Registered Charity Number 288531
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES, THE INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT
AND
THE UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] March 2023 FOR
THE TEXTILE SOCIETY
1
THETEXTILE
SO¢bETY
The Textile Society Annual Report - April 2023 to March 2024
The Textile Society was established in 1982 and in the 2023-24 financial year it has
advanced many areas of its charitable work and activities. The society remains an
unincorporated registered UK charty administered by its volunteer trustees and oFopted
committee members.
Membership
On the 26 June 2024 the Textile Society increased its membership lo 807 active members.
Since 2023 there has been an increase in individual and concessionary members, and a
small increase in larger instilulions. In 2023-24 the Society has actively sought lo increase
its student and small institutions membership by promoting the Student Bursaries and
Museum, Archive and ConseNation Award.
Publications
The Textile Society's publications are a key membership benefrt and a vehicle for the
dissemination of new research and members, exhibitions and activrties. Following the 2023
AGM the publications team has been expanded to develop this work. A regular Museum
News column has been developed with the Edf(ors and the Museum Award lead judge to
engage the membership with museum artefacts and their histories. A Reviews Editor has
been re-appointed to focus on the importance of bringing new publications and exhibitions to
the membership.
In 2023-24 the Textile Society invited three graphic designers lo lender for the revised
presentation of the society's publi¢alions- the annual journal Text and its digital newsletter
News. Three design submissions were reported lo the Committee. Independent reviews of
the submissions had been undertaken by the two Editors and the Chair. The review panel
recommended that Imaginisla would be invited lo work with the Publications Team in
developing a revised design. The first revision look place in the Sprin9 of 2024 and has
established a model for future publications.
Awards and Bursaries
The Textile Society's awards and bursaries remain central to its charitsble purpose - to
support the study of the history. art and design of textiles through ils undergraduate and
postgraduate student bursaries, professional development awards lo makers and
researchers in the field. museum projects to develop new audiences and enable the
conservation of collections and archives, and to writers in promoting critical writing in the
subject.
Museum, Archlve and Conservatlon Award - 1 June 2023
A 2023 Museum award of£3,900 was given to Southend Museums, project A
Businesswoman s Wardn)be,' PSeIng and Ah1ving the GIon8 Levin Collection of Hardy
Amies Couture.
Museums tells the story of the evolution of fashion and trends, and the social and professional advancement of women in the second half of the 20th century. The collection comprises over 200 pieces of couture, bespoke day and eveningwear, accessories and related ephemera. Textile Society funding will provide conservation suitable for long term storage and preservation. In turn, these will facilitate safe access for digitisation and research. Crucially it will allow the collection to be stored together, in a dedicated space. The whole collection will be physically accessible to researchers and student groups, and digitised records will be accessible to all via the museum database.
£1000 was awarded to Dr Hannah White for the development of woven pleated sculptures to progress her practice alongside the specialist skills support provided by her QEST scholarship award. £700 was awarded to Dr Ruth Clifford to contribute to a curriculumfocused initiative, connecting students and graduates with textile artisan makers in Kutch, India with a view to collaborative projects.
2023 was the inaugural year of this award supported by a donation by David King in honour of his late wife and former Chair. Submissions received were of a good standard. An independent panel of judges was established and reached a unanimous decision. James Fox was awarded £1000 for _A Stitch in Time: a textile work unpicking our prison system,_ and Lydia Donohue and Izzy Dabiri were awarded £500 each for their essays on the sewing boxes of the South Manchester quilting community, and textile labour and consumption, respectively. Essays are published in _Text_ , and the judging panel reconvened in November 2023 to discuss publicity and strategies for raising the profile of the award in 2024.
THETEXTILE
SO¢bETY
Events
The Textile Society 40th Anniversary
To celebrate the founding of the Textile Swety in 1982. a weekend series of events was
held in Manchester in April 2023.
The Whitworth- 21 April 2023
A curalors tour of the 'Atthea McNish.' Colour is Mine. exhibition ftillowed by a closer look at
textiles in the wider Whitworth collection.
