During an annual visit to the Prism textile exhibition in Mile End, a conversation was overheard…’I’ve got a loom in my car, do you know anyone who would like it? I’ve rescued it from a college in South London that’s closing down it’s textile weaving course – the loom was heading to the skip!’ Oh!! I spun round to see the woman speaking to the invigilators. ‘Sorry, what did you say?’, I asked her. She said the loom was in the back of her car and that she needed to find a home for it, ideally today. I took a look at it and thought hmm, that’s big, but…could I…should I?!
She said it was a 16 shaft table-top loom (which I have never used before). Many questions were spinning around my head…’Where would I put it? Do I need it? Do I REALLY need it?’ I thought, I may not NEED it but I definately don’t want to see it end up in a skip. She was keen to find it a new home that day, so I said if she could find someone, then great they should have it, but if not I would be very interested.
I spent the next hour wandering around the exhibition while the woman had various conversations with possible takers. She then came over to me and said ‘I think you’re the winner!’
The following weekend I drove to her studio in Manor Park, east London, and collected the loom. It was large and awkward but did just about fit in to the back of my car. It was heavy and the metal shafts and chains were clanking about – a couple of pieces came loose and dropped off.
Once home I was able to assess the condition of the loom and see what repairs and restoration was needed. It looked like it had sat in a corner of a textile room for years, gathering dust, grime and rust, every surface felt grubby to touch.
The fabric on the three rollers was ripped and worn, the wooden frame was dusty, with cup ring marks and paint splashes but otherwise it looked solid. I noticed the reed didn’t look like it belonged to the loom as it had been packed with foam and newspaper, so this is likely to need replacing.
The next step is to take it apart and begin the long cleaning process…