On a recent trip to Mountmellick I was amazed to see that the town had been Yarn bombed. If you haven’t heard of this new craze yet, it’s a type of grafitti or street art but street art that’s actually impressive. The trees were now purple and pink, one of the local news agents had a rainbow coloured delivery bike standing outside and the street railings were shimmering in the sunshine. So who took over this little rural town and where did the idea come from? I had to find out more.
First, for those of you who don’t know Mountmellick, the town has a heritage based in textiles such as spinning, weaving, cotton and of course, Mountmellick Work (the world famous white on white embroidery). The Yarn bombing group tapped into this and are reinventing it in a modern context with the bombing.
Yarn Bombing has happened everywhere from New York to Paris with the movement originally founded by Magda Sayeg from Texas who did the very first installation outside her own shop. Previous to this the artist Bill Davenport had created and installed crochet shaped objects in Houston, Texas in the 1990’s. The concept behind Yarn Bombing is to reclaim sterile public places with some of the most famous Yarn bombings being done in London by the Knit the City crew.
I spoke to the lady behind the Mountmellick Yarn Bombing, Nina Horan. “The original idea was suggested by me on my B&B Facebook page on June 27th, to which four core people responded enthusiastically: Dolores McRedmond, Fiona Shortall, Tina Murray and her daughter, Courtney Murray.” The gang then set up a Facebook page and organised a public meeting. Almost 40 people attended the meeting held in The Druid pub, Mountmellick. Nina says “It was a great start as Caroline Mulvanney (the proprietor’s wife) had decorated the bar area with yarn from a stash her Mother had from years of knitting professionally.”
From that first meeting, the movement grew, eventually having to relocate to the Methodist Church Hall every Tuesday night. People of all skill levels attended the group. Those who had no knitting/crocheting skills were taught by others. Wool was donated by lots of people. Members of the group worked on various projects with specific street furniture, railings etc. in mind. This was run somewhat like a war movement with the number one priority of keeping the date of the bombing a secret. They did manage to grab a slot on the UK crochet blog Attic24 and this led to pieces being donated from all over the country..
Like a scene from “The Bridge over the River Kwai”, the knitters tip toed into town on the morning of the bombing, at 6a.m. A testament to their planning the bombing was fully complete by 9am. The response was immediately fantastic, appealing to all demographics. Nina says “businesses in the town experienced an increase in turnover due to people stopping as they passed through and spending time in the town.” She also says “there were no negative comments or attitudes to it and it seemed to simply be accepted by all.” Amazingly no damage or vandalism occurred at all to any of the installation over the fortnight of its display.
Nina and the group feel the initiative was overwhelmingly positive and all inclusive. “The social aspect of the meetings, the camaraderie, the joie de vivre was super.” The payback for the businesses of the town was an increase in turnover and more visitors with word spreading that something unusual was afoot in Mountmellick. The event was also featured on Midlands Radio 3.
The meetings are now continuing with the group planning a bigger, better and more colourful festival next year. If you’d like to join the group or find out more, you can contact Nina on her Old Bankhouse Facebook Page.
If your village or town has been Yarn Bombed, we’d love to hear from you.
