Indholdsfortegnelse for May - June 2025 i Embroidery

One sunny day in April, I was scrolling through Instagram when I came across a post on Hand & Lock’s collaboration with Sir Elton John’s team, to create a gleaming, ornate gold jacket, a blend of both heritage craftsmanship and contemporary design. On 4 April Sir Elton and US singer-song-writer Brandi Carlile released their album Who Believes in Angels?, with the title track video featuring Sir Elton wearing the elaborate golden jacket embellished by Hand & Lock, which has been crafting exquisite embroidery for more than 250 years. In early 2024, Hand & Lock met with Sir Elton’s stylist, Jo Hambro, and luxury tailor Mirpuri Bespoke to muse on themes of Marie Antoinette, Versailles and vintage jewellery. From initial plans, Hand & Lock collaged the design using clippings, drawings and…

1. Tour traditional textile dowry rooms in Romania The multicultural richness of Sălaj County, Transylvania, is beautifully reflected in stitching and embroidery techniques, architecture, social customs and the co-existence of languages spoken by the Romanian, Hungarian and Roma inhabitants. For 10 years, Marina Toma and her community have been developing cultural and artistic activities to preserve their local heritage and crafts. Now, Made in Sat, designed for those passionate about cultural heritage, traditional crafts and textiles, is offering one-week cultural heritage and textiles tours. You’ll learn about Romanian vernacular architecture and centuries old wooden churches, local embroidery and weaving techniques, crafts and gastronomy. Most importantly, you’ll be visiting the older women’s dowry rooms and personal textiles collections. On offer too, are embroidery and stitching workshops using hemp cloth and sheepskin.…

What are your early memories of material and thread? I remember my grandma making me teddy bears and spending a lot of time in hospital beds with sheets that were always too stiff. My mum bought me a sheepskin rug, which I would bring to every hospital stay. I slept on the sheepskin until I was 20 and moved out of home. I have always loved soft, plush things. What did you study? I have a BA (Hons) in fine arts from the University of New South Wales. I loved studying fine arts because it involved a bunch of messy and chaotic artists in the studios all day. I took a lot of textile electives because the university had a great textile department, led by the brilliant weaver and academic Liz Williamson.…

Creative recycling comes naturally to Susie Vickery. A former theatrical costumier, her dreaming up of costumes for a production of Henry Purcell’s opera The Fairy Queen – made entirely out of discarded items from the tip and charity shops – is a triumph of ingenuity. When the production was cancelled, the costumes were shown in the exhibition Fairy Queen: The Carnival, while the creative team, including Amber Launay and Nic Duncan, decided to go ahead with a photo and video shoot at the tip. The opera is based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s play that revolves around a disruption in the natural world order, so what could be more apt than a shoot at the tip to highlight over-consumption and wastefulness, with the toll heaviest on the least responsible…

Last year a bronze sculpture called The Phoenix Tree by prominent artist George Wagstaffe was unveiled in the Peace Garden, near Coventry Cathedral. Coventry is known as the City of Peace and Reconciliation for its forgiveness in the face of devastating bombing in the Second World War. George based the sculpture on trees he drew 15 years ago in Wales, which had grown out of a fallen trunk that instead of being cut down had been covered with earth, allowing new life to emerge. The Phoenix Tree is about rebirth, not only in nature or humanity but for this city whose economic fortunes have collapsed as industries crumbled, only for a new way of being to emerge. Artist and textile-maker Michala Gyetvai supplied a poem for the base of her friend’s…

What are the origins of Visualise Textile Group? This year marks 20 years since Visualise was formed by Pam Keeling, a textile tutor at Tresham Institute, Kettering, Northamptonshire. Initially the group was for students who had completed their City & Guilds parts one and two, or a diploma course, and who wished to continue developing their work. Pam booked a hall and an artist, Sue Eden, as a mentor and to advise on composition and design. This set the scene for the group to continue connecting with mentors, working individually with each artist. Mentors have included Mary Sleigh, James Hunting, Matthew Harris, Amanda Clayton and our current mentor Nigel Cheney. Is there an overriding principle that binds you together? The main principle that binds us together is the creation and…

LONDON CRAFTWEEK, 12–18 MAY, celebrates outstanding British and international creativity, bringing together one thousand established and emerging makers, designers, brands and galleries. One of the many highlights is Chud Thai Through the Ages: Weaving History, Craft and Identity, presented by The Royal Thai Embassy, London, and celebrating 170 years of Thai-UK diplomatic relations. Visitors will journey through the legacy of Thai traditional costumes and textiles, championed by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, and modernised by Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya. The exhibition features royal costumes, including pieces from Her Royal Highness’s private collection, blending heritage and contemporary design. Royal Thai Embassy, London, 29–30 Queen’s Gate SW7 5JB, 12–13 & 15-17 May (various opening times). Free event. Korea Heritage Agency makes its LCW debut this year, with Objects of…

