WONZ's Ramsden is 'Skills Hero'

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 12/8/2008 12:00:00 AM

Marble Hill, Ga. —

A Wools of New Zealand (WONZ) creative manager has won the Skills Hero award from the Skillfast UK, the government-sponsored Sector Skills Council for fashion and textiles.

Joanna Ramsden, creative manager at the WONZ International Development Center in Ilkley, West Yorkshire (U.K.), celebrated at a London exhibition where Skillfast presented awards to 50 individuals identified as U.K.'s top creative talents.

"We are extremely proud of Joanna's accomplishments," said Tim Lonsdale, ceo, WONZ. "As a participant in a number of influential international color forecasting panels and as the creative manager for Wools of New Zealand, Joanna has influenced the making of many highly successful carpet ranges – not only in the U.K., but across the globe."

Ramsden and the Ilkley team are developing the 2010 Color and Trend Collection for carpets. The collection highlights yarn textures and surface structures for carpets and rugs, as well as fashion-forward color use and will launch at Surfaces 2009.