Question:
I am about to embark on a two month tour of Europe next month (can't wait!)
and I'm hoping you all can tell me about some textile-related stores,
museums, etc. to visit while I'm there. I'm a textile artist by trade --
mostly dyeing, quilting, and sewing -- though I turn my hand to most things
from time to time, and I'm interested in EVERYTHING to do with textiles and
embellishment. The itinerary is still pretty wide open, so any leads or tips
you can give me will be *much appreciated*!!
Answer:
-Paris, the Cluny museum for all the unicorn tapestries. There is a garment
district with at least one wholesale bead place with a smaller retail shop
across the alley. I'll have to see if I can find the name! There is also a bead
store called Louis Perles (Perles is beads).
I found seed beads at the open air markets when we lived in Holland, nothing
exciting though. There was a bead store in Eindhoven where we lived Kralen
Atelier (bead studio). They had some interesting glass stuff along with some
plastic and wood and metal; a lot of tribal chunky stuff too.
In Prague, I never saw a bead stopre, but we were on a gorup tour. I did buy
beads that were cheaply strung in order to take them apart and reuse them.
Venice, go out to Murano, again, there aren't many beads for sale but you can
see a lot of glass. Also go to Burano, the lace making island. The buildings
are all colors of the rainbow, so get there before late afternoon so you can
take pictures!
Antwerp, my favorite day trip from Eindhoven, has plenty of lace, and the shop
by the back door to the cathedral has demos sometimes. Of course there is
plenty more lace in Brugges and Brussels, but since Antwerp was so close we
were there a lot.
-The Victoria and Albert museum in London, and theres also a good one in
Bath.