The Whitworth hosted the first inaugural meeting of the Textile Society in 1982. In 2023
the Society came full cirde in offering this special opportunrty as part of the Society's 40th
Anniversary celebrations.
The bespoke event began with an exhibf(ion tour of Affhea McNish.' Colouris Mine with c
curator Rose Sinclair (Lecturer in Design Education at Goldsmiths. Universrty of London).
Also, attendees examined, close up, a specialty curated selection of highlights from the
Whitworth's outslanding textiles collection.
Annual Conference- 22 Aprll 2023
To mark the Textile Society's 40th AnnNersary, a conference was held at the Museum of
Science and Industry in Manchester. The conference considered the power and influence of
textiles, celebrating its ability lo inspire while exploring ils capacity for change. The event
discussed ways in which Textiles crosses cultural boundarEs and disciplines, and how rts
material qualities hold an enduring universal relevance.
The Textile Society welcorned professional speakers at the forefront of their practice.
The conference looked to the future from differenl perspeclives., fellecling a bigger pictu
for textiles through art, architecture, fashion and industry..
Adam Mansell Chief Executive OffeT of the UK Fashion and Textiles Association
IUKFT).
Carry Somers Designer, entrepreneur, fashion activist and founder of Fashion
Revolution.
Dr Chrfstlne Checlnska Designer. writer and the V8A's inaugural Curator ofAfrican
and African Diaspora Fashion.
Jonathan Watklns Independent curator of contemp)rary art and former Director of
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham.
Asif Khan MBE Inlemalional aWard-nnIng architect and Deputy Chair oflhe
Design Museum Irustees. London.
Short presentations were given by..
Amelia Lawrence Crafts Counal and Craft UK relationship manager
Danlel Harrls London Cloth Company. recipient of the Textile Society Special Award
2023.
The Conferen showcased the work of repients of the Textite Society Student
Bursaries from previous years..
Llssy Hatfield Postgraduate StudentAward 2022.
Katerlna Knlght Poslgraduate Student Award 2022.
_Behind the Scenes of Nineteenth Century Silk Weaving with the Textile Society at Braintree Museum and the Warner Textile Archive._
THETEXTILE
SO¢bETY
Charity Commission (Cont)
time as the list of trustees could be updated to ensure compliance with the Financial
Services Authority. This was a challenging episode for the society, but was eventually
resolved in April 2024.
The Textile SocAety's Annual Return for 2022-23 has been uploaded and is published as
delivered 'on time. on the Charity Commission website.
Dr Linda Brassington, Chair
Dr. Linda Brassington Chair Debra Roberts (Resigned June 2023) Daniel Styran-Furness (Resigned August 2023) Dr. Joanne Horton Co-Vice Chair and Student Bursary Lead Co-Vice Chair and Museum Award (Appointed September Dr. Leanne Tonkin 2023) Sally Laker Treasurer and Membership Secretary Suzanne Smith Awards and Bursaries Representative Museum, Archive and Conservation Award Jennifer Shellard Professional Development Award (Appointed September 2023) Pat Frost _TEXT_ and _News_ Editor Clare Bungey _TEXT_ and _News_ Production Editor Desiree Jeans Website Editor Holly Walker Publicity Officer Jane Rylands Events team member Lara Pain Student Representative (Appointed September 2023) Professor Emerita Lesley Millar. MBE Conferences and Symposia team member Roselind Sinclair. MBE Publications team member (Appointed September 2023) Jessica Ng Mei Chi Publicity team member (Appointed September 2023)
|Year ended 31st
March
Students
Concessions
Individual
Family
Small Institutions
Large Institutions|Receipts
YE 23
YE 24
Difference
(YE 23/24)
%
change
£
£
£
1,647
2,385
738
45%
3,343
3,288
-55
-2%
6,904
8,124
1,220
18%
283
250
-33
-12%
751
543
-208
-28%
1,013
1,458
445
44%
13,941
16,048
2,107
15%|
|---|---|
|Year ended 31st
March
Students
Concessions
Individual
