Textile Research Centre (TRC), Leiden

What Textile Research Centre (TRC), Leiden does

The Textile Research Centre (TRC), Leiden, legally Stichting Textile Research Centre, is a Dutch non-profit foundation established in 1991 and headquartered at Boerhaavelaan 6, Leiden, in an urban villa circa 1909 located just behind Leiden Central Railway Station. The organization is an international knowledge centre for textiles and dress, operating a curated collection of more than 54,000 registered items spanning prehistoric to contemporary eras and cultures worldwide. All on-site work is carried out by 17 staff alongside volunteers, supported by a Board and an International Advisory Committee. The TRC holds ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling) status with the Dutch Tax Authorities, making donations tax-deductible at 125% for individuals and 150% for commercial companies.

The TRC's core technology consists of a proprietary Online Collection Catalogue exposing 54,000+ items and the TRC Needles database documenting textile techniques, materials, organizations, people, regional traditions, tools, and visual archives, with object documentation enhanced through Dinolite microscope imaging and 360-degree photography. Service products span the Gieskes-Strijbis Fellowship Programme (7 junior at €2,300/month and 4 senior at €4,000/month for up to six months each over a three-year window starting mid-2026), intensive 5-day textile courses, single-day Wednesday workshops, study days, Sunday afternoon lectures, an annual book market, internships (notably with Leiden University), physical and online exhibitions, and object loans to other institutions. The centre is open daily 10:00-15:00 for direct object handling — a positioning the TRC labels its 'Textile Petting Zoo' approach.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid non-profit model: tax-deductible donations and project grants (including 2026 relocation support from the Municipality of Leiden, Monumentenbezit, and anonymous benefactors, and the Gieskes-Strijbis Foundation fellowship grant); Friends memberships at €75/year or €500 lifetime; fees from courses, workshops, study days, and lectures; and exhibition/loan income. Customers and beneficiaries span early-career textile researchers and curators, textile enthusiasts and craftspeople, fashion and textile industry designers (with Clare Waight Keller sitting on the Board), and universities and museums (with Leiden University as a primary educational partner). No revenue figures are publicly disclosed.

Name

Textile Research Centre (TRC), Leiden

Legal name

Stichting Textile Research Centre

Website

https://trc-leiden.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Textile Research Centre (TRC), Leiden is a Dutch non-profit foundation (Stichting) operating an international textile and dress collection of over 54,000 items alongside a textile knowledge database, fellowships, courses, workshops, and exhibitions for textile researchers, craftspeople, fashion professionals, and partner institutions such as Leiden University.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leiden

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Project Support: TRC is dependent on project support and individual donations. Donations are tax-deductible for 125% for individuals and 150% for commercial companies as the centre is officially recognised as a non-profit cultural institution (ANBI).
2. Fellowship Program: Three-year fellowship program sponsored by the Gieskes-Strijbis Foundation offering seven junior fellowships (€2300/month) and four senior fellowships (€4000/month) for up to six months each
3. Friends Membership: Annual membership at €75 per year or lifetime membership at €500, offering 10% discount on shop items, lectures, courses and workshops, plus quarterly lottery prizes
4. Educational Programs: Revenue from intensive five-day textile courses, Wednesday workshops, study days, and other educational activities

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TRC is a non-profit textile research centre that maintains an online catalogue of more than 54,000 textile, clothing and accessory items, the TRC Needles knowledge database, and provides hands-on research access, educational courses and workshops, exhibitions, object loans, a fellowship programme, and an internship programme. It functions as a cultural knowledge hub for textiles from prehistory to the present, supported by donations, grants, and educational service fees.

