Patrons & Partners

Festival Patron

Mary La Trobe-Bateman OBE

Mary La Trobe- Bateman is a freelance applied arts curator, consultant and lecturer with a passionate commitment to the creative arts.
Following graduation from  Royal College Arts, she practised interior design and ran her own gallery. In 1994 appointed Director of Contemporary Applied Arts in London, one of the UK's leading galleries for the Applied Arts and crafts.
Here Mary established a vibrant gallery and expanded the exhibition and education programmes.
Mary has served on many committees and selection panels including Crafts Council and Collect at the V & A. In 2001 Mary received the OBE for services to contemporary craft.
She lives in Somerset with her husband, furniture and bridge designer, Richard La Trobe- Bateman

Jilly Edwards

Jilly Edwards is one of the UK's leading tapestry weavers, studying at the West of England College of Art in the 60’s & then at Edinburgh College of Art during the 1980's. She is renowned for her use of colour and the painterly nature of her work - each piece is a meticulously crafted response to place and light. Edwards' has work in collections, both private & corporate in the UK, USA, Europe & Japan. Having taught part time in colleges for twenty years, she has spent the last twenty years working on commissions & exhibitions and lecturing in various countries. 
Having exhibited nationally & internationally in both solo & selected exhibitions including Stroud International Textile Festival in 2007, she has recently exhibited at Ruthin Craft Centre with a retrospective, Reflections and Investigations, which traces her long standing interest in journeys, journeying and the process of weaving and features seminal works developed during four decades of practice alongside new pieces made specifically for the gallery at Ruthin.

Lulu Guinness OBE

Lulu Guinness OBE famous for her unique and quintessentially British handbags and accessories, launched her company in 1989. Instant praise in the fashion media paved the way for Lulu Guinness shops in London, New York and Tokyo. Her unique creations are also sold in department and specialty stores worldwide, including Harrods, Selfridges and Fortnum and Mason in the UK, Brown Thomas in Ireland and Lane Crawford in Hong Kong. Lulu's Collectable bags described as 'tomorrow's treasures', have become permanent fixtures in many museums. The Florist Basket is in the permanent fashion collection at the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The Collectables have also been the subjects of two exhibitions in Sotheby’s London and New York. Meanwhile her bags are seen on the arms of an ever-expanding array of celebrity supporters, amongst them Dita von Teese, Helena Bonham Carter, Katy Perry, Florence Welch, Christina Aguilera, Rachel Weisz, Agyness Deyn, and Alexa Chung.

SIT partners with: