Conferences

Rockin' Braids and Bands - Braids 2025, USA

The next international braiding conference, Rockin’ Braids and Bands will take place in 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.    The conference will be held jointly between the American Kumihimo Society and The Braid Society at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland, Ohio from Sunday June 15 to Saturday, June 21, 2025.   More information can be found at Braids2025.com

Registration for the conference is now open - click here

  

The conference talks, workshops and other activities will be held in the Thinkam Veale and Thwing buildings in University Circle and accommodation will be provided in the University accommodation a short walk away.

        

University Circle is also the home to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Botanical Garden and the Natural History Museum.  These are all within easy walking distance of CWRU.   The world famous, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a short ride away.

Cleveland is very well located in the United States on the shore of Lake Erie and has an interesting, industrial history.   It has an international airport with easy transport from the airport to the University.

Planning for the conference is well underway and more details will be published in the next few months.   Registration will begin later in 2024 and we look forward to presenting an exiting programme for our Sixth Conference.

Applications for Bursaries and Travel Grants to Full Members of the Braid Society have opened.   More information can be found at the Braids 2025 Bursaries and Travel Grant page.

Nordic and World Braids and Bands 2022, Denmark

The Fifth International Conference on Braiding was held in Svendborg, Denmark in  August 14-20, 2022.

We enjoyed a wonderful conference organised by the brilliant Katia Johansen and her team.  It was held from August 14-20, 2022.   The conference was held at the Hotel Christiansminde in Svendborg on the south coast of the island of Funen.   Getting there from the International airport near Copenhagen was an easy 2.5 hour train journey and the entire group stayed together in a lovely setting for both accommodation, meals and workshops.   We are aware that international travel is expensive and it was our priority to make this affordable.  

We highlighted Nordic braid techniques such as tablet weaving, loop manipulation, rigid heddle/inkle, braiding, fingerweaving, sprang, lace, whipcording, tatting, nalbinding, lucet and straw braiding and their counterparts in the rest of the world.   There were also  workshops in kumihimo techniques, ply-split and others.

More information can be found on the conference page here  Braids 2022 and click here for the full programme.

 

American Kumihimo Society, Kumihimo Spring Gathering 2021

The American Kumihimo Society gathering will be held online in August 2021 due to Coronavirus

For more details and updates, please go to https://amksoc.org/

American Kumihimo Society, Kumihimo Gathering 2020

The American Kumihimo Society gathering was held online in October 2020 due to Coronavirus

For more details and updates, please go to https://amksoc.org/aks-annual-gathering/

Braids 2019, Japan

The Fourth International Conference on Braiding was held in Iga Ueno City, Japan in 13-18 October, 2019.   It was a hugely successful conference with participants from 16 countries.    The organisers did a wonderful job and the exhibition that accompanied the conference, held in Sukodo was inspirational.

Information about the conference can be found at http://www.kumihimo-society.org/braids2019/

The conference was hosted by the Kumihimo Society of Japan.

American Kumihimo Society, Kumihimo Gathering 2019

The American Kumihimo Society gathering was held August 19-22nd, 2019 in Mount Hood, Oregon, USA

For more details and updates, please go to https://amksoc.org

Braids 2016, Tacoma, USA

The Third International Braiding and Narrow Weaves Conference was held from July 24 to July 30, 2016 at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. The co-chairs for this conference are Robyn Spady and Giovanna Imperia.

The event was held at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA for this event. The conference was in one of the most beautiful areas of the US in the business corridor that runs from Vancouver, BC, to Portland, Oregon. The area is home to incredible wilderness areas, Pt. Defiance, the Pacific Ocean, and Mount Rainier. Additionally, the Seattle-Tacoma area is easily accessible from Europe, Asia, North and South America.

Braids 2016 was a showcase for the talent and expertise of teachers in a variety of braiding and narrow weaves areas ranging from kumihimo, Andean braiding, loop braiding, tablet weaving, band weaving, sprang, passementerie, and a number of other narrow weave techniques. Traditional and non-traditional approaches will be represented.

Copies of the proceedings are still available. This is a 160 page, A4 size paper back in colour throughout. It contains 25 articles written by the conference speakers and tutors. Many articles include practical instructions.

Braids 2012, Manchester, UK

Braids 2012, the 2nd international braiding conference was held in Manchester, England from August 19-25th , 2012.  The conference was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by all. 

Copies of the proceedings are still available. This is a 160 page, A4 size paper back in colour throughout. It contains 25 articles written by the conference speakers and tutors. Many articles include practical instructions.
 

International Conference on Kumihimo 2007, Kyoto, Japan

The first International Conference focused on Kumihimo covering its history, cultural background, aesthetics and engineering applications.  The conference succeeded in extending the possibilities of Kumihimo through the exchange of knowledge between researchers, craftsmen and artists of the world.