Product overview

The Textile Research Centre (TRC) Leiden is a research institution and cultural organization offering a comprehensive suite of textile-related products and services. The core offerings include an online collection catalogue with over 54,000 items and the TRC Needles database documenting textile techniques, materials, and history. Educational services encompass intensive 5-day courses, Wednesday workshops, study days, and Sunday lectures covering diverse textile traditions worldwide. The institution provides exhibition services (physical gallery exhibitions, online exhibitions, and object loans), operates a fellowship programme (Gieskes-Strijbis Fellowships) for researchers, maintains a library catalogue, and offers internship opportunities. The TRC also hosts an annual book market and provides object identification and cataloguing services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online Collection Catalogue
• TRC Needles Database
• Intensive Textile Courses (5-day courses)

Quantifiable outcome

• Collection grown from 40 items to over 54,000 catalogued items over 30+ years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Leiden UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTRC has access to Leiden University library and facilities. The centre hosts internships for students from Leiden University's Asian Studies program and other departments. Provides educational opportunities and research collaboration for university students and faculty.
• Kavak Folklore Team & Costume Collection, AntwerpmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDonated extensive Ottoman and later Turkish textiles and dress collection, founded by Jean-Marie Criel. Over 12 boxes and bags of materials including the quilted kaftan from Konya. Donation ongoing over 12 months with continued collaboration.
• Clare Waight KellercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFashion designer and TRC Board member providing consultation on commercial use of the TRC Collection as inspiration source. Emphasises the importance of acknowledgement of cultural origins when commercial groups use collection for inspiration.
• Han Chun, HsiehminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssisted with exhibition photography during intern Frieda Chen's placement at TRC, demonstrating collaborative approach to exhibition preparation and documentation.
• Masaru MatsuiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHikibaku craftsman from Kyoto, Japan. Naoko Kikuchi (former TRC volunteer) sent three obi with hikibaku decoration to the TRC collection. TRC documenting and studying this intricate metallic foil weaving technique.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Victoria and Albert Museum: Major London museum with one of the world's most significant textile and fashion collections (over 38,000 items). Comparable to TRC as a research-grade textile archive, though vastly larger in scope and resources, and broader in focus beyond textiles.
• Royal Ontario Museum - Textile Collection: Toronto museum with extensive textile and costume holdings spanning global cultures. Comparable to TRC's international/cross-cultural textile research scope, though embedded in a much larger natural history and world cultures institution.
• Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), Vienna: Vienna museum with a renowned textile and carpet collection (over 60,000 objects) and active research programming. Comparable to TRC as a Central European textile research institution with similar collection-scale mission.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Costume Institute: Operates one of the world's premier fashion and textile collections (35,000+ items spanning centuries). Comparable to TRC's research and exhibition mission but at vastly greater scale and with significant fashion-industry sponsorship ties.

Regional players

• Tromsø University Museum - Textile Collection: Norwegian university museum with a major ethnographic and historic textile collection including Sami textiles. Comparable to TRC in terms of textile-focused research mission tied to a university, though with a more regional/Nordic scope.

Direct peers

• Fashion Museum Bath: UK museum holding over 100,000 items of fashion and textile objects dating from the 16th century to today. Comparable to TRC's focus on dress history, object-based research access, and educational programming, with similar European regional positioning.
• Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs de Lyon: Lyon-based museum with a major textile and fashion collection (over 2 million pieces including historic Lyon silks). Comparable to TRC as a textile-focused research and exhibition institution in Western Europe, though focused more on European silk history.
• The Textile Museum (George Washington University): US-based research museum dedicated to the study and preservation of textiles, with approximately 19,000 objects spanning 5,000 years. Closest functional peer to TRC - similar scale of collection, research fellowship programs, and educational programming.

Emerging players

• Whitworth Art Gallery: Manchester-based gallery with significant textile and wallpaper collections and active research programme. Comparable to TRC's research and educational mission with strong academic ties, though broader in artistic scope.

Others

• Leiden University - Special Collections: Adjacent institution granting TRC access to its library and facilities, and the source of internship pipelines. Not a textile museum per se, but the most direct academic ecosystem partner comparable to TRC's university-tethered research model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Textile-Research-Centre-456572831067411
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/textile-research-centre-leiden
• Instagraminstagram.com/textileresearchcentre/?hl=nl

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Textile Research Centre (TRC), Leiden