Orpington Quilters
Orpington Quilters
At out meeting in October 2024 we were entertained by Randolph Bekker, with a very interesting talk on wax prints.
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Randolph (aka Randy Bee) is an accessories maker and artist of West African descent whose family originated in Ghana. He was born in The Hague in the Netherlands. where he lived until he was 13 when his family moved to the UK. During his school years in Holland, his class was very cosmopolitan, where his fellow pupils were of many different nationalities and backgrounds. This blended environment influenced Randy's early life and he became interested in people's heritage and origins.
Randy showed pictures of both his mother and maternal grandfather wearing traditional Ghanaian costumes made from vibrant and colourful wax print fabrics. He had managed to secure an exact replica of the fabric his grandfather had worn many years before and passed a sample to the audience so they could appreciate the design and colour. We were all surprised at its lightweight quality and soft texture. In addition to being used for garments, lengths of this fabric had many uses including as a sling to carry a baby on the mother's back.
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The wax print, also known as batik, is the method of producing coloured designs on textiles by dyeing them, having first applied wax to the parts to be left undyed, which produces a negative effect when the wax is removed. Unlike standard textile printing, which is normally one-sided, this technique is used on both sides of the fabric.
This artistic approach was discovered by travellers to the Indonesian island of Java, though the process is thought to date back to the Ancient Egyptians. The large Javanese population, about 150 million people, were masters in the art of batik.
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In the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company (also referred to as the VOC) was set up to trade with Asian countries. The Silk Road was developed as a network of overland routes between east and west, which passed through many countries and empires. With access to the wonderful hand printed textiles of Java, the Dutch embraced these styles and fabrics, which led to new innovations and industries.
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In the 1800s Dutch entrepreneur Pieter Fentener van Vlissingen established a company, known today as Vlisco, to produce and sell hand printed fabrics. Originally their main production lines were textiles for bedding, furniture, curtains and chintz but having discovered the batik methods from Indonesia, they developed ways to mechanise the wax printing and produce vast quantities of handkerchiefs for Dutch farmers. The industrialisation for the mass production of wax printing included block printing machines, then later copper rolling, and replacing the wax with a manufactured resin.
Here are some examples of the early handkerchiefs, where the colours and designs often depicted national enterprise and colours.
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Eventually the Silk Road route became unsafe, as many of the countries it passed through wanted control, so sea routes were set up between The Netherlands and Indonesia.
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In the 1880s, as a result of trading spices and other commodities, the Dutch traders brought many batik fabrics back to Europe but needed to find new markets. These sea voyages brought Dutch merchants to the coastal ports of west Africa, including the Gold Coast or modern day Ghana.
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The vibrant colours and bold patterns of the wax prints gained a strong and favourable reception on the African market. The vivid images were not merely to the taste of the people but also a reflection of their environment. Africans, especially the women, assigned names and meanings to the fabrics. They used certain named fabrics for different situations thus conveying a particular message without speech.
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The attraction of wax print fabrics remains strong across the world. Vlisco continues to be a major designer, producer and distributor of fabrics in the African wax print style, and has grown into an essential part of African culture.
Back to the our guest speaker, Randy studied Business Management at university and went into sales when he finished his education. He is still in sales but wanted to stand out from other sales people so he developed his interest in colour, style and design to express his individuality.
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Having "stolen" a length of wax print from his mother, he fashioned it into a pocket handkerchief, an easy style accessory for a gentleman. This was very successful and has since grown into a commercial venture know as "Jazzy Pocket". The product range has been extended to include ties, bow ties, glass stone lapel pins, cufflinks, etc., all made from the vibrant wax print textiles. They are sold at various markets such as Camden and Spitalfields, where Randy gets to meet his customers and share his love of these fabrics.
In addition to the above products, Randy likes to express himself as an artist.
Here is a piece of his artwork, which is acrylic paint on a piece of wax print fabric. Another example of his love of colourful and intricate designs.
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We all thoroughly enjoyed Randy's presentation, it was very interesting to learn a bit about the history of a fabric that many of us enjoy working with.
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At the end of the meeting Randy made badges for the members from some lovely fabrics, and also gave us some wax print samples that we shall share amongst us and maybe incorporate into a future group project.
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