Patrick Grant draws crowd of 350+ for Textile Week's headline event, following exclusive Silk Museum tour

The Silk Museum welcomed Great British Sewing Bee presenter, and Community Clothing founder Patrick Grant on Wednesday for a landmark day celebrating Macclesfield’s rich textile heritage and vibrant creative communities.

The visit culminated in a sold-out headline event for Macclesfield Textile Week at King’s School, where over 350 guests gathered to hear him speak, snap photos, and secure signed copies of his acclaimed book, LESS.

Ahead of the evening talk, Patrick took a tour of The Silk Museum and Paradise Mill. The museum’s director, Dr. Clare Harding, shared her delight about the visit: "We were just thrilled to welcome Patrick yesterday. His unmatched expertise and infectious passion for sustainable manufacturing align so deeply with our mission here in Macclesfield. He was incredibly kind and generous, taking the time to explore and understand what we do here at the museum.”

While visiting, he explored Paradise Mill, Macclesfield’s last working silk mill and a surviving piece of the town's mighty industrial history. He experienced the authentic factory-floor experience firsthand and witnessed the museum’s ongoing preservation work, to breathe new life into the historic space. While there, he met with young weavers Bea Uprichard and Ruth Farris, of Fishbone and Sycamore, alongside weavers-in-residence Eleanor Godfrey and Clare Malley, discussing modern craftsmanship and the future of weaving.

During the visit, he also met with Head Curator Kathryn Warburton and a team of dedicated museum volunteers, and his tour concluded with a look at The Macclesfield History Tapestry, with artists Becca Smith and Ailsa Holland.

Building on the excitement of the afternoon, the evening event at King’s School proved to be a resounding success, offering a captivating discussion into sustainable style, some fantastic behind the scenes gossip from The Great British Sewing Bee, and the inspiring stories behind LESS.

Clare continues “Seeing the community come out in such huge numbers for his talk shows just how much appetite there is for celebrating textiles here in Macclesfield”

Macclesfield Textile Week continues until Sunday 27 September, featuring a packed schedule of exhibitions, workshops, and events across the town.