The February guest speakers were Alix Mandleson and Jeni Kanaley, who discussed East Timor textiles.

Alix and Jeni brought bags of beautiful fabrics from East Timor for us to examine. Jeni said that because we are weavers she bought her best pieces for us to see and she was generous enough to hand them around while she was speaking so we could feel as well as gaze at them. If she wanted us to remember her every word about the difficulties that weavers in Timor have had since colonial times she shouldn't have let us touch the textiles until after she spoke. They were so beautiful, intricate with ikat as well as supplementary weft decorations, often with surprising colour combinations that they distracted me from her oration.

Most of those we handled were from her private collection. They are supporting a cooperative in Timor which markets items made from local weaving as well as scarf or sarong lengths. Rather along the lines of a Tupperware party they will send out a bag full of textiles to a group to buy and examine at their leisure. All you have to do is send back the unsold pieces (and the money). I would recommend this as an excellent project for a local group.

Contact

Alix Mandelson
AETA Committee
Phone/Fax: 02 9331 1496