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london craft week, craft, weaving, textiles

Celebrating Craft in London 8th – 12th May

Not so long ago craft was a word to be avoided. People and companies did not wish to be associated with some sort of pre industrialised cottage activity, conjuring images of peasants spinning something fluffy by the fireside. Modern life should be clean, efficient, functional with high design.

How times have changed. Many a lifestyle blog now promotes the simple country life, homemade faire, no phones in sight and a plethora of handicrafts from macrame to felting. Modern life now tries to straddle these two extremes and interestingly technology and connectivity has enabled old crafts to thrive in our modern world and more importantly be sought after and sell.

London Craft Week was set up four years ago to showcase artisans at the highest level and enable customers to commission hand made pieces. Craftsmen demonstrate everything from watchmaking to weaving and glassblowing to calligraphy at various events across the capital.

This year the events take place all over town from 8th – 12th May. Do check out the programme here and I guarantee there will be something to interest you. I like the idea of weaving waste at Battersea Power Station and organ making at the Royal Festival Hall.

Being busy in our new shop we are not on the programme this year but we do always have a loom in the shop and Holly is happy to illuminate you about the woven arts anytime, so do stop by and say hello at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone.

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Dashing’s Latest Cloth Collection

This spring season we really are bringing you some most Dashing new fabrics. We’ve given traditional check and block designs a techno wake up with names coined from early 90’s video games and a playful attitude to match.

We’ve found that fine Merino wool is the very best for summer and so have concentrated on the highest quality 9oz suitings. This weight is ideal for creating an elegant drape and being pure wool the fabrics not only tailor well but are extremely comfortable to wear.

First up with have ‘Berzerk’, a beautifully balanced large scale Glen check with acid green and vibrant magenta threads against a ground of neutral ecru and grey. This in a way is the most traditional design and would make a splendid summer soiree or informal wedding suit.

Next up is ‘Pixels’, a Madras type design in greenish shades with a hot pink overcheck. Vibrant and large scale this is less formal and ideal as a daywear lounge suit for sauntering through life.

‘Tetris’ and ‘Galaxian’ as the names suggest are the boldest of our new block type design and like nothing you have seen before.

At first glance the sine wave undulating cubes in ‘Tetris’ floating against a wash of pink, green and grey may seem incongruous in a suit, yet surprisingly once tailored up the effect is mesmerising in a delightful way. We envisaged a short suit to be worn to dinner on a Balearic Isle, setting the scene for a night of ecstatic elation.

Similarly ‘Galaxian’ in a bolder, more graphic colour combination of magenta, acid green and grey would look unsurpassed when made up as a suit for summer cocktail parties.

Lastly ‘Block Out’ woven in navy and steel Merino yarns is a serious party fabric. The weave structure gives the face of the cloth a steely lustre through which the undulating dashes of navy traverse. For nights out in the spotlight or even on stage our modern new design ticks the box.

We are also excited to announce that we will be showcasing the latest collection at ‘Munich Fabric Start’ for the first time this season with our Agent Matthias Rollmann. The show runs from 29th – 31st January and has over 20,000 visitors yearly with 1,050 exhibitors, Dashing will be showcasing designs alongside other brands such as Fox Brothers, Alfred Brown, Ulster Weavers and Bernstein & Banleys.

To find out more about the show or to set up a meeting do drop us an email – Holly@DashingTweeds.co.uk

Do stop by our flagship shop at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone to shop our new cloth, or if you prefer to shop online click here where you can order samples from the new range as well!All the very best,

The Dashing Team

Dashing’s AW18 Cloth Collection

For the upcoming Autumn/Winter 2018 season, Dashing’s focus was all about bringing character and charm to the collection. The original sounds of sixties bands such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Queen and The Kinks infused all corners of the world, leading the way for evermore experimental psychedelic acts. Dashing’s latest collection is highly influenced by these stars, appropriating the names for their newly designed fabrics.