Bigger than 30 basketball courts, V&A East Storehouse opens on 31 May. Giving a sense of being behind the scenes in a museum, the purpose-built Storehouse is home to 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books and nearly 1,000 archives, with items ranging from 17th century ruff pins to puppets. Based at East Bank, the new cultural quarter in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, it’s a world-first in size, scale and ambition, immersing visitors in half a million works, from Biba and Ballets Russes to the Sex Pistols and samurai swords. It will house The Clothworkers’ Centre for the Study and Conservation of Textiles and Fashion, while the new seven-day-a-week Order an Object service will make it easy for everyone to access items. Imagine seeing up-close David Bowie’s iconic bodysuit for…

MY EARLIEST MEMORIES of cloth and thread are of my Hungarian grandmother introducing me to the traditions of sewing. I remember her having a dedicated room for sewing and I would often peek inside, wanting to be a part of the process and to learn from her. Becoming a textile artist was something that just fell into place. I began with the idea that it was a hobby, but over time, I realised I was quite good at it, and people enjoyed my work. I feel fortunate that what started as a passion has resonated with others. I went on to gain a BA in fine arts from OCAD University, Canada, and an MA in fine arts from the University of Brighton. I would describe myself as a storyteller. I…

I HAVE ALWAYS WORKED with found and vintage textiles in my practice. I enjoy a good rummage in a charity shop, like everyone, and have also been given many textiles, too. Often, just a scrap of fabric can inspire an entire piece and I love the patina, texture and durability of vintage materials. It’s a privilege to reuse and repurpose these evocative fabrics which have passed through many hands, and at the same time it’s better for the planet. The history of textile printing in the UK using artists’ designs is long and multifaceted. The mid-century period was especially rich, starting with the Bloomsbury Group’s Omega workshop in the early 20th century, whose artists brought abstract shapes and bold colours from modern art into designs for the home. On the…

Enchanted Embroidery by Jenny Adin-Christie Jenny Adin-Christie’s work has graced a king’s coronation, a cathedral, a royal bride and a former Beatle’s album cover. With a career spanning 40 years, she is celebrated as one of the world’s greatest hand embroidery artists, designers and tutors. Now, for the first time, Jenny is publishing a treasured collection of her work: nine masterpieces of stitched art. The heirloom projects include: The Owl and the Pussycat, The Gawthorpe Needlecase, The Pugin Scissor Case and The Wren Étui. Inspirations Studios/Search Press, h/b, £44.99 Shoes and the Georgian Man by Matthew McCormack Shoes are everyday objects but they are loaded with meaning. This book reveals how shoes played a powerful role in the wider story of shifts in gender relations in 18th-century Britain. It focuses…

Hot on the heels of their new publication Reading the Thread: Cloth and Communication, professor Lesley Millar MBE and professor Alice Kettle are preparing to launch an exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Bristol, exploring the book’s themes. Artists featured include Rachel Fallon, Enam Gbewonyo, Shelly Goldsmith, Pippa Hetherington, Kani Kamil, Sabine Kaner, Lise Bjorne Linnert, Susie MacMurray, Alice Maher, Paula Reason, Erin M. Riley and Kari Steihaug. Their work will be shown alongside pieces from the renowned Diana Springall collection. Soft Power – Lives told through textile art will be a large-scale all-female exhibition focusing on storytelling through contemporary and historic textiles. While the book examines textile communication in terms of tradition, fashion, technology, sustainability and ethnography, the exhibition specifically uses artworks and artist’s voices…

The Broderers’ Exhibition 2025: The Art of Embroidery was held for the second time in London from 25 February to 2 March, organised by the Broderers’ Company. The Worshipful Company of Broderers is one of the ancient Livery Companies of the City of London. It was formed to promote and protect the art of embroidery, a major City trade in the Middle Ages. The Broderers’ Exhibition is an open-submission art exhibition and celebrates embroidery as fine art. There is no pre-set theme so artists are free to explore a variety of subject matter and techniques. Each art piece could be hand-embroidery, machine embroidery or a combination of hand and machine embroidery. Both traditional and contemporary artworks are considered for inclusion in the exhibition. For the Broderers’ Exhibition 2025, more than…

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ON SHOW ABERDEEN Reading Between the Lines: Embroidered Samplers, until 30 Nov. Aberdeen Art Gallery, Schoolhill AB10 1FQ. aberdeencity.gov.uk ARUNDEL Tell me a story, until 17 May. Plus 60/80: Milestones for two artists: Alison Crowther and Ann Symes, wood and weave, 31 May–19 Jul. Gallery 57, 57 Tarrant Street BN18 9DJ. gallery57.co.uk AYLESBURY On a Grand Scale – larger works in the Embroiderers’ Guild Collection. Until Jan 2026. Discover Bucks Museum HP20 2PQ. discoverbucksmuseum.org AYLESBURY Crossroads, by newly formed mixed media textile group Phase2, until 21 May. Queens Park Art Centre, Queens Park, Bucks HP21 7 RT. queensparkarts.com BALDOCK Threaded Together by Urban Textiles, 11 Jun–30 Aug, 11am–3pm Wed, Fri and Sat. Baldock Arts & Heritage Centre, The Old Town, High Street SG7 6AR. Fully accessible. bahc.co.uk Instagram.com/urban_textiles BATH Diedrick…