Tower and Town, November 2026 (view the full edition)Social Fabric and Sources of InspirationThe iconic former Dible & Roy textile shop in the heart of Marlborough was recently brought back to life when five local artists transformed part of it into temporary exhibition and interactive installations exploring rivers, water and textile waste. Access was generously gifted by the new owners, Benbow Investments Ltd, during the building's renovation. The free event, Source of Inspiration, coincided with Sustainable Fashion Week and World Rivers Day, running 25-27 September and again on 2-3 October. It examined the materials and resources that flow through our lives: where they come from, how we care for them, where they go and what is left behind. Becky Borthwick, Michelle Smith, Anya Hope Medlin, Sam Ulla Lindsay and Hannah Cantellow used photography and natural, recycled and repurposed materials to explore connections between the local landscape, rivers, textiles and the natural world. The building's own history echoed the theme with artefacts and old, found D&R fabrics creatively incorporated. The weekend also gently launched a new Transition Marlborough project, Social Fabrics, in partnership with the town's Dogs' Trust charity shop. Together we want to rethink and creatively re-use more of the shop's unsold donations. Central to the installation was a month's worth of clothing and textiles judged unsuitable for sale often only needing a small repair, a wash, a de-bobble or pet hair removal. Without a 'third place' to keep such items in local circulation they are likely exported, ending as polluting rubbish if unsold in already flooded markets. Those 1,550 items, weighing 450kg, hinted at what probably scales up each year across our nine charity shops to some 48 tonnes and over 160,000 items. That local-scale figure invited visitors to imagine keeping more of this resource circulating in Marlborough, creating more income for charities and feeding local enterprise and connection. The exhibition also explored our relationship with water and the natural environment. Following a summer of intense heat and drought concern for Britain's rivers, including our own precious chalk-stream River Kennet, runs high. Yet there is still relentless social pressure to engage in throwaway culture. This event gently wove those threads together and invited us to shift how we think and what we do with precious resources. If the concept of ‘Social Fabrics’ appeals to you and you have some ideas about how to keep these wonderful textile resources circulating for longer in our community, please contact Milly at Transition Marlborough on info@transitionmarlborough.org  Milly Carmichael |