Issue two

ISSUE TWO

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The insatiable desire to create by hand is one thing we have in common with the very first embroiderers. The designs may have evolved but so many of the techniques remain unchanged.

Over the ages the fine skills have been handed from one generation to the next. Embroidery has evolved from a subtle decoration to a grand artform and has spawned it’s own army of styles and techniques.

Issue Two is a celebration of embroidery heritage, history and diversity. If there is one universal language spoken by every culture through the ages it’s the art of craftsmanship and of all the crafts, Embroidery has the biggest vocabulary.

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C o n t e n t s Year in Review 3 A Potted History of Couture

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To a Valiant Heart Nothing is Impossible

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Widows of the Sea

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A Portrait of Our Age

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The Greatest Dress of All

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Prize for Embroidery 2015

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A Lesson in Fashion Reality from Designer Edward Crutchley

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Does fashion really empower women or does true empowerment come from within?

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Editor: Robert McCaffrey Publishing Director: Jessica Jane Pile Contributors: Scott Gordon Heron / Jessica Pile / Laura Campbell / Roxy Lawrence / Renata Salazar Lasocki Photography: Sarah Raymond / Sophia Spring Illustrations: Kristina Artemjeva

What ever you do, don’t call her a ‘Craftivist’: The Art of Jess De Wahls

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Hand & Lock: The Finer Details

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Sew / Beautiful

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Hair and Make up: Stephie Hoyle Models: Lily Pearson / Cassandra Jane / Georgia Packham Anderson / Amber Tutton / Lauren Jameson / Misha Grimes With thanks: Maxine at Model Union / Belinda White at The Telegraph / Hazel Cook / Diana Springall

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2015 Year in Review

2015 began with what felt like the biggest reorganisation in the company’s history.

The team began work on restructuring the Military department. Thousands of stock badges were organised into type, size and colour before being counted and labelled with barcodes. These newly sorted badges moved from the musty old cardboard boxes they had been in for the last 30 years and took up residence in rows of crisp white drawers.

of erotic polaroids taken by Carlo Mollino, an influential 20th century Italian architect and designer. Roddick’s works titled ‘Hidden Within’ Roddick developed his dark vision and explored the concepts of misogyny, shame, sex in religion and the male gaze.

De Wahls, impressed the judges with a silk shaded blood red flower. Unknown to Hand & Lock at that time De Wahls had been producing large scale ‘Retex sculptures’ and had exhibited at the Soho Theatre and the Resistance Gallery in East London.

Each of her 10 artworks features her own hand-printed polaroids, framed by Hand & Lock’s elaborate and symbolic goldwork embroidery.

In May, inspired De Wahls’ aesthetic and personal energy Hand & Lock invited her to exhibit a selection of her pieces at Hand & Lock. An official opening was held in June which attracted the who’s who of the London art scene. De Wahls pieces were on display for four months and is the first artist of four scheduled to exhibit over the coming year.

Godwork bee for Samantha Roddick

Unable to overly-modernise we retained a few ‘instagramable essentials’. The charming boxes that house the beret badges; the oak wood filing cabinets filled with chevrons and a variety of wooden and metal boxes that perfectly preserve the military laces.

Modernising is important while heritage is essential; offering character, charm and prestige. We know this more than most and plan to continue our efforts with care and respect.

Roddick’s concept was meticulously worked on by Hand & Lock. With £4,000 of materials, 50 design hours and 300 workmanship hours the embroidery supports Roddick’s vision of sacred geometry and religious entanglement.

The symbolic motifs in conversation with the Mollino inspired polaroids speak to the sexual objectification of women throughout our culture. The finished works were displayed at the Michael Hoppen Gallery from March to April 2015.

Around the same time as this epic upheaval Head Designer Scott Heron began speaking with Coco De Mer founder Sam Roddick about a series of art works she wished to frame with symbolic hand embroidery. Roddick had taken inspiration from a series

Art, or more specifically Textile Art became a running theme in 2015. Hand & Lock ran an Instagram competition toward the end of 2014 and offering the winner a weekend embroidery class. The recipient, textile artist Jess

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Staying with Textile Arts, Hand & Lock were invited by the British Library and the Ruskin School of Art to contribute to a unique artwork by Cornelia Parker. The work titled Magna Carta: An Embroidery was a 13 metre-long embroidery depicting the Magna Carta Wikipedia page as it appeared on the 799th birthday of the original historic document. Head Embroiderer Janika Magi produced the famous Wikipedia logo in silk shading and silver wire goldwork.

Wikipedia Logo by Janika Magi

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Cornelia explained “I love the idea of taking something digital and making it into an analogue, hand-crafted thing”.

The Work was displayed at the British Museum From May to July before going on a nationwide tour.

July also saw the 248th Birthday of Hand & Lock and another ‘Festival of Embroidery’. Over the course of one week we hosted day workshops including Goldwork, Silk Shading and Tambour beading. The evening’s were given over to guest speakers, couturier Juan Carlos Quintana, tailor Carol Alayne and embroidery lecturer Debbie Gonet. Each evening talk attracted huge crowds and reaffirmed the Festival’s importance in bringing together the fashion, textiles and embroidery communities.

This two year project undertaken by Peter Spain of the West Grove Bindery will involve extensive mechanical cleaning of the pages before the text block will be re-sewn onto four herringbone tapes and re covered. The project was funded by the public through a Kickstarter campaign and is due for completion in July 2016; just in time for our 250th Birthday celebrations.

Throughout 2015 the biggest names in fashion have sought Hand & Lock’s services. Well established designers include Haider Ackermann, Christopher Bailey of Burberry and Nicholas Oakwell with new designers including Ed Marler and Nathan Moy. Big international brands include Juicy Couture, Topshop, Olivia Von Halle, Aquascutum, Gieves & Hawkes, Duchamp, Hardy Amies, Myla, Poplin, Desmond & Dempsey, Adidas, Agent Provocateur, Ralph Lauren and Ermenegildo Zegna.

For the catwalks Burberry and Haider Ackermann used military laces and goldwork badges to great effect in their SS16 shows while Nicholas Oakwell went for refined opulence with hand dyed feathers sewn delicately onto a fine silk. The sheer variety of projects we are privileged to be involved with demonstrates the infinite creativity of the fashion industry and the people who work in it.

Victorian regimental Ledger

Since July 2014 a restoration of a Victorian regimental ledger has been underway. The ledger contains details of military ordersgoing back as far as the Boer war. Organised by regiment the leather bound book is a major historical record highlighting how many regiments tragically ceased to exist during the 21st century’s two major conflicts.

Sometimes working on a designer’s collection and watching the finished article leave the studio is a bit like giving away a beloved childhood pet.

Last year Hand & Lock created its first ever in-house collection inspired by streetwear. The début collection was a fantastic success and generated a lot of fresh interest in embroidery. For the follow up collection we were inspired

by the mysteries of the deep ocean. Six meticulously embroidered eveningwear pieces were completed in September and photographed especially for this copy of Issue Two. Again we decided to create a competition element and invited new designers to submit their ideas based on a specific brief. This year we selected a design by Kristina Artemjeva who perfectly captured the look and feel of the collection.

