The blog is a place for Karen’s family and friends to post news and updates relating to her legacy and the textile world.

If you’d like to contribute a piece to the blog please drop us an email.

Please feel free to join the discussion by using the comments section at the bottom of each blog post.

Posted by
Philip Sykas
on May 8th, 2023
at 12.14pm
0 comments
A series of photographs of the Bolton Heald and Reed Works thought to date around 1913 was the subject of a short article that appeared on this website last year. At that time, it was difficult to find anything more than cursory coverage of heald and reed making in historical, technical or craft literature. However, two small volumes have now… [Read more]
Posted by
Katrina Finch
on May 8th, 2023
at 11.27am
0 comments
It is five years since Karen died on 15 April 2018 but we still miss her powerful presence. In that sense what we wrote when she died: "We shall forever miss the extraordinary person Karen was, whose smile and enthusiasm for life shone a radiant glow over even the most mundane”. remains true. We try to live our lives as… [Read more]
Posted by
Alan Cohen
on May 8th, 2022
at 9.33am
0 comments
Karen's centenary

Last year we announced that we would be marking Karen’s centenary on May 8 2021 by publishing new material on the site. We haven’t published as much as we would have liked but the arrival of what would have been Karen’s 101st has acted as a spur. We are pleased to draw attention to: A new essay by Philip Sykas… [Read more]
on May 8th, 2022
at 9.20am
0 comments
Karen's centenary

Katrina Finch suggested this article for the website and I will take on the task. In the beginning of the 1990s, I met Karen Finch for the first time, and in the years to come we met once or twice a year in Denmark or elsewhere, for instance in 1997 the memorable conference for the 50th anniversary of Platt Hall… [Read more]
Posted by
Philip Sykas
on May 8th, 2022
at 8.43am
0 comments
Karen's centenary

As important as healds and reeds are to the weaving process, little has been documented about their history or production. Alfred Barlow cursorily encapsulated the developments in heald making: ‘Healds were formerly made by hand by means of a reel, &c., and many are still formed so. […] Heald-making machines are often of very complicated and ingenious construction’. Alfred Spitzli… [Read more]
on April 7th, 2022
at 4.02pm
0 comments
Karen's centenary

In many ways my auntie Karen was like a female Peter Pan. Very modern and with the capacity for seizing the right moment in her own very visionary, clever way. What she believed in, she aimed for, and turned into reality. And like Peter Pan her arena was the whole world, with all the people who believed in her and… [Read more]
Posted by
James Bulman-May
on May 20th, 2021
at 10.22pm
0 comments
Karen's centenary

The warp and woof On the 100th birthday of my aunt Karen Finch née Sinding Møller, I would like to honour her achievements and independent spirit. I was fortunate to have Aunt Karen in London, and more so because she shared her home with family and friends. To me, these sentences still resound with the magic of holidays, a sense… [Read more]
Posted by
Katrina Finch
on May 8th, 2021
at 9.26pm
0 comments
Karen's centenary

To: Karen; Alan; Ellen-May and Ayesha (who is celebrating her 40th birthday). 8th May is a magical date in our family calendar, believing as we do that sharing a birthday date confers a special relationship between people and families. Despite not being with us, Karen remains at the heart of this day of celebration. Happy birthdays! [Read more]
Posted by
Alan Cohen
on May 8th, 2021
at 9.24pm
0 comments
Karen's centenary

Karen’s vision of textile conservation always had a very strong international dimension. As part of Karen’s Centenary, we are publishing an interactive map showing the global reach of Karen’s teaching at the Textile Conservation Centre. The map shows the country of origin of many of her students, and provides some information about their later careers. We would welcome updates and… [Read more]
Posted by
Joshua Cohen
on May 8th, 2021
at 11.28am
0 comments
Karen's centenary

My mormor (mother’s mother in Danish) would have been 100 years old today. How she would have loved to get a letter from the Queen on her birthday! We joked about it many times, especially after she turned 90. She knew that she and I held very different views about the royal family and that was part of the joke.… [Read more]
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