Walking the Block, Jane Weir

Walking the Block is a poetic biography that resurrects the creative partnership of Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher—the pioneering modernist hand‑block printers who brought colour, craft and quiet rebellion to interwar textile art. Jane Weir weaves narrative and material history, tracing their journey from Brook Street Gallery beginnings through Indian dye practices and wartime commissions for clients like Coco Chanel, Winchester Cathedral, and Girton College. Each page is infused with rhythm: the literal “walking” of carved blocks, the dyeing of wild madder, and the women’s shared dialogue in cloth and technique.

Rooted in poetic insight rather than technical manual, the book embraces atmosphere and craft sensibility: its imagery, design, and vegetable‑ink printing echo the duo’s own sustainable practices. With gentle lyricism and archival richness, Walking the Block honours their legacy as makers whose quiet artistry shaped British textile identity—inviting readers to rediscover how block, dye and friendship wove modern design into everyday life.

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About the Author
Jane Weir (b. 1963) is an Anglo‑Italian writer, designer and poet whose work bridges craft history and lyric imagination. Winner of the Wigtown Poetry Prize and celebrated for her sensitive textual portraits, she is the author of Walking the Block (2008) and Spine (2012) — poetic biographies that explore textile-making figures through archival empathy. A contributor to Selvedge, PN Review and Faber anthologies, Weir’s work is deeply rooted in material culture and language-as-structure.

Publication date: 2008
Publisher: Templar Poetry
Pages: 124
ISBN: 9781906285197