We have just had the second Open Monumenten Dagen (OMD) day (Sunday, 13 September), which was from 10.00 until 17.00 and we are all very, very tired! I am glad that the OMD is only once a year, but it is well worth it for getting people interested in what the TRC is doing and why.

Yesterday we had 111 visitors and today 214 people came to see Boerhaavelaan 6 (B6), giving a total of 325 over the weekend. Again there were people who live on the street or nearby, who were simply curious about the building and the family who had lived there for over 100 years. Many people came for the architectural history of the building, while others came for the textiles and to see what the TRC is and is doing.

There were five TRC volunteers present and we all had a chance to talk with visitors, answer questions, and help with the shop, so plenty of opportunities to tell everyone about what we are doing and why. In addition we were able to talk with teachers from here in Leiden, people from Leiden Council, as well as others working with local commercial groups. In other words, a great opportunity for people to see the TRC in action and its potential as a local and international centre for textile and dress studies.

Boerhaavelaan 6(Gillian Vogelsang, 12 September) We have finished our first day of the Open Monument Weekend (Open Monumentendagen), which is a national event where people can come and look at various forms of monumental buildings, from factories to cathedrals, via churches and castles. Not to mention, public and private buildings of various types and ages.

The TRC was opened last year and we agreed to be open again this year, as it is a great way for people to see the building (Boerhaavelaan 6) and to learn about the TRC and what we are doing. Today we were open from 12.00 until 17.00 and we had over 100 visitors. The first, actually came at 10.30 as the banner was in situ and the door open!

There was a constant flow of visitors from 11.30 onwards. Most people came to see the building, for example, there were some who had lived on or near the Boerhaavelaan and simply wanted to see what the house looked like on the inside. Others were interested in the architect, Jesse, who was involved in building both the house and its extension.

But there was an equal number who had heard about the TRC via the local newspapers, online (especially LinkedIn), etc., and wanted to learn more about what we are doing and why. The shop was open and many items sold to visitors, another way of helping to support the TRC! Various people took the new TRC brochure with the promise to make a donation. There were also a number of people who are now seriously thinking about becoming a volunteer and helping with the day-to-day running of the TRC.

Fig. 1. Card with 6x six black press studs. There is a printed text that states: "PRYM'S AVENIR WERELDMERK DRUKKNOOP", Germany, produced for the Dutch market, early 20th century (TRC 2026.2008).(Gillian Vogelsang, 9 Sept. 2026) Over the years I have become intrigued with some ‘strange’ items in the TRC collection, but I never expected to become interested in that everyday item, the press stud! Perhaps I was drawn to this subject when I realised that, in 2021, I wrote a blog about medieval hooks and eyes now in the TRC Colleciton.

But back to the press studs. I am currently cataloguing various forms of fastenings, not only the press studs, but also hooks and eyes, and buttons, that were given to the TRC by Hennie Stevan-Bathoorn and Sjoerd Stevan of the former Museum voor Naaldkunst, Winschoten, here in the Netherlands.

Press studs are often used instead of buttons to fasten various items, including soft furnishings, as well as a wide range of garments from underwear, to blouses, aprons, trousers, coats and skirts, headwear, gloves and footwear (Fig. 1). They are a hidden form of fastening, and easy to use. There are different grades of press studs, from those suitable for a child to military grade forms used for parachute harnesses, etc. Press studs are also sometimes used to decorate items. In the TRC Collection, for example, there is a child’s embroidered cap from Pakistan that is embellished with buttons, coins and press studs (compare TRC 2026.1897).

The donation includes a folder with various cards of press studs that were produced by different manufacturers. I have never really looked in detail at these small, but useful items before, but I started to wonder about the history of these items as well as looking again at the press studs in the collection, and at a range of garments that are fastened with such studs.

Well, to start with, the press studs (UK) have different names in the (English-speaking) world. In the US, for example, they are called snap fasteners, snaps, or snap buttons. Elsewhere they are sometimes called poppers, tich buttons or dome fasteners.

