It is with sadness that we share the news that the ‘Mother’ of Fibres West, Peggy Buckingham, passed away last week.

Peggy Buckingham was the driving force behind the organisation we now know as Fibres West Inc. Since the mid 1970s, Peggy worked tirelessly to advocate for the educational aspect of the arts and crafts in both Western Australia and on a national level. She was the President of the WA Crafts Council for a number of years, with a weekly radio session speaking about WA crafts. She was a founding member of various other art and craft organisations and initiatives, always with a vision to promote the value of arts in and of community and the nurturing of skill. She wore many, many hats. A former Director of the (national) Australian Forum for Textile Arts, Peggy was the Convenor of Fibres West for close to two decades.

Peggy briefly attended and was honoured at Fibres West 2015; something we later learned meant a great deal to her. She was happy to see ‘her’ event continuing to blossom, with new initiatives added to the mix while honouring the organisation’s rich tradition.

An era has come to a close, but her legacy endures.

Vale Peggy.