Image courtest of The Telegraph / Sophia Spring

Lastly we must mention the fact that journalist Tilly Macalister Smith wrote a wonderful piece about the goings on at Hand & Lock highlighting the fact that this beloved and ancient institution is ran by a staff mainly in their 20s and early 30s. The youthful energy has come to define Hand & Lock in recent years and she captured this wonderfully in her article reproduced with permission in these pages.

We may be older than the battle of Waterloo and The United States of America but we are young at heart - and that’s what counts.

Robert McCaffrey

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A Potted History of Haute Couture

Haute Couture may have started in France but it was a concept born of an Englishman once famed but now largely forgotten by the mainstream. Born in 1825, Charles Frederick Worth began his training in London before moving to Paris in 1845 and working as a dress salesman for Gagelin. He graduated to the dressmaking department and won acclaim for displays at the 1851 Great exhibition in London and the 1855 Paris Exposition Universelle. In 1858 The House of Worth open it’s doors in 1858 and was one of the first houses to use live models to showcase designs to clients. All Worth’s evening dresses featured lavish textiles trimmings and ornamental embroidery. In time Worth became known as ‘The father of Haute Couture’. Notable clients included Empress Eugenie, wife of Emperor Napoleon III; Elizabeth, Empress

of Austria and Queen of Hungary; Louisa, Queen of Sweden; Margherita, Princess of Usedom; Maria Cristina, Queen of Spain; and Ranavalona, Queen of Madagascar.

Worth’s legacy was the transformation of the clothing industry into what we might now call the fashion industry and by sewing his name into each garment he produced he was pioneering the concept of the fashion brand.

Early 20th. Century fashion designers such as Jacques Doucet (founded in 1871), Rouff (founded 1884), Jeanne Paquin (founded in 1891), the Callot Soeurs (founded 1895 and operated by four sisters), Paul Poiret (founded in 1903), Louise Chéruit (founded 1906), Madeleine Vionnet (founded in 1912) , Elsa Schiaparelli (founded in 1927) continued to advance the world of Haute Couture, However it was Schiaparelli whose modern take on embroidery with of her collaboration with Lesage interpreting motifs designed by Christian Berard, Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali which brought French Haute Couture to the world.

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (Coco) founded the fashion brand Chanel in 1909 and was credited with liberating women from the constraints of the corset and popularising ‘casual chic’. In the early days she hired russian immigrants to work in her embroidery studio realising her designs before growing and developing her vision through the 1920s and 30s. By the outbreak of WWII, when she closed her shops claiming ‘it was not a time for fashion’, she had a workforce of 3,000 women.

Throughout a colourful and controversial life she created the famed chanel suit and the little black dress with American Vogue likened Chanel’s “little black dress” to the Ford, alluding to its almost universal

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popularity as a fashion basic. Her designs were often streamlined silhouettes with delicate tulle, lace or embroidery add femininity and romance.

Coco Chanel died in 1970 with Karl Lagerfeld assuming the role of head designer and creative director in 1983.

The fashion house is stronger than ever as Lagerfeld continues to mine the Chanel Archive for inspiration season after season proving Chanel’s original vision was as timeless as it was revolutionary. Coco never used Lesage because she never forgave him for his exclusive relationship with Schiaparelli, however once Lagerfeld took over his collaboration with Lesage endure for 40 years and resulted in Lesage joining with Chanel.

Another famed French couturier, Christian Dior began working under fashion designer Robert Piguet. Piguet was a hotbed for emerging talents with Dior working alongside Pierre Balmain and being succeeded by Marc Bohan. Dior said of his time at Piguet, ‘Robert Piguet taught me

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the virtues of simplicity through which true elegance must come.

In 1940 Dior was called away from fashion to undertake compulsory military service.

Little is know about the next two years of his before his service ended. In 1942, when France was occupied, Dior joined fashion designer Lucien Lelong producing couture dresses for the wives of Nazi officers and collaborators. It is alleged by his long-time associate Alexis, Baron de Rede, that Dior passed sensitive information to his sister in the French resistance. (He would later honour her by naming his debut fragrance Miss Dior in honour of her).

The House of Christian Dior was founded on December 16th, 1946 but many cite 1947 to be the true year of conception as that was the year Dior showed his debut collection. Pre-war fashions had been restricted by rationing across Europe and subsequently designs had become simple and understated. By contrast, an average Dior dress used 20 yards of fabric and set the tone for the return of Paris to the

international fashion stage. In the debut show, Dior presented 90 different looks which prompted Carmel Snow, the editor of the influential US Harper’s Bazaar to describe the influential collection as the “New Look”.

After Dior’s death in 1957, Yves Saint Laurent took over as Haute Couture Designer and remained at the company until 1962.

The current Creative Director is famed minimalist Belgian Fashion Designer Raf Simons. Simon’s debut Dior A/W 2012 collection was called ‘The new couture’ and made reference to the start of a new Dior through the work of Simons. According to the Guardian’s Jess Cartner-Morley the designer’s collection ‘made more references to Mr Dior than to the house of Dior’ with Simons himself stating ‘I wanted it to be linked to the codes of Dior, but to have more energy’. The legacy of Christian Dior very much lives on in the house that bears his name.

During the 1940s London set up the Incorporated Society of Fashion Designers to promote London Fashion houses in the world of Haute Couture and Stanley Lock who took over CE Phipps in 1955 began working with Hardy Amies, John Cavanagh Norman Hartnell and then Jean Muir Catherine Walker and the Emmanuels producing Haute Couture Embroideries for Fashion, Royalty and the Entertainment industries.

In 1970 Pierre Cardin hired an eighteen year old assistant based on sketches he had been sent; the young man was Jean Paul Gaultier. Just six years later Gaultier released his first individual collection and developed his style year after year before becoming know as the ‘enfant terrible’ of the french fashion scene. From 2003 to 2010 he was Creative Director at Hermes who invested in his Jean Paul Gaultier brand.

Up until 2014, he designed for three collections: his own couture and ready-towear lines, for both men and women. At the S/S 2015 show he announced that he was closing the ready-to-wear labels to focus on his original passion, haute couture.

Another early starter was Beirut born Elie Saab who at just 18 opened his first atelier with 15 employees. His overtly feminine aesthetic and romantic crystalencrusted gowns are a dazzling fusion of Middle Eastern detailing and European sensibilities. He gained local notoriety when Bierut’s high society began wearing his pieces before earning international fame after Halle Berry wore an Elie Saab gown when she won the Oscar for Monster’s Ball.

Hand & Lock continues to support Haute Couture today.

Robert McCaffrey

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“To a valiant heart nothing is impossible” Production Director Jessica Pile oversaw the design and production of a pair of stunning embroidered Coats of Arms.

