembroidery” wallhangings have evolved into bridal wear, and Louise Watson captures the quiet rhythms of the countryside in delicate hand stitch. Painterly screen-printed scarves and garments by Jenny Bicât eschew digital technology in favour of hand-drawn expression, while Liz Lippiatt continues Gloucestershire’s cloth-making heritage with devoré velvets “like beaten gold.”...
Devoré robes by Liz Lippiatt
Devoré robes by Liz Lippiatt. Photograph by Henry Arden
2024 Fresh Air Fashion & Master Makers
FOLLOW LIZ ON INSTAGRAM @lizlippiatt
For designs on sale online @guildcrafts and at Gloucestershire Guild, 18 Rotunda Terrace, Montpellier Street, Cheltenham. Open Monday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm & Sundays during festivals.
@glosguild
@glosguild
Japanese Anemone Kimono
Bluebell Stems on the print table for place printed table canvases.