CONFESSIONS of a TEXTILEHOLIC

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CONFESSIONS of a TEXTILEHOLIC
Niki Collier in ShangHai
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CONFESSIONS of a TEXTILEHOLIC
ribbon lords, silk kings, textile emperors
cocoons, tools, ropes
beaded zips, metal treads, signature scissors
silk, Chinese merino, pearls
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My first impressions? A text to Sheila

• We are staying in a huge apartment next to a
  small but ingenuous Market on the street( sells
  live frogs fish and all sorts of snails-). there
  is a fish stall down the road that have been
  washing squid , bras(!) and onions in the same
  bucket. In this order. You have to see it to
  believe it.

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Maglev 450 km per h
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Shang Hai

• Shanghai   is the most populous city in China.
  The city is located in eastern China, at the
  middle portion of the Chinese coast, and sits at
  the mouth of the Yangtze River. Due to its rapid
  growth in the last two decades, it has again
  become one of the world's leading cities,
  exerting influence over finance, commerce,
  fashion, and culture.

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The Yu An Gardens
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Haberdashery!

• Not too far from Gu Cheng Gardens ???? I
  stumbled into a HUGE haberdashery market called
  Shanghai Tan Mall Shanghai Tan Shangsha
• It's at 388 RenMing Road, HuangPu District

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Haberdashery!

• The Ground and first floor are full of little
  stalls selling all kinds of buttons, straps,
  elastic, thread, leather, feathers and loads of
  the rhinestone things to stick on to fabric. The
  odd stall sold a bit of cloth and webbing or
  reflective strips for safety gear and some
  selling packaging.

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Shanghai Tan Mall
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Shanghai Tan Mall
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Shanghai Tan Mall
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Shanghai Tan Mall
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Shanghai Tan Mall
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Shanghai Tan Mall
So from the time that I have ordered10 different
types of bag accessories and the time they
arrived at the shop it was 24 hours. The price-
well a fraction of what I would pay in Dublin,
although arguably what I could pay if I search
hard and long on the web. The difference- I
could see and touch and also- I bumped into
things that I would never consider as I was not
aware that existed.
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In Shanghai everybody is a designer, from the
nanny that knits a sweater for her beloved
grandchildren, to the shop assistant who puts a
few boxes together and wraps a scrap wood in
several towels to fix herself a chair, everybody
is resolute to give it its best shot
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Meeting the Silk King
Nanjing Suho Felting Co

• The factory produces textile which are used in
  the manufacturing of DG LV and Prada
• The factory was established by Mr. Wang, the
  father.
• His two twins studied business in Australia and
  then retuned home to take over the factory. His
  son on completion of his studies suggested that
  they should expand to the continent of Australia
  .His father looked in disbelief Why would I
  bother with a place of only 40 million?
• They hire 4,000 workers.

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China Shanghai South Bund Soft-Spinning- the
new site for cloth market April 3, 2006

• Dongjiadu Road textile market was a favourite
  destination for those seeking textiles, apparel
  or garments in innumerable varieties from silk,
  satin or cashmere to cotton and handicraft.An
  average silk dealer at this market earned around
  10000-10500 yuan or US 1,235-1,300 in a single
  day.Silk fabrics at these stores are priced
  between 30-100yuan per meter, which is almost 30
  percent less than the price in chief silk
  stores.However, this market has been moved to
  an enclosed facility, Shanghai South Bund
  Soft-Spinning Material Market, almost 500 metres
  away from the earlier location.The new location
  is more modern and trendy although many regulars
  and foreigners believe that the old site
  represented the traditional and conventional
  Shanghai.Traders are offering discounts and
  have lowered the prices so as to attract the
  customers and encourage them to look for the new
  market.Sources informed that the new stores
  have a 20 percent higher rent than the old
  shop.The new market officially opened 2006.

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Shanghai South Bund Soft-Spinning
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Shanghai South Bund Soft-Spinning
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Shanghai South Bund Soft-Spinning
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Shanghai South Bund Soft-Spinning
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Shanghai South Bund Soft-Spinning
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The Old New Tweed Design Niki Collier Part One
cashmere, wool and silk hand felted sleeves (
designed and made by Niki Collier) Part two
sleevles wool bespoke jacket, old metal buttons,
silk lining (Niki Collier Design, produced at the
Shanghai Tailor market) A coat inspired by the
felted patches that are sometimes found on
elbows. Each part stands alone makes a
comfortable functional wear which understated
luxury finish makes it suitable for both everyday
and formal wear.