Hello and welcome to Daisy Damask, a blog about textile, craft and related heritage, with perhaps a few extras along the way.
A recent English Literature graduate from the University of Manchester with a lifelong interest in textile as a hobby, in recent years I have increasingly found my academic and recreational interests to intersect through textile, particularly in terms of gender roles, women's studies and social reform.
My own interest in textile had its humble beginnings in making what my 7-year-old self thought were brilliantly accurate Spice Girl dolls (constructed from rolled up tubes of my holey knitting, pompoms, sellotape and googly eyes). The older I got, however, the more I appreciated textile's value as a magnificently rich and varied true art form, offering an endless range of textures and techniques that in my opinion far excel the limits of paint. Furthermore, textile constitutes a fundamentally important aspect of human life. Every day it covers our skin, we walk on it, sit on it and sleep surrounded by it. It offers protection, comfort and self expression – the human race arguably could not have survived without it. From traditional cultural practices, the industrial revolution, political protest banners and flags, to the values and meanings afforded different fabrics and textile products, textile plays a vital historical role in constructing the identity of both nations and individuals.
I hope to feature a wide range of historical and contemporary textile arts and practices, as well as reviews of exhibitions, books, and updates on my own textile/craft projects.
This blog is dedicated to the memory of my sister Lydia Daisy Stafford.