Dashing’s staple combination of British heritage and modern technology is most evident in the ‘Bolan’ cloth, with various hues of sea tones, giving the look a flamboyant edge.

The AW18 ‘Kiss‘ design features a combination of plum, forest green, denim and black in the cloth as shown below. The design takes tweed into a new dimension, made up of traditional British wool and following a modern weave structure, making it highly unique.

Lambswool gives these cloth designs a lustrous soft touch. Bauhaus inspired block shapes with a rich red overcheck bestows the ‘Bay City‘ cloth with a design reminiscent of tweed classics shown below.

The ‘Hoople’ cloth features complex interlacing square structures in pure Merino wool. The design is a lighter weight cloth from our AW18 collection, resembling a small basket weave turned through 45 degrees. The small 5mm scale of the repeat detail enables a soft drape of the cloth to fall beautifully, making it ideal for casual everyday suits as well as dinner jackets.

Woven in Scotland and made up of 100% British wool, the ‘Queen‘ design features a stepped structure with black, green, charcoal and denim tones. Rich dark tones in broken stripes gives this design a subtle yet impressive impact for the wearer.

Eminently wearable, the ‘Bowie’ design is both adventurous yet classic. The shades of acid moss green, charcoal and grey amalgamate to create a fabulous fusion woven using a soft Lambswool yarn.

The ‘Sweet‘ cloth features pink reflective yarn running through the design, in order to give it a fresh and contemporary feel.

The ‘Mott‘ design is woven in the Scottish Borders, using 100% Merino wool with an end-and-end warp of navy and purple pavement colour way combined with the weft which uses a plum and London grey tonal base, giving the cloth a mottled colour effect.

The ‘Wizzard‘ features a soft blue reflective yarn woven through, making it suitable for relaxed evening wear especially when it’s paired with a simple shirt, bringing out the blue vibrance.

At Dashing, there is a selection of the AW18 designs made up into overcoats, individual jackets as well as 3 piece suits, so do stop by the flagship shop at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone to try on the pieces. Alternatively, if you would like to create your own made to measure jacket or suit in any of the new cloth designs you can drop an email to: holly@dashingtweeds.co.uk

All the very best,

The Dashing Team

Dashing Tweeds, Menswear, British Tailoring, Sackville Street, Dashing Man

Dashing around for Christmas gifts?

There’s no hiding, sooner rather than later you are going to have to do some Christmas shopping.

Your loved ones would definitely like something beautifully British and not ubiquitous. We have the answer, all sorts of handcrafted desirable creations made from our original modern tweed designs.

We have pioneered Lumatwill reflective tweed fabric and had to make it into a range of classic flat caps in Yorkshire as well as working with Hiro and Wolf to craft a collection of dog collars and leads. For a more generous present we can tailor a one-off cycle blazer for men or an elegant ladies cape, which looks good on or off bike.

For simple gifts, we offer wool duffle bags, over the shoulder musette bags and gloves in a barley corn structured Harris tweed. Our Donegal wool overcoats have been a great success and we have used the same wools in a small range of knitwear that has just arrived in from Scotland.

We have been working with a Swiss graphic artist, Arlette Ess, and used her witty designs of Allen Keys and Bike Chains to screen print silk dress scarves which brighten up any Christmas suit and are a great replacement for ties on relaxing evenings. We also offer a range of lambswool scarves from Holly’s brand Check Me Out.

I’m sure we can help tick at least a couple of Dashing folks off our list and leave you time for pondering other conundrums like how to fit four drinks parties into one night.

We are always here to offer advice on gifts and sizing, just email me anytime at Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk

If you are having trouble deciding what to buy then you can purchase a Gift Voucher from us. The golden vouchers can be bought to any value and will enable the holder to exchange them for their value of cloths, garments, accessories or tailoring.

These vouchers can be purchased online or in store at 26 Sackville Street