Gina Barrett

Gina Barrett began her career as a graphic designer and illustrator, which included covers for historical romantic novels. This led to a more intense study of costume, which in itself led to a passion for historical passementerie, including buttons and other trimmings. She now provides bespoke items to costumiers for film, theatre, museums and fashion, and continues to research and to write about both old techniques and developing new ones. Gina and her husband run Gina-B Silkworks, which brings original tools, kits and materials for traditional crafts and trimmings to a modern audience through their website, shops and the UK TV craft channel, The Craft Store.

During both 2016 and 2020, Gina completed a “One Button a Day” challenge - making and sharing across social media a new handmade button every day. (onebuttonaday.co.uk)

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/GinaBSilkworks

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/GinaBSilkworks

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ginabsilkworks/

Books:

Thread Wrapped Buttons (Making Buttons series)

Dorset Ring Buttons (Making Buttons series)

Fabric Buttons (20 to Stitch),

Buttons: A Passementerie Workshop Manual,

The Ganutell Country Flowers Handbook,

the Total Trimmings Projects Books series

the Making Passementerie range of instructional DVDs.

[co-author] Tak V Bowes Departed: A 15th Century Braiding Manual Examined

6 booklets on medieval narrow wares.

Contributor for the Passementerie entry in the Encyclopaedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles of the British Isles c. 450-1450 (Brill).

Additional

How-to articles for magazines, as well as papers and essays on other forms of passementerie.

Teaching, including online courses and lectures

Gina has been involved in textile research projects with groups around the world, and is a founder member of Soper Lane, a group begun in 1999 to research the lives and work of the medieval London silkwomen.