Fascinated by the recipient’s story Jessica decided to find out more. Here is her Q&A with Dame of Grace, Hazel Cook.

Tell us a little about yourself?

I have been a nurse since 1976 and a member of The St John Ambulance since 1967, I am a proud Nain (welsh for granny) to Alfie and Oscar and live in the most beautiful part of the country, Mid Wales just one mile from where I was born.

Why did you choose to have your coat of arm embroidered?

I chose to have the embroidery done as I wanted to display our Coats of Arms, the letters patent is beautiful but being on velum is not really suitable to be handled by all our visitors, when I frame my embroidery items and sew the blazer badge on for my hubby we can proudly display them without fear of damage.

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What is the story behind the embroidery?

The story behind the embroidery is really the story behind my coat of arms, 3 years ago I was so proud that the Queen bestowed on me the honour of Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of a Jerusalem for the work I have given to the St John Ambulance, there is a second level of Dame – A Dame of Justice but this can only be granted to a person who has their own arms. So when I retired from my NHS job as a non smoking, non drinking and little holidaying person my treat to me was to contact the College of Arms and get my own Coat of Arms, during the process I discovered my Coat of Arms could only be passed to my dons if I joined

them with my husbands so he got treated as well hence the two Coats of Arms.

The story of the Coat of Arms is wonderful, my arms have the blue of the river Severn I have always lived within a mile of the upper reaches of this river, the sheep are to indicate I am a very proud Welsh hill farmers daughter, the St John Star reason is obvious, the basket of flowers are St Catherine’s Flower, she is the Patron Saint of Nursing, the county flower of Montgomeryshire, and a flower that indicates loyalty and respect to others.

David’s Coat of Arms looks much grander than mine but that is because hundreds of years ago Knights were the grand dominant ones. The green

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dragons indicate David is adopted a Welsh not born Welsh, the Knots are the Staffordshire Knots the county he was born in, the blue cross is to indicate four rivers three that run around Wolverhampton the town he was brought up in, the fourth the river Severn which our home looks out onto and the a River Stour which starts as a brook running by Wolverhampton joins to. The stonework cornucopia is to indicate the stone of the castles in Jerusalem built by the knights of

St John, the flowers in it are the All Healing herb to indicate his work in health care, the metalwork, indicated by keys and chains endure David remembers his family who got many generations have worked in the metal industries tin, brass and steel.

The green ribbons indicate a pasture owned by my family on which David proposed to me. Finally the motto (we both have the same) is � to a valiant heart nothing is impossible�, this scroll is white on the front and black

on the back to ensure our son never forgets the years I worked nights and his father worked days to endure one of us was always with him.

Where are you going to display the embroidery?

The two larger embroideries will hang in our living room and travel with us for our many St John friends to see, The blazer badge will be worn proudly by David my husband.

Jessica Pile

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T H E S T O RY O F T H E H A N D & L O C K S P R I N G S U M M E R 2016 C O L L E C T I O N Last year Hand & Lock began producing an annual collection to showcase their embroidery skills. It was decided that each year we would invite the online Hand & Lock community to submit designs based on a specially written brief.

The 2015 brief painted a picture of a dark and sinister undersea world populated by mythical creatures and lost civilisations.

Entries came from all over the world demonstrating technical knowledge, ambition and a great understanding of our vision. Ultimately, there could only be one winner and the design team chose University of Bournemouth graduate Kristina Artemjeva.

Artemjeva, originally from Lithuania, planned to take a break from design to focus on other things but was swayed by the competition brief when she read a Hand & Lock newsletter. Her submission showed a perfect understanding of the key concepts and a great sense of drama. Upon being told she had won she said, ‘It is a very special opportunity to see my creative design to be brought to life’.

In the months that followed Hand & Lock worked tirelessly to produce six evening wear pieces.

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Firstly the design team and the embroiderers researched oceans and oceanic mythologies.

Mood boards were produced and textures and colours were suggested.

Next, the embroiderers produced samples heavy with sequins, crystals and beads based on the initial suggestions. The best samples were made larger and the design team started considering how to apply the embroidery to full garment.

Illustrations, sketches and designs followed fleshing out the possibilities. In addition to designing a piece Artemjeva also provided the illustrations of the garments throughout the development.

A ‘toile’ is an early version of a garment made made from an inexpensive linen cloth by a fashion designer or dressmaker to test

a pattern. These were produced to establish the best patterns and the potential shapes.

The patterns were marked on the chosen fabrics and the fabrics were framed ready for embroidery. Upto four embroiderers worked to a frame meticulously sewing all the beads and sequins in place.

Finally when the last bead was sewn into place the panels of embroidery were cut to shape and the final garments were constructed and finished by hand.

In September ‘Widows of the Sea’ was photographed by Sarah Raymond and the resulting images are presented over the coming pages.

For now the team can relax and enjoy a break from designing and embroidering a collection, but be sure we’ll be back again next year with another bold vision.

Robert McCaffrey

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Widows of the Sea Spring|Summer 2016

Georgia wears ‘TRITONIS’ Casandra wears ‘CETO’ Hand & Lock Spring Summer 2016

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Georgia wears ‘APHRODITE’ Hand & Lock Spring Summer 2016

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Casandra wears ‘TRITONIS’ Hand & Lock Spring Summer 2016

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This page: Cassandra wears ‘LEUCOTHEA’ Hand & Lock Spring Summer 2016 Opposite: Cassandra wears ‘TRITONIS’.

Georgia wears ‘APHRODITE’ Hand & Lock Spring Summer

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Georgia wears ‘TETHYS’-. Hand & Lock Spring Summer 2016

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Casandra wears ‘CETO’ Hand & Lock Spring Summer 2016

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Casandra wears ‘EURYBIA’ Hand & Lock Spring Summer 2016

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‘A Portrait of our Age’:

Magna Carta (An Embroidery)

Sculptor and installation artist Cornelia Parker’s Magna Carter (An Embroidery) was unveiled on the 14th May 2015 at the British Library. The 13 metre long artwork is an embroidered snap shot of the Magna Carter Wikipedia page from the 15th June 2014.

The embroidered artwork has been described by Parker as a ‘Portrait of our age’ and includes every part of the Wikipedia page including hyperlinks, images and references.

Parker involved more than 200 people including prisoners, judges, journalists, celebrities, and craftspeople to render the page in thread.. She also called upon the services of The Royal School of Needlework, the Embroiderers Guild and Hand & Lock for the more technical elements. Hand & Lock’s head embroiderer Janika Mägi complete the Wikipedia logo in fine silks and pearl purl, Julian Assange embroidered the word ‘Freedom’ and Jarvis Cocker ‘Common People’.

Parker was quoted in the Guardian as saying, ‘I wanted the embroidery to raise questions about where we are now with the principles laid down in the Magna Carta, and about the challenges to all kinds of freedoms that we face in the digital age.’

The founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales said, ‘As someone who edits Wikipedia daily, to witness this huge replica of one page, frozen in time and made through collective endeavour, is humbling and should encourage everyone who sees it to reflect on collaboration, justice, fairness and equality.’

Robert McCaffrey

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her·ald·ry (hĕr′əl-drē) noun. [pl. her·ald·ries] ‘A branch of knowledge dealing with the history and description in proper terms of armorial bearings and their accessories.’

Since joining Hand & Lock five years ago, Head Designer Scott Gordon Heron has become an expert in the correct use of heraldic symbols used in official Coats of Arms. Here he endeavours to explain some of the symbolism, meaning and history.

Heraldry, is defined as the systematic hereditary use of an arrangement of charges or devices on a shield.

Heraldic crests, the upper most part of a Coat of Arms, actually derive from the helmet decorations of medieval knights.

The decorations helped to identify the knights in tournaments and battles.

Crests were used separately from the coat of arms to express ownership by or loyalty to a family.

Heraldry in the 1600’s was considered to be the visual vehicle by which families and individuals could clearly display their social status and wealth. These heralds would would then be passed down from generation to generation.

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On the UK’s coat of arms we see lions, a unicorn, crowns, helmet and other significant objects to suggest traits which this coat of arms is to represent (Pictured opposite).

The shield is quartered, depicting in the first and fourth quarters the three passant guardant lions of England; in the second, the rampant lion and double tressure flory-counterflory of Scotland; and in the third, a harp for Ireland. Also know as the ‘Maid of Ern’.

By the 16th century family networks helped maintain and develop social position, people were fascinated by heraldry and armorial symbols. It was important that a gentleman understood coats of arms. Although coats of arms take a form that suggests military power, they did not originate in warfare, despite popular belief. Heraldry was developed in order to indicate ownership or loyalty and it was especially on seals to confirm the owner’s agreement to a legal document.

At the very top ‘the crest’ is a statant guardant lion wearing the St Edward’s Crown, himself on another representation of that crown. The ‘dexter supporter’ is a likewise crowned English lion; ‘the sinister supporter’, a Scottish unicorn; a symbol of purity and grace.

The coat features both the motto of English monarchs, Dieu et mon droit (God and my right), and the motto of the Order of the Garter, Honi soit qui mal y pense (shame upon him who thinks evil of it) on a representation of the Garter behind the shield.

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black, vert for green, purpure for purple tenne for orange, sanguine for blood red, murrey for mulberry. There also colours for gold which is ‘or’, and silver which is ‘argent’. All of these colours are referred to as tinctures.

In an article of this length we can only scratch the surface of heraldic symbolisms and the intricate details contained in a typical coat of arms.

The College of Arms, a royal corporation with jurisdiction over England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth, offers services including recording, granting and regulation of heraldry, coats of arms and pedigrees.

Dating from 1484 this organisation is the authority on the subject.

For more information about heralds or Many Heraldic animals and mythical beasts take centre stage with many coat of arms with the lion is most popular.

These animals and beasts take on various different stances, in heraldry terms this is refered to as ‘attitude’. The most common we see is ‘rampant’. A ‘lion rampant’ seen in the top right corner of the shield is depicted in profile standing erect with forepaws raised. The position of the hind legs varies according to local custom: the lion may stand on both hind legs, braced wide apart, or on only one, with the other also raised to strike.

Many crests take on animals, mythical or real, whose physical and imagined traits evoked the family history. For instance a coat of arms featuring a pair of Heron’s both ‘Dexter’ and ‘Sinister’ may be there to present traits of the family, such as

being very tall. Others made a pun on the family name. Some may have inanimate objects to convey livelihood such as saddles for a saddle maker, a sickle for a farming family and so on. These important characteristics were also there to show social standing of individuals and families they would be clearly displayed in portraits or incorporated into their houses in the form of stained glass windows.

Coats of arms and crests were widely recognisable symbols that marked the ownership of buildings and objects. Also they were used to record important marriage alliances between families.

Finally, colour is also very important in heraldry, each has it’s own special name; Azure for blue, gules for red, sable for

coats of arms visit www.college-of-arms. gov.uk Scott Gordon Heron

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A Life of ‘Poverty and Sin’?: The making of Diana Springall

Textile Artist Diana Springall has established herself as a beloved British textile artist and textile art enthusiast. She still works on commissions in her spacious workshop in the Kent countryside and collects and encourages other artist’s work. Artists she has championed and whose work you will find in her private collection include Alice Kettle, Jean Littlejohn, Audrey Walker and Karen Nicol.

Springall’s own work is held by the Victoria & Albert Museum as well as the Embroiderers’ Guild and to date she has authored five books on the subject of embroidery. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a former chairman of the Embroiderers Guild and the Society of Designer craftsmen.

However, the artist’s life was not a lifestyle choice Springall’s parents expected of their daughter. Born 1938 in Shimla, the summer capital of British ruled India, Springall grew up rarely seeing her parents, instead living under the charge of her nanny. She and her brother began smoking to fit in before being caught when plumes of smoke rising from the herbaceous borders. She hasn’t smoked since but has instead, and much to her parents’ consternation, picked up another bohemian vice; a passion for art.

After fleeing India on a troop ship when British rule came to an end in 1947 the family relocated to Britain and Springall was sent to boarding school for her first taste of formal education. She attended three schools; Edinburgh then Hastings, before settling at Hawkhurst.

Despite the upheaval and radical gear changes Springall thrived at Hawkhurst and learned to be self reliant and independent. Her father who had been in the senior ranks of the Indian civil service expected his daughter would aspire to be a nurse or a secretary. When she expressed an interest in doing an extra year to complete her Art A Level and put together her portfolio for Art School he was reluctant and suggested ‘he wasn’t at all sure about spending another year to educate me, he‘s already wasted the other years, I was clearly not bright’.

Springall explains that her mother who could embroider but couldn’t boil an egg held a similar view. Between them they believed the pursuit of art could only lead to a life of ‘poverty and sin’.

Perhaps the colonial upbringing coupled with a boarding school education inspired the rebel in Springall. Against her parents desires she pushed on and was offered a place studying fine art at Goldsmiths.

The deal brokered with her parents and

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essential at that time was that Springall would go on to study to qualify as a teacher ‘just in case’.

Springall joined Goldsmiths in what could be considered the golden age of Textile art. In 1954 The University placed the subject of Embroidery on a par with Painting, Sculpture and Illustration.

Gaining equal status as an artform made it a more academic, respectable subject and made it easier for students like Springall, who arrived in 1956 to incorporate textiles into their work without appearing quaint or crafty.

Springall was at Goldsmiths to study painting but took evening classes with artist, writer and teacher Constance Parker. Describing Parker, Springall calls her ‘very much the Queen Bee’ and paints a picture of a dominant course leader,

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highly critical of students work and a major force in reshaping the perception of embroidery at that time. Springall who is also often described as an ‘artist-writerteacher’ says the comparisons end there.

Whereas Parkers’ regime would involve total adherence to strict rules Springall is more relaxed. Also, Parker herself was not as prolific an artists as Springall; in that sense very few people even come close.

