TEXTUS invites you to HOUSE OF HABERDASH, a group exhibition and community arts project, bringing together over 30 contemporary artists, poets and fashion designers, whose work explores the objects you might find in historical, modern or fantastical haberdasheries. The haberdasher exhibits their wares and takes flight! They can never be pinned down! ‘Haberdashery’ is an elastic word whose meaning has shapeshifted through time and cultures. Its roots trace back to the early 13th century, but its etymology remains elusive. In medieval times, ‘haberdashery’ included everything from hawk’s bells and swords to gloves and caps, but now ‘haberdashery’ is generally understood to mean small sewing items, such as buttons, zips and pins. The OED defines ‘haberdashery’ broadly as ‘the goods and wares sold by a haberdasher’. HOUSE OF HABERDASH embraces this generative expansiveness. Showcasing textiles, poems, paintings, prints, sculptures and garments, the exhibition’s interdisciplinary and poetic spirit offers an imaginative look at haberdashery items, along with the themes, politics, histories and metaphors attached to them. It invites visitors to consider the concept of haberdashery in new and galvanising ways.
Iman Asif’s watercolour, ‘Conversation’, lyrically uses safety-pins—objects that both fasten and pierce—to express the complex, tender and often painful nature of human connection; Usoa García Sagüés’ textile sculpture ‘Hats off to Women’, crafted of over 20 handmade hats, encourages visitors to sit beneath it and reflect upon women who have cared for and inspired them; Nirrhit Pal’s silicone torso sculpture, ‘Zipper Series III’, features an oversized zip circling the abdomen, viscerally transforming the zip into a symbol of sociopolitical struggle; Mona Craven’s print ‘Hospice Store Caretag’, assembles items from her local hospice store, opening up space for contemplation on the social lives of objects; Hannah Ekuwa Buckman’s biomorphic paintings ‘Epiphytes’, that merge with ruched, protruding fabric frames, inspire us to imagine haberdashery ecosystems. Individual artists, poets and fashion designers exhibit alongside collectives: London Lace Club presents a collaborative lace piece crafted during their regular gatherings at the Torriano Meeting House, and MILK (Molly Crisp and Sophia Dowson Collins) display brooches and pins crafted from their mudlarked findings on the Thames.
Sculptural poems by emerging and established contemporary poets speak in conversation with the artworks. Cleo Heywood presents ‘Red Box’, a visual poem and red sewing box, filled with collected bits and bobs, inviting visitors to read and touch its constellation of words and objects. Poetry structures the curation of the show as a visual poem written by the curator and inspired by all the showcased work is projected onto the ceiling of the Meeting House.
Through the collection of exhibited works, HOUSE OF HABERDASH offers space for reection on a wide range of universal and urgent themes, including but not limited to repair, climate change, community, memory, resistance, craft, motherhood, grief and home. Rooted in the Torriano’s identity as a site of gathering and creative exchange, HOUSE OF HABERDASH invites collaboration between its contributing creatives and visitors. Visitors are warmly encouraged to spend time sitting, conversing, writing and responding. Reflections can be emailed to textus.network@gmail.com and may be shared on the TEXTUS Instagram and/or performed at one of the HOUSE OF HABERDASH Open Mic nights. As well as Open Mic nights, HOUSE OF HABERDASH will host workshops led by exhibiting creatives. Keep an eye on the TEXTUS Instagram and Torriano Meeting House website for announcements.
HOUSE OF HABERDASH champions curiosity and collaboration. It is an open-ended offering for everyone’s unique interpretation that hopes to nurture creative connection, critical thought and new collective possibilities.
We look forward to welcoming you and hearing what the exhibition means to everyone!
Let your imaginations run and dash —
HOUSE OF HABERDASH is curated by Lottie McCrindell, with assistance from Professor Victoria Kelley through the Association of Dress Historians mentoring scheme. Its curation reflects the collective efforts and contributions of everyone involved.
This is a non-profit exhibition, curated, organised and run entirely by volunteers.
Dates
HOUSE OF HABERDASH runs from Saturday 7th June until Sunday 10th August 2025
Opening Times
Open weekends, 11am – 5pm
Except: Saturday 7th June, early 3pm close and Saturday 28th June, exhibition closed.
Ticket Prices
Tickets are £5 with free admission available. 100% of ticket sales will go to supporting the Torriano
Meeting House. With prolonged cuts to arts funding, it is crucial that we support independent venues
such as the Torriano, which are so vital to emerging creatives, the local community and London's
cultural vibrancy.
TEXTUS
TEXTUS is a curatorial project that brings interdisciplinary creatives together to explore, critique and
reimagine fashion and textile environments, design, history, culture, language and logic. We curate
exhibitions and events and publish irregularly. We are an evolving network that encourages
experimentation and play, makes space for creative research and development, and fosters collaboration and community across disciplines.
@textus.network
