For those of us textile practitioners who work alone in our studios most of the time, it is a real treat to meet up with other members of the textile community.

The International Shibori Symposium, organised by the World Shibori Network, unites textile artists, scholars and business people from all over the world. It takes place every few years in different countries and the 7th ISS was hosted in France in November. The programme was exciting and ambitious and included tours of natural dye producing areas in Provence, museum visits in Lyon and exhibitions, workshops, presentations and performances, amongst other delights, finishing, appropriately, in Paris. As we might expect of an event hosted in France, quality was high and everything was professionally managed.

I joined the tour for the 5 days in Paris. The Paris American Academy hosted two days of intensive workshops with some of the world's leading experts in shibori, including KunoTsukoshi, Hai Hayakawa and Hiroshi Murasi from Japan. The Musee du quai Branly (opened in 2006) on the banks of the Seine hosted the 2-day symposium and afforded superb facilities: a first class theatre for the lectures, presentations and performances (including a wonderful kimono show by the Traditional Costume Preservation Society of Japan), a film theatre for a variety of fascinating textile screenings, an exhibition space and an area for textile artists to meet, talk and exchange ideas and sell their wares to the public (and each other!) In addition, the museum staged a wonderful exhibition of resist - dyed textiles of the world, curated by Francoise Cousin, entitled 'Chemin de Couleurs' which augment the event.

An added pleasure for me was the warm greeting I received from Lydie Ottelart and other members of D'Art et de Soie, the french silk painting guild. During the 5 days of my visit, I met many wonderful people from all parts of the world, all of whom are concerned with the need to preserve traditional textile practices and to develop ecologically sound methods of work practice. It was a truly heartening experience to find a common language through textiles.

So food for thought and a feast for the eyes (and the stomach as well, being Paris) and a fantastic opportunity to make contacts, share information, discuss the future and make new friends. I came home inspired and re - energised and ready to get back to my solitary studio to try out some new ideas.

Mandy Southan