Karen Nicol, the leading contemporary textile and embroidery artist and winner of the 2015 Beryl Dean Award said of Springall’s work, ‘Diana brings an artist’s eye and informed sophistication to embroidery that is very special and transcends time and fashions in the craft.

She is a true artist/designer who uses textiles as her medium, not allowing the process to dictate and inhibit the work of art’. This high praise from one artist

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to another demonstrates the significant contribution Springall has made and continues to make.

In recent years Springall has continued to produce work but concedes she is less inclined to use a step ladder than she once was. She delivers popular talks on the subject of Textile art and artists and has been a mentor and judge in the Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery. Her experience as chairman of the Embroiderers Guild guarantee she has a strong informed opinion on the ongoing state of British embroidery.

Much of Springall’s time is now taken up in pursuit of the creation of a permanent home for the Textile Arts she holds so dear. A prodigious letter writer, she has

written to all the major British museums encouraging, cajoling and pressing them to exhibit textile arts and treat the artform as they would any other artform.

The ultimate goal is for a venue to exist here in London where visitors can see textile arts through the ages and where modern textile artists can exhibit their work. The boxed up works held by the likes of the V&A can finally see the light of day and be celebrated.

Diana Springall gave up smoking when she was five but shows no signs of giving up her artistic endeavors. As an artist, a teacher and an ambassador for the Textile Art community she second to none.

Robert McCaffrey

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The Greatest Dress of all Nicholas Oakwell called upon the services of Hand & Lock and The Royal School of Needlework to painstakingly attach thousands of delicate feathers to the Great British dress modeled by Erin O’Connor as part of the Great Britain Campaign.

The Nicolas Oakwell Couture gown was commissioned by the UK Government to showcase British Couture design at the GREAT Festival of Creativity in Shanghai in March 2015. In June the gown then began a world tour covering Paris, Milan, Berlin and the Americas before returning home to the UK. Hand & Lock was supported of an army of embroiderers past and present as well as students who all kindly donated their time to this one of a kind project.

It’s collaborations like this that make us proud to British.

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Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery 2015

2015 Br ief St range B e dfel lows The 2015 Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery is about the individual design identities of Countries. Entrants are asked to explore either their own or any other Country, how design can be used to convey, create or reflect a sense of it’s identity through an object or experience. The objective of this year’s brief is to provoke thoughtful and surprising designs that create a bold new vision.

The designed environment contributes enormously to the cultural identity and sense of a place. How can visual design be both global and modern whilst also having a strong identity and conversational, two way, relationship to society?

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We want you to explore and consider What is a Country’s signature design?

How might that design output look in 20 years?

The focus of this project is to design something with a strong sense of where it was created. Look carefully at the history of your chosen Country’s embroidery and what embroidery trends you anticipate emerging in the future.

Your final design must have the parallel function of contributing to the unique and complex identity of the chosen nation as well as demonstrating its unique embroidery style.

This is not a call to revel in clichés! Be cautious of sequinned Union Jacks, Eiffel tower hats, Sydney Opera House or Old

Glory and try and see beyond current trends! Your work should be bold, dynamic and have a fresh point of view.

Secondly, create an iconic duo; research, analyse, and interpret your duo into dynamic textile and fashion design aimed at high end design. How can your design capture a modern voice by investigating international icons of the past? Designers are very good at exporting a country’s culture to a global audience in fresh and innovative ways, whilst retaining strong sentiments to its origin.

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When exploring identity - explore the look, the graphics, the colours, the embellishments, textures, forms, and most importantly the characters.

Consider exciting use of colour, texture and finishing’s, and pay close attention to the quality of your end product.

What is the essence of a Country? How can this be used to inspire innovative products? Play with proportion and exaggeration of textiles and use within silhouettes. Investigate pattern and colour - and opulent, outlandish styling for contemporary clothing.

For inspiration look at artists and designers who deliberately appropriate the creative and the examination of clothing as a means of artistic expression.

From the fantastical world of Walter Van Beirendonck, the comic explosions of Yang Du, the humour of Agi and Sam, and the storytelling of Bernhard Willhelm. They each explore issues of individuality and social identity. We ask you to go beyond just the commercial concerns of the industry to examine an interpretation of clothing that speaks of our experience of the world, its complexities and changing nature.

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P rize

for

E m b r oi d e r y

2 0 1 5

F I NA L IS T S

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Emily-Rose Spreadborough student

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Sara Hadlow open

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Anastasia Brown open

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Ariane Fourquier student

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Elena Savelyeva open

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Jacky Puzey open

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Giverny Volrath student

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Alice Selwood student

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S u n n a Ya s i n student

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Miyako Asaba open

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Lorena Balea-Raitz open

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A Lesson in Fashion Reality from Designer Edward Crutchley

Central Saint Martin Graduate Edward Crutchley is now a creative Consultant for, amongst others, Louis Vuitton. His own luxury sportswear designs for the Autumn / Winter 2015 presentation for Fashion East was both critically acclaimed and highly influential.

Here Production Director Jessica Pile digs deep to find out more about this rising star of British design.

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Who or what would you say is your biggest inspiration in your work?

I’ve worked for three designers that I think have changed the way I think and work.

Firstly the wonderful Kim Jones who I have had the pleasure to work with since he took over the men’s collection at Louis Vuitton. Kim has an incredibly insightful eye for contemporary clothing, and an appreciation for craft and quality that I really admire.

Secondly Clare Waight Keller who I worked under at Pringle of Scotland. She taught me a huge amount with regards to appreciating and creating luxury within a brand.

Finally Betty Jackson, my first boss straight from college and for whom I did my A Level work experience at 17.

Betty’s purity of vision and own personal sense of style is still an inspiration.

What would you say, in your working life has been your biggest achievement?

It would have to be starting my own label. I’d been procrastinating about it for so long.

But showing the world my unfiltered ideas has brought me a huge sense of achievement.

What is your favourite part of the process of creating a design for your collection?

The first stage is always the most exciting, when ideas are fluid and mutable and you can just sit and imagine the different directions and new opportunities to explore.

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I know you have worked with a wide variety of brands and designers, who has been you favourite to work with and why?

I don’t think you can have a favourite. Each brand and designer has taught me different things and allowed my to expand my design practice in different ways.

The one part of working as a consultant that I do really enjoy is having the opportunity to explore different global markets.

As a consultant for these designers, what sort of work does this involve, do you get to be as hands on as you would like?

I don’t think any designer is ever really as hands on as they would like to be.

My own work is very much based on collaboration. Be that with designers or suppliers.

As a graduate from Central St Martin’s do you feel like it prepared you for the real world of fashion?

There is certainly a gap between fashion education and the industry. How that should be filled I don’t know. On one hand you don’t want to stifle a student’s creative process, on the other there has to be an awareness of the industry and market they want to be a part of. I have taught on several courses in London and one thing I always stress to students it that it is

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vital to consider their work on the body.