Poster for the Andy Warhol exhibition, now extended until 8 November. Museum Cobra, Sandbergplein 1, Amstelveen.Until Sunday, 8 November 2026, Museum Cobra in Amstelveen in The Netherlands presents an exhibition with the title 'Andy Warhol, The Textiles'. TRC friend and volunteer, Loren Mealey, went to see the exhibition in Amstelveen and she wrote the following blog:

When we think of Andy Warhol, we think of Campbell’s Soup Cans, Coca-Cola bottles, Marilyn Monroe and the bright, bold world of Pop Art. Before all of that, though, Warhol was illustrating something quite different: textiles.

Left: “Happy Butterfly Day”. Printed silk, circa 1955-56. Manufacturer unknown; Right: “Large Butterflies”. Printed cotton, circa 1955-56. D. B. Fuller & Co., Inc.In the 1950s and early 1960s, long before he became one of the most recognisable artists of the twentieth century, Warhol was a successful commercial illustrator and graphic designer in New York City. He created playful textile patterns filled with ice-cream cones, candy apples, lemons, butterflies, flowers, pretzels, shoes, buttons and even circus clowns. They are cheerful, whimsical and unmistakably of their time. If observed closely, you can already see the beginnings of the Warhol we know today.

What is particularly appealing about these designs is their colourful combination of simplicity and repetition. Warhol took an ordinary object, reduced it to its essential shape, and then repeated it across the fabric. The same butterfly might appear again and again, but each one will show a tiny difference. A line shifts. A shape changes slightly. A colour lands differently.

Then there is the line. Warhol had developed his distinctive “blotted line” technique while still a student and refined it during his years as a commercial illustrator. The process was quite simple. He traced an image in ink on a non-absorbent sheet and then pressed it against another sheet of paper, transferring the ink. The result was a broken, slightly uneven line: part drawing, part print.

On 31 August, the TRC opened its doors for a new exhibition: Paisley: The History of a Global Icon (by the curator, Augusta de Gunzbourg)

The new Paisley exhibition at the TRC. Photograph by the curator, Augusta de Gunzbourg.We all know the motif, that cone shape that is curved at the top, which is found on Kashmir shawls, men’s ties, 1970’s hippie prints, or even on cowboy bandanas. Paisley is everywhere !

It is so well-known that it is generally accepted as just being one of those patterns that have always been there, but we rarely think think about its origins and why it is so popular all over the world.

The TRC exhibition is a re-edited, expanded version of one of its past, and online exhibitions (interrupted by the COVID-pandemic) about the famous Paisley motif, and this time mounted in the TRC's new premises along the Boerhaavelaan (No.6) in Leiden.

The exhibition explores the history of the Paisley motif, its ancient origins and its development to the present day. It also looks at how it is currently used for a wide variety of textiles and garments all over the globe.

Click on the illustration to open the brochure.The TRC has made a new brochure about its background, its vision, and its intentions for the future. The brochure is especially aimed at European companies and individuals that want to support the TRC. The brochure also lists the countries where the organisation 'GivingEurope' can help the potential sponsors with information about attractive tax benefits.

These countries include Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland. The brochure also gives information about sponsors from the. USA, who can direct their donations via Myrad USA, which will organise the tax benefits. Potential sponsors from The Netherlands can address the Cultuurfonds.

Joost Kolkman and Ray Raymakers produced a lovely brochure about the TRC, but also about the importance and attraction of textiles. The brochure can be downloaded here. A printed version is also available, and can be obtained from the TRC.

Tapestry fragment from Coptic Egypt, c. 4th century AD (TRC 2025.0012), Titia Huisman bequest.Are you a lover of textiles? Have you been to the TRC and enjoyed your visit? Do you want to support the future of textile and clothing studies and education, both here in the Netherlands and elsewhere?

If yes, then please think about including the Stichting Textile Research Centre (TRC Leiden) in your testament. We are a Culturele ANBI, which means any donation made within the Netherlands is exempt from inheritance tax, so 100% of your donation would come to the TRC!

