Man Made

The Man Made exhibition was at the shop in Chilcompton in 2020

Click on the video to watch the full exhibition, click here for descriptions of each piece
 

We are pretty certain that this is the first time an entire exhibition has been devoted exclusively to the work of males of all abilities. Nothing that has been offered has been turned down. The few shows that we have read about in the States exhibit the work of professionals quilters or at the very least, highly rated individuals – everything is ‘juried’ and faultless.

But our show was different. Yes, it
showed the work of professionals of the
highest international standard (one of
whom has twice won the Vistors’ Choice
award at Houston). But as well as these
quilts there were outstanding quilts
made by ‘amateurs’, including the
highly impressive work of children. 
Nicholas Ball, author of Inspiring Improv,
contributed quilts. Others are arrived
from prize-winner quilters in Canada and
the United States

Contributors’ ages run from eight to 78, (there may be older ones, but if so they’re keeping shtum). There were quilts made by prisoners. Two quilters who were widowed 18 months ago and have since taken up the needle - having never threaded one before.  Then there’s a vast quilt made by The Tent Makers of Cairo (that one is 624 times larger than smallest ones on show).

Why did we do this?  We have long been
aware of the many men who beaver away,
creating beautiful quilts in their spare rooms,
unsure of their own ability, and with no one
to share their enthusiasm.  As a result, we
staged this three-week long exhibition
to showcase, exclusively, man-made quilts.
Ninety-three quilts covering the whole range
of ability. 

What do the contributors have in common?  They all have a direct link to MQ themselves or were introduced to us by our customers.