Textile designers are not great at this. You’ll see the most beautiful 10 x10 cm swatch but when I press them on how this would look in a shirt or dress they haven’t even considered it.

For me the product is king, and I think that is a point that needs to be held a sacred for all fashion students.

If you could change one thing in the fashion world what would it be?

It is incredibly hard for young designers to access the retail market. I think as an industry as a whole we need to think of new paths to retail, and new ways of engaging customers. Also retailers have to take more of a responsibility in supporting young designers, as much as the designers need to make sure they are fully prepared to meet retailers needs.

What’s next for the Edward Crutchley?

Well AW16 is already launched. Expect embroidery galore!

And some very special collaborations with some of the UK’s oldest luxury suppliers...

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Does fashion really empower women or does true empowerment come from within?

Designer Laura Campbell appreciates a good fashion aesthetic as much as the next person. But she also excels at the cerebral deconstruction of trends, tropes and the demagoguery of the fashion elite. Here she tackles a question we’re often afraid to ask: Does fashion really empower women or does true empowerment come from within?

Designers frequently claim they are designing empowering clothes for women but what does it mean to empower a woman through the power of fashion? Is an empowered woman a strong woman?

So what does it mean to be a strong woman? Is a strong, empowered woman, a woman who can pay for her own £3,000 Balmain biker jacket. We all have ideas of what a strong woman is and what clothes we feel empowers them, maybe noone more so than a designers.

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Designers have their own ideas of how they want women to look. However well thought up and executed, it is essentially like all fashion, a fantasy. But let’s think, how many female creative directors, art directors and head designers can you count off the top of your head? 5 or 10?

Not as many as you could count male designers. Is this then a kaleidoscope idealistic vision of a woman through a man’s eyes?

girl. Those jackets aren’t about making you look good, they’re about making you look like you’re wearing Balmain.

Oliver Rousteing see’s a ‘Balmain girl, as really confident. She’s Asian, she’s black, she’s Russian, she’s European, she’s American—all the women of the world are part of our Balmain army!’ ‘You can find your Balmain for partying,’ he said— then added, as the team chuckled, ‘You can find your Balmain for actually finding your rich man!’ ...looking at the prices of Balmain, this Balmain girl is already a rich

A more approachable relatable woman of fashion might be an Erdem woman.

Independent, strong minded, individual and confident. A female that feels as precious as her delicate embroidered lace tea dress. ‘In his words: ‘A dress can make you feel like the most beautiful version of yourself ’. It’s personal, it’s an emotion, not just a pretty dress. Erdem Moralioglu says his perfect Erdem woman is ‘a doctor, or

Undeniably the most famous woman in the world at the moment and the face of Balmain, Rousteing’s muse Kim Kardashian. But would you say this woman is an empowering woman to other women? An overexposed woman of intention and society power, maybe.

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Kanye West and Kim Kardashion wearing Balmain

she’s a gallerist, or she’s a young woman, or she’s 78, or she’s a mom. She’s so many different people’. Different people yes, but one channelled exact vision of a fantasy female. No real woman is as effortless and coiffed, in reality she would have a screaming child hanging around her leg whilst organising a business meeting balancing her costa coffee. An Erdem woman is an aspiration, which provokes the question are designers provoking an unrealistic image?

SS16 Alexander McQueen collection danced ethereally through fields of French flowers with a female (Sarah Burton) at the helm. Florals galore, pastel shades, tulle, ruffles, lace, feathers. ‘Soft and relaxed, a woman’s touch’, to quote Calamity Jane. Long gone are the days of exposed nipples, claw shaped heels and clothes symbolising the ‘rape’ of Scotland by the

British. Is Sarah Burton now producing a true idea of a woman who feels confident and free not following the ghost of Lee McQueen. He famously said, ‘I design clothes because I don’t want women to look all innocent and naive, because I know what can happen to them. I want women to look stronger’.

So, do designers portray an unrealistic and false image of women or do they provoke inspirational illusions for how we aspire to be. An empowered woman is herself, knows herself. If the majority of designers claim to empower women then why are some of them objecting us to unrealistic and at times cartoonistic impressions.

McQueen was the King of creating an amazing fantasy world giving us a glimpse into his ideology of women. A world of powerful breathtaking clothing to inspire and ignite his particular vision of his woman for that certain season. Strong, bold and a touch of genius was always key words you could associate with McQueen.

I love the world of McQueen, however for a woman to feel empowered does she have to be shackled balancing up on armadillo shoes with a dead bird wrapped around her head?

You don’t have to wear a spangly Julien Macdonald evening gown to feel audacious enough to tell your husband you’re leaving him.

Ladies it’s a beautiful world that we can willingly dip into, that designers create.

But in reality feeling empowered comes from knowing yourself.

Laura Campbell

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WHAT EVER YOU DO DON’T CALL HER A ‘CRAFTIVIST’.

THE ART OF JESS DE WAHLS To those on the outside of the textiles industry, traditional handcrafts can conjure mental images of demure, greying ladies sat comfortably by crackling fireplaces, labouring diligently on their William Morris crochet.

However those on the inside have long been aware that needlework, textiles and embroidery have been undergoing a contemporary renaissance. Emerging textile artists using traditional techniques have been pushing political, subversive and countercultural concepts rivalling the work of mainstream artists. The term craftivism was coined by Betsy Greer in 2003 and is defined on wikipedia as ‘typically incorporating elements of anti-capitalism, environmentalism or third-wave feminism, that is centered on practices of craft - or what can traditionally be referred to as “domestic arts”’.

In May 2015 as part of a programme to highlight Textile Artists and their work Hand & Lock approached Jess De Wahls and invited her to display her works.

Berlin born De Wahl moved to London in 2004 and has since become a ‘craftivist’ leading a pro-feminist charge against the status quo. She prefers the unambiguous label of ‘artist’ and believes her work is as good as fine art photography, contemporary sculpture or paint. For her a needle and thread is in no way inferior to a paint brush

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and paint. When presented with her extensive body of work it’s difficult to disagree.

De Wahl creates recycled textile sculptural portraits of inspirational female figures.

Her subjects include Vivienne Westwood, Beyonce, Frida Kahlo, Isabel Allende, Marlene Dietrich and Anna Piaggi. By recycling old textiles De Wahls both subtly highlights our waste culture and ensures her works are, like the women they portray, irreplaceable.

At a technical level embroidery enthusiasts can appreciate De Wahls details. Each meticulously detailed work features an array of embroidery techniques including applique, bump work and silk shading along with popular embroidery stitches such as the buttonhole stitch and the satin stitch.

Her previous solo exhibitions include shows at Soho Theatre in 2009, her sell-out show ‘Monsters and Ink’ in 2011 at the Resistance Gallery and in 2014 ‘#bigswingingovaries’, the first major exhibition of Retex-sculpture which was successfully crowd funded.

In 2016 De Wahls pieces can be seen at exhibitions in Boston, Paris and London.

