Saturday 26 September, 10-4 p.m.: A Day in the Studio: Sample making in Chiswick House and Gardens with Tomoko Yamanaka, Rachna Garodia and Neera Sehgal

Chiswick House Gardens Artist Studio, Burlington Lane, Chiswick, London W4 2RP

Tomoko Yamanaka is a knitwear designer who has been working from her London-based design studio for over 20 years, specialising in sustainable and handmade clothing. Since 2012, she has focused on her British Alpaca Project knitwear collection, using only 100% British alpaca. She collaborates with local farmers and micro-mills across Britain to create high-quality, original yarns.

It has long been her dream as a knitwear designer to develop her own yarns and create a collection with a clear understanding of where the wool comes from. Tomoko uses only natural, undyed colours and takes great joy in the process of designing yarns and blending fleece to create a range of subtle, natural shades.

Inspired by the aesthetics of Japanese minimalism and pure simplicity, her work embodies a sense of comfortable sophistication made with the highest quality craftsmanship.

In addition to designing, Tomoko is an associate lecturer at Chelsea College of Arts, specialising in knit textiles.

In this hands-on machine knitting taster introduction you can knit a small, rectangular piece using wool, either plain, stripes, or a pre programmed punch card motif, which you can take home as a little neck piece or phone case. Suitable for anyone curious about machine knitting, beginners are very welcome.

Rachna Garodia intricately woven textures are akin to viewing a landscape, capturing the atmosphere, tone and emotion from her daily walks.

Material exploration - bringing unexpected textures together in a warp has always been the starting point for Rachna's work. She juxtaposes cotton, linen, silk, nettle, hemp and wool with found materials like paper, bark, seedpods, twigs etc. All her works are unique and bespoke; each one takes shape slowly in her studio in west London and is later crafted into screens, space dividers and framed textile art.

Her commissioned pieces are held in private collections in India, U.K, America and Europe. One of her pieces is housed at the historic site of BBC Television Centre, White City. Her book, ‘Contemporary Weaving in mixed media’ with Batsford was out in September 2022. 

On the taster day in Rachna's studio you will get a chance to weave a few lines on her table loom to experience weaving on a hand loom and then you will weave a small photo weaving off loom on khadi paper using a printed photograph. You will learn to disrupt the image creating weaving patterns to make your own unique piece of art to take home with you. You are welcome to carry your own personal 4” x 6” photo or choose one from the artists collection. Suitable for anyone interested in art, weaving or pattern making.

Neera Sehgal practice explores the emotional power of pattern through the use of traditional Indian woodblock printing on fabric and handmade papers.

Nostalgia plays an important role in this exploration. She uses printing as a way to hold onto fleeting impressions.The familiarity of pattern and handmade qualities of woodblock printing create a sense of warmth and intimacy, inviting the viewer into a space that feels both personal and shared. Her work aims to transport the viewer to a place that feels remembered rather than directly depicted, a place where memory, material and pattern intersect.

Workshops play an integral part to her practice where Neera shares her skill with a wider audience making this ancient craft more accessible.  

On the day participants will print with handcarved Indian woodblocks on a soft cotton handkerchief which they can take home with them. You will start by printing on paper, experimenting with blocks and inks, then block printing the design on fabric.

Event Description
Step inside the working worlds of three textile artists for a day of making, conversation and discovery at the historic grounds of Chiswick House and Gardens.

Join Neera, Rachna and Tomoko in their studios for an immersive taster day that moves between the crafts of block printing, weaving and knitting. Set across three individual studio spaces within the same site, the day invites you to slow down, look closely and try your hand at each practice — guided throughout by the makers themselves.

Whether you are coming to textiles for the first time or deepening a long-held interest, you will leave with a richer understanding of the hand loom, the knitting machine and the block printer's table — along with the stories, skills and motifs that give each craft its particular character.

Event Cancellation Policy
All bookings are non-refundable. However, if you let us know that you are unable to attend an event you have booked at least two weeks before the event, we will open up your place. If we find another participant, you will be offered a credit note.