Angus Embroidery and Textile Artists: Hat in the Cat Studio

Thursday 8 February 2018

Hat in the Cat Studio - A talk by Jeanette Sendler

Many of us have sat waiting at the traffic lights at the Old Bridge in Perth, and been intrigued by the shopfront called Cat in the Hat Studio. Jeanette Sendler, the founder of the studio and of Big Cat Textiles, gave us an interesting talk and slideshow which was quite outside the comfort zone we are used to in our club.

Born in East Germany, Jeanette trained as a ladies tailor, but was keen to take her skills further. After coming to Scotland in the 1990s she completed a Masters in Performance Costume at Edinburgh College of Art, and has since worked on many opera, ballet and theatre productions around the world. Influenced by the textiles and social history of Scotland she then became involved in many educational and community ventures, helping to revive some forgotten skills. Settling in Newburgh, Fife in 2007, she concentrated on costume, millinery and tailoring, and opened a studio with partner Alison Mountain, which soon outgrew its space and opened in Perth as the Hat in the Cat. From this studio she continues to research, revive and rework old skills which she uses in contemporary practice as well as passing on to others through workshops and mentoring schemes.

In a converted church in Newburgh Jeanette holds varied workshops taught by respected textile artists from around the world, under the name Big Cat Textiles. As well as her own pattern cutting and sewing, subjects include handmade cloth dolls, creative hand stitching, corset making, fabric origami, indigo dyeing, millinery and multi media textile art. A full programme is available on their website www.textilecentre.co.uk

Some examples of Jeanette's work and of her tutors are shown below. It was certainly a subject that is outside the experience of many of us, and opened out eyes to the rich and varied avenues of textiles out there.