Textile feminism never looked so exciting.

You can see more of De Wahls Retex Sculptures at jessdewahls.com Robert McCaffrey

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Hand & Lock: The finer details

BY TILLY MACALISTER-SMITH (This article first appeared in the spring 2015 issue Telegraph Luxury magazine telegraph.co.uk/luxury) Tucked away on an unremarkable road, just to the north of Oxford Street’s fastfashion hustle, a very different kind of design work is taking place. Keeping alive the historic tradition of hand embroidery, a team of young designers is continuing the craft of a business that dates back to the 18th century.

Hand & Lock begins with M. Hand, a Hugenot refugee

Step inside the d ou b l e - h e i g ht cloisters of Hand & Lock, and you enter a reception room that instantly casts you back in time. Deep red walls are lined with dark wooden boxes with labels such as, “Diamanté mounts/cross back/ 444g/ silver 5mm x 5mm” and “Sapphire half cut beads/ 1mm”; there’s a framed handwritten letter from Cecil Beaton, and a vast velvet banner from the Diamond Jubilee that tells the story of the house’s longstanding relationship with royalty.

The history of Hand & Lock begins with M. Hand, a Hugenot refugee lacemaker

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from Flanders, who added embroidery to his services when he founded M Hand & Co in 1767. Spending much of his time occupied with ceremonial work for the military and royalty, he eventually gained the royal warrant. Then, in 1956, a young designer called Stanley Lock was working for the 1898-founded CE Phipps & Co, creating embroidery for the top fashion designers of his day, such as Norman Hartnell and Christian Dior. Taking over the reins when Mr Phipps retired, Lock boldly renamed the company after himself. In 1998, Alastair Macleod (himself from a family of tailors) acquired M Hand & Co and, in 2001, merged the two businesses to produce Hand & Lock, combining Hand’s stately decoration with Lock’s stylish flair.

Today, the mix of traditional versus highfashion work covers military, royal and ecclesiastical commissions to jobs for designers including Burberry and Anya Hindmarch. While commissions from the clergy can involve restoration work of historic pieces, the team was recently approached to design an altar cloth from scratch for a church in Westminster.

Likewise, military orders placed daily from around the world (for the RAF, US Navy and Royal Marines, as well as enthusiastic collectors) are mostly for standard beret badges, epaulettes and aiguillettes, but recently the house was asked to create a badge for a new regiment.

Theatres order runs of handmade synthetic braid to mimic the goldwork for costumes when budgets and deadlines run too tight to accommodate the real thing. For Michael Jackson, however, there was no expense spared: the gold work for the sumptuous Gieves & Hawkes tailcoat designed for his late-1980s Bad tour is one of the finest examples of Hand & Lock hand embroidery. “If you were to commission one today, it would cost in the region of £75,000,” a Gieves & Hawkes spokesperson tells me.

Monogramming is another speciality.

Walk-in customers bring armfuls of shirts while fashion houses including Dior, Fendi and Stella McCartney come for bespoke in-store monogramming events.

They initial everything from pyjamas to velvet dress slippers for Savile Row’s top names including Turnbull & Asser,

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Gieves & Hawkes, Anderson & Sheppard, Kilgour and Spencer Hart, while tailors such as Henry Poole & Co entrusts them with officers’ military badges. “We have a lot of students and new designers coming to collaborate with us,” adds head embroiderer Janika Mägi, citing Fashion East’s Ed Marler and emerging menswear designer Grace Wales Bonner. “It’s great because they bring us new ideas, and we can combine these with historical techniques.”

The diversity of 400 hours the work appeals of ombre to production director Jessica featherwork Pile, who trained in costume design were squeezed at the Central into six School of Speech days by 17 and Drama and joined the team embroiderers four years ago.

“One day I’m working on Louis Vuitton, the next on someone’s dressing gown.” Pile, just 26, heads up the small but dynamic team of seven, also mostly in their mid to late twenties. Expert freelancers are drafted in when additional manpower is required, such as for a one-of-a-kind Nicholas Oakwell gown for the Great Festival of Creativity in Shanghai, where 400 hours of ombre featherwork were squeezed into six days by 17 embroiderers.

The young team is eager to emphasise the importance of hand-embroidery within a fashion industry that is becoming increasingly steered by mass production and pinched margins. For spring/summer 2015, Hand & Lock launched an in-house collection to showcase the team’s talents, one of the Initiatives spearheaded by Pile, who views her role as to, “push things

forward. My job is to extend the classes, the tours, the prize – making sure that we are out there and we’re known.”

Running since 2001 and with £26,000 prize money at stake, the annual Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery receives strong interest. “Winners often go on to use the prize fund to establish their own businesses,” says Communications manager Robert McCaffrey. Evening and weekend workshops have proved so popular that, when the company travelled to New York last year, attendees flew in from Columbia and Israel.

At every turn, signs of modernisation are creeping into the historical house, necessary to keep the business both relevant and profitable. The team sketch with pencil on paper at their desks but communication is via email on Apple Mac computers. Tiredlooking, tiny cardboard boxes stuffed with military badges and frogging are gradually being replaced by metal drawers labelled with barcodes.

Opening a drawer labelled “RAF Wings”, McCaffrey pulls out a cap badge. “They’re like little gems,” he enthuses. “It’s insanely complicated and delicate,” he says, gesturing to the goldwork. “The threads are actually foam wire coils cut to size, threaded through the centre, pinned down and then edged with another wire stitch called pearl-purl.”

Holding up a roll of shimmering ribbon, he says, “This is two per cent gold, so it’s cold if you hold it to your cheek. It tarnishes over time, it’s a living breathing fabric.”

Silver thread is sealed in lightproof bags and stored in metal drawers to prevent damage. “This is for people who have the

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money and want to do things properly.”

Many designers sample work here that may then be passed over to in-house embroidery teams if the pieces go into production.

They have created badges for Chanel and broderie anglaise for Alexander McQueen, and personalised blankets for Burberry.

“Designers like Mary Katrantzou and Kim Jones at Louis Vuitton use us because we are in London and they can easily see the work,” explains Pile, who has worked with Louis Vuitton for several seasons. Her first commission was a collaboration between the Paris house and the Chapman Brothers.

“There were all these amazing drawings

by Jake and Dinos Chapman that I had to replicate into embroidery using lots of beads and padding. I even sewed paint brushes into it.”

“If you were to pull the dress apart you would see how many layers of development we went through.”

“We did a huge piece of work for Mary Katrantzou for autumn/winter 2014, which took 250 hours of embroidery,” says Mägi.

“We had to work out how we were going to build her design,” which included layers of soft string padding, tambour beading, goldwork and silk shading. “If you were to pull the dress apart you would see how many layers of development we went through.”

Computers aside, little has changed at Hand & Lock over the past 250 years.

