Confessions of a clothaholic...

My addiction to cloth began in Canada with an old LeClerc table loom that I came across in a second-hand shop. I bought it and taught myself to weave with the help of a few books. I began to collect cloth: embroidered linens, damask, crochet lace, tapestry fragments, handwoven coverlets, old American hooked rugs - everything that had been formed by a maker's hands.

Then I saw some small bolts of indigo blue and white fabric at an antique fair and bought all of them. I began to research them and discovered that they were Japanese and were for making kimono. A few months later I managed to acquire some kimono silks and I had never handled such exquisite fabric in my life. I couldn't get enough of these beautiful fabrics or the kimono that they were made into, and that's how clothaholics.com was born.

I know that there are other clothaholics out there because I meet them and talk to them almost every day. With a little prompting, they all have stories to tell about their compulsion for cloth. It's a wonderful community and a fascinating journey.  Happy trails.....!

Helen Smith