Crafts Alive and in Bloom at Rodmarton Manor

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.

Devoré robes by Liz Lippiatt

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.”...

(...)

Want to read more of this article?
We are proud to be a subscriber-funded publication with members in 185 countries. We know our readership is passionate about textiles, so we invite you to help us preserve and promote the stories, memories, and histories that fabric holds. Your support allows us to publish our magazine, and also ‘what's on’ information, and subscription interviews, reviews, and long-read articles in our online blog. 

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? CLICK HERE TO ACCESS CONTENT

OR...to continue reading….


Magazine subscribers automatically get free access to all our online content. We send the access code by email with the publication of each issue. You will also find it on the envelope containing your magazine. Please note the access code changes every issue.

Image Credits:

LEAD: Louise Watson Embroidery - Allotment Garden.

All other images as credited in photo captions.