Frome Weavers Spinners and Dyers (FWSD) Trustees’ Annual report 1st January 2025 to 31[st] December 2025 CIO number 1180975 Redwoods Rare Breeds Farm Wanstrow
Trustees: Lone Hattingh, Mary Boston, Deborah Gibson, Jude Loveridge, Shona Milford.
Objectives of FWSD:
To further the crafts of weaving spinning and dyeing and educating in those crafts.
Membership:
Our membership currently stands at 27. We continue to hold monthly members’ meetings where we make any decisions regarding the running of the group collaboratively by voting. During 2025 most members attended the workshop on Tuesdays with occasional visits by individual members on other days of the week. We belong to the Association of Guilds of Weavers Spinners and Dyers: this national organisation benefits all our members. We subscribe to ‘VAV’ magazine and ‘The Journal’ for use by our members.
Activities:
We were able to participate in the Frome Festival from 4[th] to 13[th] July as we had particular relevance to their textile theme. We held an exhibition in Redwood Farm Gallery alongside two other local artists. The exhibition was well attended by the public, and provided a clear connection to textile arts and craft in Frome. We had a stall at Nunney Christmas Fair where a number of items were sold. We plan to attend the Nunney Fair next year and improve on our presentation of the stall. We held regular monthly members meetings and ‘show and tell’ sessions where we share finished projects and expertise amongst the members.
Tuition: We have continued to provide courses in weaving and spinning as they have been requested through our website. A system of mentoring and tuition to provide a more structured progression for our new members is being devised. Resources:
A library of up-to-date books relevant to our crafts is maintained and we continue to add to the library when books relevant to and suggested by our members are published. All members are able to borrow books for their own use. We purchased some new chairs and tables for the workshop as we continue to make our space more efficient. We also bought and sold looms and pieces of equipment to rationalise the efficiency of our workshop.
Premises: We continue to liaise with Redwood Rare Breeds Farm as the areas in and around our workshop are further developed. We have hired a cleaner for the workshop and a person to do ‘odd jobs’ as required.
Plans for the future: Our plans for the future include continue to provide courses as requested. Raising our profile to attract new members, engaging with the local community where appropriate and continuing to provide educational opportunities that further the crafts practised by FWSD. We currently hold a healthy financial reserve to honour our outgoings and protect our ability to function in the future and raise funds by providing courses and holding sales of work. Our aim is to continue to provide support and resources for our members to further develop expertise in weaving, spinning and dyeing and to reach out to the wider community to share our knowledge.
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