Yesterday evening, Craft Central launched Craft London ‘Emerging New Talent’, an exhibition of new and emerging artists and designers expressing the relevance of craft and design in London. The public had a chance to experience the freshest craft and design talent going on in London town – and we were there to find out more…

The tightly packed crowd had gathered around one installation of work that explored the age-old discipline of ‘passementerie’, a process dating back almost 6 centuries, which had been innovatively re-awoken by artist Jessica Light. ‘Passementarie’ is the delicate and elaborate process of making complex and highly decorative trimmings and edgings, including braid, gold and silver cord, embroidery, and beadwork.

More usually found in interior decoration, ‘Passementerie’ is the origin of bobbin lace, created from white linen thread, and is today still used in military dress uniforms. The artist Jessica currently works with the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Giles and many other fashion houses creating fashion trimmings, truly bringing the discipline bang up to date.

Jessica is one of the last working ‘trimming weavers’ in England creating contemporary ‘passementerie’, and the only one in London. Her installation, here in the galleries, of an oversized ‘pompom’ did not instantly draw the crowds, yet after a while of staring at this “object with no purpose”, as Jessica described it, the crowds found themselves drawn to discover more.

12 designers and artists displayed their work here in total, from ceramicists to textile designers and jewellery makers. Delicate cobwebs made from reflective threads, caged under glass, greeted visitors. Laura Felicity, a contemporary surface designer, exhibited hand printed wallpaper lengths and ceramic tiles with imprinted lace and raised detail. Ceramic designer Ruth Babajide exhibited designs with gorgeous organic prints and fabulous colour palettes, whilst the illustrator Julie Vermeile showed an intriguing display of lace and fabrics depicting a story. Each designer and artist displayed attractive work, but there was something very different with Jessica’s work.

Jessica’s 1.25m long ‘Haversham Tassel’ was created using traditional techniques, with even the cord having been hand-spun by Jessica. Influenced by Victorian interiors, the only modernity found in this piece was the high-tech and high-shine light reflective yarn used amongst viscose threads. Beadwork also emphasised the shimmer of the piece, with the ends having been dip-dyed from silver to gold, representative of Victorian luxury. In the piece, intricate beadwork, cord, knots and ribbon work were gorgeously detailed and representative of Jessica’s great talent.

The installation was by no means perfect, but this was a fantastic way of expressing technique and displaying the lost art of the ‘passementerie’ process. The Haversham Tassel is in no way everyone’s cup of tea, and I think the artist understands this, but Jessica strives to keep the disciplines alive and display as many techniques as possible - after all, it was a fantastic way to exhibit her skills and services!