Matchbox Studio - Common Thread Textiles Exhibit

Last night Rich and I headed along to an exhibition opening at one of our local galleries - Matchbox Studio on Cuba Street. The exhibition is "Common Threads" and features the work of New Zealand textile artists.

Matchbox Studio is a really cool space - in addition to being a gallery there is also a design store which sells all kinds of amazing handmade things and they also teach various creative courses. When we arrived there was a band playing in the back of the studio and of course there were free drinks, although sadly no non-alcoholic free drinks for me (But Rich did get to have some free beer).

However this was no ordinary exhibition for us - in fact it was a very monumental occasion! Some of you will already know the reason why it was such an exciting event.

This my friends is the first time Rich's cross-stitch art has appeared in an art gallery - that's right! He was part of the exhibition!! SO EXCITING AND AWESOME!

Rich's work is amazing (duh) but there was so much other cool stuff in this exhibition - I can now confirm I love textile art.

How amazing is this embroidery? I love the lady on a unicorn, its so whimsical. Turns out this artist is friends with Ria - Wellington is such a small place.

Basically words can't describe how amazing these are - Rich, Ria and I were looking at them and in awe. Not only are they beautiful but the artists stitching is so exquisite.

 So if you live in Wellington (or perhaps have visited) you will recognise all kinds of iconic Wellington sites in this embroidery. These are really fun pieces, I especially like the bucket fountain.

Recently my friend Laura spent an afternoon with me trying to teach me the basics of crochet, shall we just say I have a long way to go before making a granny square. Seen as I now have some idea about how difficult crochet can be I was pretty blown away by this crochet which is made from harakeke - I wonder how the artist dyed it those beautiful colours.

 

Look at this awesome giant granny square made from caution tape - my mind boggles with the thought of how big the crochet hook was and how difficult it would be to crochet with caution tape!

So adorable - tea pot head? walking a pet deer? Adorable vintage fabrics? This is amazing!

This was one of my favourite works at the exhibition, a rug made from a whole bunch of old soft toys. It's so intriguing - its the kind of thing you could look at a million times and still see something new. We spotted a Pikachu, Tweedie Bird and Winnie the Pooh in this rug. Also is it just me or does that purple guy seem to be looking right up my skirt? 

There was so many other amazing works at the exhibition - but I didn't get photos of everything. 

But our night did get a little more exciting, Rich sold his whale cross-stitch on the night of the exhibition! Hurrah!