Please note that a hand-written document is not allowed. This type of donation in a will needs to be drawn up by a notary. You will need the following information: Stichting Textile Research Centre, Boerhaavelaan 6, 2334 EN, Leiden, The Netherlands, registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under the number 41168554.

We have already been mentioned in various wills with respect to the donation of objects, but funding is equally important to make sure that our many activities can continue!

Something to think about! For more information please do not hesitate to get in contact with me, Dr Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

(Po Chun Hsu [Travis], 1 August 2026) It has been a few weeks since the workshop, and the colours of the memory are still so alive. I can vividly recall all of us sitting in the garden with Dr Gillian in the shade, spinning and learning to weave just as people would have done in earlier times: in a circle, leaning in and working together as a family. The five-day intensive course was an intimate and enriching experience that altered many of my perspectives on textiles, interweaving hands-on practice such as spinning, weaving, and dyeing, with a genuine skill set in textile appreciation, immediately applicable to textile studies, further academic pursuit, and textile connoisseurship.

I would like to start by highly recommending this course to anyone interested in textiles, whether you are an expert or just beginning the journey, to textile and fashion designers, or to anyone who simply wants to acquire an appreciation of what we wear every day. Dr. Gillian's passion and immense expertise made a course already magical in its own right, set in a culturally layered townhouse that encompasses Leiden's own history, now home to world textiles from all kinds of cultures and all walks of life, all the more memorable and lasting for a textile student. It was also a wonderful experience to study under a world-class expert in a subject she is passionate about. It’s moving, and there are always takeaways studying under a master like that.

The course is structured on a linear foundation and framework. We started from an introduction to the common fibre materials and progressed into textile analysis as we became equipped with material-identification skills. Over the first few days, Dr. Gillian built us up from the organic fibres such as cotton, silk, wool, and flax toward the more technically complex synthetic ones, and let us find our own way into the materials through scientific approaches, with microscopes and magnifying glasses; we ran countless tests on dyes and on the ashes of burnt threads, forming a rounded view of how to differentiate materials.

As we proceeded, Gillian provided generous assistance tailored to every student's needs: she explained genuinely difficult concepts in the simplest terms, expanded on the special areas individual participants were curious about, and recommended wonderfully handy textile books for future research. As an art history student who had read some of the standard books on textiles, I found her explanations exactly on point and easy to understand. My sincere advice: take the course, then reread everything. The books come alive differently once your own hands have spun, woven, and dyed. Her approach created a wonderful space for participants to thrive at their own pace and learn comfortably across the fundamental areas of textile study.

The last three days were an exhilarating journey for textile lovers. We roamed from Italy and France to Rome, Egypt, Iran, Japan, China, India, and Indonesia, from the Neolithic period to modern and contemporary production, learning how textiles were used and appreciated, and how to identify and cross-examine them through their techniques and terminology. Having handled samples of every nameable textile technique in the first days, this became a full-circle moment for many of us, as the fruits of our learning grew evident. I was extremely happy to find I could now differentiate damask, brocade, and lampas, questions that had been stuck in my head for a very long time. Delighted as I was, I also realised I could never go back to the perspective I held before the course, which has since caused serious trouble when shopping and at museums, gazing at dresses that sit so far behind the glass. The course ended with Gillian's first collected textile (the Egyptian fragment bought with a week's allowance) and maid-work rolls that documented everything the girls learned from needlework schools, which was an encouraging and heartfelt endnote for all of us still learning on this path.

I would love to recommend this course to anyone interested: it fundamentally alters your perspective and offers practical skills, accessible research resources, an open and culturally layered learning space, and an amazing experience at a wonderful price for everything it gave me. The place has all my blessings, and I can definitely see myself coming back to the TRC for more.

The Textile Research Centre (TRC) in Leiden runs regular intensive courses. Details and booking are available on the TRC website.

The remaining dates for 2026 and 2027 are: 12-16 Oct.; 22-26 Febr.; 19-23 April; 21-25 June; 23-27 Aug.; 25-29 Oct.