Threads

To complement the seasonal issue of Garland every three months, enjoy these ‘threads’ that appear every day or so.

Shelanu ✿ The immigrant jewellers who adorn Birmingham - Deirdre Figueiredo tells the story of a remarkable collective of migrant and refugee jewellers who, after twenty years, are passing on their skills.

The Storied Object Today – A symposium - Date: 22 October 2025, 5:00-6:30pm Place: 010.06.089 Garden Building, RMIT University, Melbourne Stories give meaning to our world. For this to happen, they need to be kept alive by being present in our lives. The default “home” for stories has been the bookshelf. But we are reading fewer books, and many stories are now being […]

Karin Montgomery ✿ The Camellia Society - Our July Laurel is awarded to Karin Montgomery for her exquisitely crafted paper flora.

Durbar festivals in Nigeria: How Jigawa and Ilorin are rising beyond Kano’s shadow - Emmanuel Solate heralds the revival of the Durbar festival in Kano, northern Nigeria.

Crochet therapy, with soundtrack - The Russian crochet artist Katika explains how she discovered a craft that helped unravel her emotions.

A journey across land with words and thread - Annette Peterson writes about five textile artists who weave a sensitive exhibition from text and thread.

The robot carver: Assistant or master? - Ancient Future by BIG juxtaposes Bhutanese traditional artisans with programmed robot milling arms. The danger is that we will overlook the value of handmade in our pursuit of efficiency and scale.

The geometry of memory: Persian patterns and diasporic identity - Nazila Keshavarz uses felt to reconnect with her Persian roots.

Timi Lantos ✿ Learning from clay in Japan - Liliana Morais writes about a Hungarian potter who moved to the legendary craft town of Mashiko to learn from its soil and people. 

The question of vegetarian craft - LOkesh Ghai wrestles with the ethical balance between nature and society.