Selvedge Magazine - issue 124

From the 17th to the mid-18th century, a stream of inventions revolutionised the textile
industry and, eventually, the global economy. These textile-focused inventions – from
the spinning jenny and the jacquard loom to aniline dyes – signalled the death knell to
traditional rural industries. The Industrial Revolution triggered a mass migration of vast
swathes of the population from rural areas to metropolitan centres. For over a century,
the city ruled, and the urban elite saw the country as unsophisticated.

Today, the tables have turned, and a similar stream of inventions from the mid-19th
century to the present— computers, the internet, smartphones, and AI— have made it
possible to conduct sophisticated business outside the metropolitan centre in an
economically and socially advantageous way. This technological revolution has
triggered mass migration back to small, sustainable communities where individuals
engage in a workbench-focused industry.

In this issue, we focus on individuals and businesses who have found creative freedom
in the country. These incomers inject cultural sophistication into rural areas, quashing
old stereotypes and illustrating the moral of Aesop's fable The Town Mouse and the
Country Mouse: we should appreciate the simple things we have. There are apparent
cost-of-living advantages to living in the country, but also a slower, more sustainable
way of life that encourages creative expression; this milieu is reflected in the less rigid
wardrobes donned by out-of-towners. Working with Daniel Carpenter of the Heritage
Crafts Association, we have identified a block printer, sail maker, chair caner,
shopkeeper, ribbon weaver, felt maker, and carpet restorer who have all built thriving
businesses around preserving heritage skills. We celebrate these makers in our
Heritage Village Fête in partnership with the Museum of the Home and London Craft
Week. We hope you can join us at the Museum of the Home on May 16 for
demonstrations, talks, and workshops.

If you are still to be persuaded to take the plunge, up sticks, and escape to the country,
we suggest creative holidays and rural retreats to whet the appetite. But before you go,
remember the advice, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing,” and look at Sarah E Bradock Clarke’s feature on knits to warm the heart. Now that the
weather is warmer, I urge you to go outside and enjoy the country.

Polly Leonard

Editor Selvedge magazine

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