The Textile Design Competition represents a living and continuing link with the Shrewsbury Drapers heritage whilst providing a showcase encouraging current Shropshire students and residents alike to expand their creative talents.  The competition has established itself as a prestigious annual County event attracting visitors and interest from a wide geographical area.

The exhibition was held at St. Mary’s Church, Shrewsbury, and on the evening of the competition the Drapers Company held a reception and private view and invited the High Sheriff and his wife, as well as the Mayor of Shrewsbury and other guests, to attend the presentation of the awards.

The Shrewsbury Drapers Company goes back a long way. The guild of merchants rolls of 1209 contain the earliest surviving record where individual drapers are mentioned in Shrewsbury.  The guild of merchants continued to control the wool trade until January 1462, when Edward 1V granted the drapers a royal charter. An important step towards granting of the charter was the building of the almshouses in front of St. Mary’s Church by Diggory Watur, a draper in 1444. These have since been relocated in Coleham.The Company continues its support to the community, currently housing 25 residents in their warden supervised homes, and are planning to build more homes once funding has been raised. The present Drapers Hall was built in the “Shrewsbury style’ and was completed around 1576 replacing an earlier one on the site by St. Mary’s. It is one of only a handful of guildhalls still owned and in use by the original guild.

The Company has been holding an annual textile design competition since 1995. They have 3 experienced judges who give scores for interpretation, design technique, workmanship and finish, tone, colour and use. 10{9d575b0d2b9f93e1b2c508b6230ba5fded112c87afe25a7f48110155290734ef} of the marks is reserved for distinction. The theme for this years competition was ‘Arabian Nights’. The exhibits were truly amazing, incredibly high standard of professional workmanship, each item very much reflecting the exotic theme with stunning colours and fabrics, including the  ‘wool’ which is an obligatory inclusion harping back to the Drapers original trade. The exhibition is quite beautiful and merits a visit. The exhibits will remain in the church till the end of the week. Next year’s competition theme is ‘Our Colourful World’ and will be held round about the same time. For any more information  and for competition details and application forms do visit the Draper’s website: shrewsburydrapers.org.uk