As you will have seen from the various TRC blogs, the TRC is moving to a large urban villa dating from 1909 on the Boerhaavelaan (no. 6), just behind Leiden Central Railway Station. The house used to be owned by the Barge family (Prof. Barge was a Rector Magnificus of Leiden University). It is now the property of the Stichting ('Foundation') Monumentenbezit, a national organisation for the upkeep of monumental buildings in The Netherlands.

The main exhibition rooms downstairs getting a face-lift, Boerhaavelaan 6, Leiden, December 2025. Photograph Willem Vogelsang.

Thanks to the help of Leiden Council, the TRC is renting the building at a non-commercial rate with the specific aim of further developing the TRC into an international textile hub for the study, appreciation and indeed a source of inspiration in the vast field of textile and dress studies. We already have a diverse programme of workshops, courses and lectures for 2026 and many more activities will be announced over the next few weeks and months.

Discussing work on the first floor, Boerhaavelaan 6. December 2025. Photograph Willem Vogelsang.We have been looking for funding from various sources to help pay for the updating and refurbishment of the villa. Thanks to several very generous donations we have already found the funding for most of the necessary building and painting work, but still need help with two aspects of this essential, but unglamorous, part of the process.

The first is the polishing and lacquering of the wooden floors, which are on the ground and first floors of the villa. These rooms include the main public areas and consist of two exhibition rooms, an office, the library and a monumental hallway. The estimated cost for this part of the work is €11,500.

Office space on the second floor, awaiting floor covering. Boerhaavelaan 6, December 2025. Photograph Gillian Vogelsang.The second sum required is for a PVC floor covering (with an under-layer) for the first and second floors of the villa where the classrooms, storage area, textile laboratory and photography study will be located. The amount required is €18,148. Coming to a total of €29,648.

My question to all our readers, supporters and lovers of textiles, can you help with these amounts, anything small or large would be most welcome! If you press the Ideal link (see also below), it will bring you to the relevant ING Bank information. Or perhaps you know of someone or a group who would be willing to help with these amounts?

Please pass on the page link or ask them to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I should add that the TRC is a Culturele ANBI, so any donations are tax deductible for Dutch tax payers.

American donors can make a donation via Myriad USA. If you wish to support us, here is how to proceed:

• Gifts by check: Address your check to Myriad USA, write "Friends of the TRC Leiden" in the memo section of the check, and send it to Myriad USA at 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2400, New York, NY 10176.
• Gifts by credit card, bank transfer, Paypal, etc, via this link.
• Gifts by wire transfer: Contact Myriad USA via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone (212) 713-7660.

If there is someone who would be willing to pay for one or both of these essential floor coverings (I know its not the most glamorous request you can you get….), then I am more than happy to arrange for a private visit to Boerhaavelaan 6. This could also be done at the weekends.

14 December 2025