Holding what matters
On 16 July, TextileSeekers presented its first solo exhibition in Paris, hosted by Services Continu within a former 17th-century inn in Le Marais, once home to the office of architect Renzo Piano.
The evening brought together friends, collaborators and figures from across fashion, art and design. There was a beautiful energy throughout the space, with guests moving between the objects and discovering the stories behind their materials and making. The warmth of the turnout made the presentation feel both intimate and expansive: a gathering around objects, but also around the conversations and relationships that had brought them into being.
The exhibition united two connected parts of TextileSeekers: Collection 04, Adornment, and a new object from In Their Hands, an ongoing series shaped through collaboration.
Nick Tran first came across TextileSeekers during Paris Fashion Week. Between appointments in his role as a buyer for Dover Street Market, he visited a showroom where a small selection of my objects was being presented. Something in the work caught his attention.
When I later came across his name, I recognised the Vietnamese surname. It felt like a quiet thread between us, one that led us to exchange details and begin a conversation. What started with the objects gradually opened into something more personal.
We spoke about heritage, identity and the ways our individual histories shape what we notice, value and create. When we eventually met in person, there was an immediate sense of familiarity.
The collaboration developed naturally from that connection. It felt right for Nick to become one of the people I create with, alongside collaborators including Caroline Issa, each bringing their own perspective and lived experience into the evolving world of TextileSeekers.
The resulting limited-edition lacquer box set explores lacquer as both a functional material and an artistic medium. Chosen for its depth, resilience and ability to hold the visible passage of time within its surface, lacquer became the foundation for an object that balances utility with sculptural form.
The set comprises a series of compartments that can be used independently to hold jewellery, incense or personal keepsakes, or stacked together to create a single architectural object. Its form is not fixed. It invites touch, movement and rearrangement, allowing its function to evolve through everyday use.
Each component begins as hand-carved wood before undergoing a traditional lacquering process involving more than twenty individually applied and polished layers. Every set is made separately, with each element crafted to fit together with the precision of a puzzle.
The finished object is wrapped in handmade bamboo paper produced by Hmong artisans in northern Vietnam. This final layer connects the piece to another material tradition and to the wider TextileSeekers ecosystem of travel, craft, objects and stories.
Paris felt like an important place to bring these different dimensions of TextileSeekers together. It is a city where fashion, art, design and craftsmanship continually meet. The exhibition offered an opportunity to present TextileSeekers not simply as a series of individual collections, but as a wider creative world shaped by materials, encounters, shared histories and the people who bring each object into being.
