My name is Tim Cardy, I am the owner of Tudor Cottage Handcraftory. I’ve been knitting, crocheting and doing a wide variety of fiber arts for over 50yrs, and teaching many of these techniques from craft to university level for over 30yrs. I'm now presenting a line of accessories featuring a collection of high-end curated Jacquard fabrics, a selection of vintage upholstery fabric and the upcoming line of cotton based batiks and sophisticated prints.
While at college in NYC, I had the privilege to study textile restoration at both the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In my travels I learned 6 types of Lace making in Burano, Italy (Venice) and bobbin/tape lace in Bruges. I am the recipient of Masters degrees in late 19th and early 20th-century Handicraft and another in Fashion Design…and am well schooled in Knitting, Crochet and historical needlecraft...there are very few handicrafts I haven’t tried – especially fiber related!
I have won of a number of fiber arts related awards and am a competition winner in knitting, crochet, soft doll sculpture, historical costume, fashion design, and felting.
I have worked in the textile and fiber industry in yarn and upholstery weaving mills, was the fiber buyer for an upholstery fabric manufacturer, a few years at Levi-Strauss in SF, owned a small couturier & costume business, two yarn shops and in college worked in the Dupont Textile research division in NYC.
Many of you may have seen me selling my wearable fiber art, handmade carpet bags and felted bags/vessels at the Sunday Santa Barbara Arts and Crafts Show at the Beach and at other shows up and down the coast and in the desert. I have worked professionally as a Fiber artist and a small manufacturer.
You can also find some of my historical costume reproduction work in permanent museum and private gallery collections.
I am originally from the East Coast via New York, San Francisco & Los Angeles and call beautiful Santa Barbara, CA home. I have been teaching fiber techniques throughout the US and regularly guest lecture at a number of colleges and universities throughout California.