"This year's summer exhibition at Powysland Museum on the world famous designer Laura Ashley has proven such a hit with visitors that the exhibition period has been extended until the end of November.

This will also enable schools to make use of the many education and craft resources, which the museum's Education and Access Officers have developed to accompany the displays.

The exhibition at Powysland Museum is called "Laura Ashley: A Welsh Icon" and is the final part of a three-year project on the fashion designer hosted by the three Powys County Council museums in Montgomeryshire. The displays at Powysland Museum consist of photographs, documents, artefacts and clothes kindly lent to the museum by the Laura Ashley Archives and by several private collectors, who have contacted the museum during the last three years.

The project started in 2007 with the exhibition "Laura Ashley: Welsh Beginnings" at Llanidloes Museum. Due to limited space the displays were quite small but they described the start of the company and its move to Carno in Mid-Wales and the establishment of one of the first Laura Ashley shops in Llanidloes.

In 2008 the project moved to Newtown Textile Museum with the exhibition "Laura Ashley: Designs, Patterns and Motifs", which focused on the company's famous designs, patterns and motifs, thus fitting in with the overall remit of the Newtown Textile Museum.

During the exhibition period interviews of former employees of the Laura Ashley Company will be added to the general text. A number of people have most kindly agreed to tell their memories of working for Laura Ashley for the exhibition. The interviews are carried out by Colin Rodgers, a local historian from Welshpool and have been funded by CyMAL (Museums Archives Libraries Wales) - the Welsh Assembly Government.

Opening hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 11am-1pm & 2-5pm - Wednesday closed.

Until 30 September: Saturday and Sunday: 10am-1pm & 2-5pm After 1 October: Saturday: 11am-2pm"

Article written by Eva Bredsdorff