Family
Small Institutions
Large Institutions|No. Members
YE 23
YE 24
Difference
(YE
23/24)
%
change
115
170
55
48%
204
209
5
2%
293
346
53
18%
10
9
-1
-10%
29
21
-8
-28%
20
29
9
45%
671
784
113
17%|
|---|---|
|Payment
date
Award/Bursary
May
2023
Student Bursaries - Undergraduate
Student Bursaries - Postgraduate
May
2023
Museum, Archive and Conservation
Awards
Sep
2023
Professional Development Awards
Oct
2023
Brenda M King - Critical Writing Awa
Total paid in current year|£
2,000
2,000
4,000
4,430
1,700
rd
2,000
12,130|
|---|---|
The Student Bursaries judged during March 2024 were paid in May 2024
||Restricted|General|Bursaries|2023/24|2022/23|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Funds|Fund|Fund|Total|Total|
|**Receipts**|£|£|£|£|£|
|Subscriptions (gross)||14,661||14,661|13,941|
|Videos||20||20|50|
|Day Events||365||365|180|
|Conference/AGM||3,320||3,320|350|
|TEXT||10||10|70|
|London Fair|||14,941|14,941|11,429|
|Manchester Fair|||18,834|18,834|15,966|
|Donations|1,000|3,003||4,003|1,450|
|Bank interest received|62|221||283|70|
|**Total Receipts**|**1,062**|**21,600**|**33,775**|**56,437**|**43,506**|
|**Payments**||||||
|Administration & Committee||1,472||1,472|1,831|
|travel expenses||||||
|Third party charges||1,414||1,414|964|
|Day events||1,532||1,532|0|
|Conference||8,100||8,100|979|
|Newsletter/TEXT||8,709||8,709|7,360|
|IT||1,495||1,495|1,111|
|London Fair|||7,848|7,848|6,549|
|Manchester Fair|||3,472|3,472|6,171|
|Bursaries|||12,130|12,130|14,956|
|**Total Payments**|**0**|**22,722**|**23,450**|**46,172**|**39,921**|
|**Net movement in Cash**||||||
|**Funds**|**1,062**|**-1,122**|**10,325**|**10,265**|**3,585**|
|**Opening Cash Funds**|**6,011**|**28,854**|**21,099**|**55,964**|**52,379**|
|Transfer|-2,000||2,000|0||
|**Closing Cash Funds**|**5,073**|**27,732**|**33,424**|**66,229**|**55,964**|
|**STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND**|**LIABILITIES AT MARCH**|||**2024**|**2023**|
|||||£|£|
|**Cash Funds**||||||
|Bank Current Accounts||||38,680|27,699|
|Bank Deposit Account||||5,073|6,011|
|Virgin Deposit Account||||22,475|22,254|
|||||**66,229**|**55,964**|
|**OTHER MONETARY ASSETS**||||||
|Prepaid Expenses||||**1,944**|**3,660**|
|**LIABILITIES**||||||
|Income received in||||||
|advance||||**10,340**|**9,219**|
## **NOTES**
1. The trustees aim to maintain Funds equal to at least one year's normal expenditure.
2. All income with the exception of £1,000 was unrestricted and expended on charitable activities on which the Society is exempt from tax
3. Net income from Trade Fairs is primary purpose trading which is designated to the Bursaries Fund to finance bursaries and other awards
## **Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of The Tex�le Society**
I report to the trustees on my examina�on of the accounts of The Tex�le Society (the Charity) for the year ended 31 March 2024.
## **Responsibili�es and basis of report**
As the trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the prepara�on of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the _Chari�es Act_ 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examina�on of the Charity’s accounts carried out under s. 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examina�on I have followed all the applicable Direc�ons given by the Charity Commission under s. 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
connec�on with the examina�on giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
(1)Accoun�ng records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by sec�on 130 of the Act; or
(2)The accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other ma�ers in connec�on with the examina�on to which a�en�on should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Jordan Abbo� BSc ACA
Ins�tute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Carpenter Box Limited Piper House 4 Dukes Court Bognor Road Chichester West Sussex PO19 8FX
Date: 18/11/2024