A Handmade Tassel in the Window at Liberty of London
One of my handmade tassels, along with a length of my hand spun multi coloured rope is currently hanging in the window of Liberty of London on Regent Street - one of the most celebrated and unusual department stores in the world, renowned for its bold, distinctive style and its extraordinary fabrics.
The display is part of a new set of windows celebrating changes to Liberty's haberdashery department, designed by interiors stylist Miranda Sinclair. They're everything you'd hope a Liberty window would be - colourful, energetic, and a joyous celebration of craft. My tassel and cord are suspended alongside a patchwork quilt appliquéd with the words ‘United in Craft,’ a giant faux needle wrapped in Liberty fabric, and an oversized bobbin of thread, also dressed head to toe in Liberty prints.
For those who don't know, passementerie is the traditional art & craft of making trimmings - tassels, cords, braids, and fringing using techniques that have barely changed in centuries. It's currently listed on the Red List of Endangered Crafts, and I'm one of only 3 independent Passementiers still practising it professionally in the UK. Seeing it celebrated in a window like this, in a shop so famous for craftsmanship and colour, is a wonderful moment for me and, I hope, for the craft itself.
A display like this does something that's hard to achieve any other way - it puts an endangered, largely unseen craft directly in front of thousands of passers by on one of London's busiest shopping streets. Passementerie is often admired without being recognised. People see a beautiful tassel on a curtain or cushion and don't necessarily know it was made entirely by hand, or that the skill behind it is at risk of dying out. Having it celebrated by a shop with Liberty's reputation for craftsmanship helps bring that story to a much wider audience.
If you're in London, do go and see it in person until September 9th. And if you'd like to see the craft up close, I run workshops and courses where I teach these very techniques.
A Few Questions, Answered
Is there a story behind this particular tassel? Yes. This tassel was made at the end of my Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust ADAM Architecture scholarship - a period of advanced training and skill development that enabled me to train 1-2-1 with master Passementiers in the UK. Each part of the tassel is made by hand, including the wooden moulds that support the thread. In total, I used 11 different traditional tassel making techniques including ruff making, netting, interlacing, striping, bullion, pom poms and more! Seeing it displayed in Liberty's window is such a special moment, taking a piece made at the culmination of that scholarship and placing it in one of the most prestigious craft-led settings in the UK.
What is passementerie? Passementerie is the traditional craft of making decorative trimmings - tassels, cords, woven braids, buttons, rosettes and fringes - using specialist tools and techniques. All of my passementerie is made entirely by hand in my studio in Surrey, using techniques that have not changed for hundreds of years. To me, passementerie isn't just a craft, it's an art form that enriches and elevates a room, an interior, even a hat. While the techniques I use are very traditional, my design and application of them is entirely contemporary, placing colour, pattern, and scale at the heart of everything I make.
Why is passementerie an endangered craft? Passementerie appears on the Heritage Crafts Association's Red List of Endangered Crafts because so few people in the UK still practise it professionally, putting the skills and techniques at risk of being lost.
Where can I see this work in person? The display featuring the handmade tassel and cord is in the window of Liberty of London, on Regent Street, as part of a series celebrating changes to Liberty's haberdashery department, designed by interiors stylist Miranda Sinclair. My tassel will be on display until September 9th.
Can I learn passementerie techniques myself? Yes. I teach workshops and courses covering traditional passementerie techniques, including tassel making, weaving and rosettes - details are listed in the teaching section of this website. To see a diary of my upcoming workshops and classes, please see my events diary.