Trestles with organza or velvet pulled tight

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between two runners edged with paper so as not to damage the fabric look just as they would have done two centuries ago – only now the wooden frames are slightly raised to accommodate modern, taller staff. The most recent advancement is tracing paper, used in the process of marking up a monogram, which used to be done by piercing a large copper sheet with manually operated machinery and pushing a paste of cuttlefish and charcoal through the pinpricks.

Hand embroidery is time-intensive; there are no short cuts. “You can never rush it,” says head designer Scott Heron, who joined five years ago after entering the Hand & Lock Prize. Just 28, Heron’s services have been sought by names including Tom Ford and Gieves & Hawkes. He completed a textiles degree at Nottingham Trent University where, he says, “My tutors opened my eyes to

Parisian fashion houses and couture embroiderer François Lesage.”

Heron specialises in the detailed annotated drafts that function similarly to an architect’s blueprint. “The annotations show different techniques, materials and levels of relief. Everything must be drawn to scale, including sequins or crystals, and indicating stitch direction is crucial, especially with goldwork, because you’re working with the material’s reflective properties.”

The youthful team has a pioneering outlook for the future. Design assistant Laura Campbell, 24, graduated from Northumbria University three years ago and has since interned with Erdem.

“I think at the end of the day, it’s got to make money,” she says, matter-of-factly.

“When I came here, I had the idea of using embroidery in a more accessible way. In

our last collection, we used sportswear as the inspiration, to show it can be worn, you can move in it.”

The youthful team has a pioneering outlook for the future.

In a recent audit of the archive, the team discovered a ledger containing samples of military badges dating back preFirst World War. The book will undergo a two-year restoration process, before embarking on an international tour that is in the pipeline. “You do feel a sense of legacy,” says Heron. “We’ve got an archive that spans the entire history of our company.” McCaffrey says. “People think goldwork is done by machine and we’re the ones telling them it’s not. We need to get out there and keep beating the drum for hand embroidery.”

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Sew / Beautiful The Textile Art Revolution

By Roxy Lawrence

Cayce Zavaglia Cayce Zavaglia is an American born textile artist who began her career as a portrait painter. When pregnant with her daughter she was no longer able to be around the paint fumes and recalled to a piece of embroidery she had made as a child. She wondered if there was a possibility to sew a portrait.

Now, Zavaglia starts an embroidered portrait just like she would a painting working on one section at a time. Her decisions regarding color and direction of thread are similar to those same

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in painting. Over time, the stitches have become more dense. Her goal is to return to the looseness of her paintings and find a way to translate the fluidity of a brush stroke in wool. The intricate layered strokes cross each other in many directions to mimic paint strokes. This layering of colours is so close and tight that from afar it’s hard to believe it is made up of sewing threads. The fact that she is self-taught only makes it more incredible.

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Chloe Giordano Chloe Giordano is an Oxford based, self taught embroiderer.

She became interested in embroidery in the final year of her illustration degree, when she began looking at the work of textile artists. Through trial and error Giordano developed a unique personal style. Her main inspiration is nature and most of the animals she has embroidered are ones she has actually seen when

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out in the countryside near her home. She started by making soft sculptures before trying embroidery later.

The technique she uses most are a basic straight stitch, packing them together, and working from several sketches and reference to gain a likeness of what she’s embroidering.

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Inge Jacobson Irish born, Inge Jacobson now lives in West Sussex and studied Photography at Kingston University in London.

Her grandmother introduced her to embroidery but it wasn’t until her first year at University that she began to incorporate cross stitch into her work. University taught her that ideas were just as valuable as skill, and thread was the best way for her to explore her ideas. When Jacobson first began embroidering she mainly crossstitched magazine covers. However over the past two years she has collaborated more with photographers, artists and brands to create dynamic works. In the future Inge can still see herself continuing to ‘hijack’ found imagery and collaborating with others. She continues to use be known for cross-stitch but has moved on to use a back-stitching allowed her create a paintlike effect.

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Emily Jo Gibbs

Emily Jo Gibbs started making fashion accessories in textiles and metal in the final term of her Wood Metal and Plastics degree at Wolverhampton University. She has been making things since she was a child and has always sewed with her mother.

Emily’s work is inspired by her family and community. Her latest project ‘Kids Today’ is a series of small portraits of children who play on her street, in South East London. Over her 20 year career Gibb’s work has moved from sculptural handbags, to flat portraits.

Gibb’s enjoys the flat work she’s doing at the moment creating collages with layers and pieces of silk organza.

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Donna Sharrett became interested in textiles at a

young age. Her grandmother was passionate about needlework and one of her earliest memories is sitting on her lap as she taught her how to stitch.

Sharrett is inspired by nature and the objects created based on geometries found in the natural world.

After the death of her mother, she became very interested in public expressions of mourning. Her ongoing and evolving work conceptually reference

keepsakes or memory triggers. She hopes to further explore this to include reference to a sense of place and time.

Sharett’s favorite stitches are French Knots, which she learned from her grandmother and the buttonhole stitch which she learned from her mother, who would say, “The sign of a well-made garment is handmade buttonholes�.

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Hand & Lock’s Embroidery Class Schedule for 2016 January

Saturday 9th

Tambour beading - Join us for a one day workshop where you can learn the fine couture technique of Tambour beading. £95 per person

Saturday 23rd - Sunday 24th

The Introduction to embroidery weekend workshop is an ideal way to discover the basic principles of embroidery. Students will learn a selection of decorative stitches as well as techniques for attaching beads and sequins to materials. £180 per person

Saturday 31st

Goldwork - one day class. This one day class covers the basics, insider tips and practical application making sure students are fully equipped to go on and apply what they have learned to their own garments and develop their own unique styles. £95 per person

Saturday 27th

Contemporary beading - one day class.

This course is for advanced learners who have preferably taken part in the introduction to embroidery class previously. This workshop is your chance to take traditional embroidery techniques and produce contemporary 3d designs with folding sequins, bugles and strings of beads. £95 per person

March Saturday 5th - Sunday 6th

Tambour Beading - weekend class. Join us for a weekend workshop where you can learn the fine couture technique of Tambour beading. £180 per person

Tuesday 15th March - 19th April

Goldwork intensive - six week course.

Series of evening taster classes designed to introduce budding embroiderers to a selection of techniques we use here at Hand & Lock. These classes cover the basics techniques of goldwork, with cutwork, passing, padding and practical application following on to making sure students are fully equipped for more advanced work. £280 per person

Saturday 19th

Monogramming - one day class. You will cover the basic stem stitch monogram, along with the more elaborate french monograms. £95 per person

February

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Saturday 16th

Ribbon Work - day workshop. Our ribbon work class teach you how to twist, gather, and stitch an array of flowers and patterns. You will learn how to put to fashion your own arrangements, and create beautiful flowers leaves and patterns. Basic hand embroidery skills are required for this class. £95 per person

Saturday 30th - Sunday 1st May

Advanced Goldwork - weekend class.

This course is for advanced learners who have preferably taken part in the beginners goldwork class previously. The weekend class will cover the advanced techniques such as using plated and other alternative materials. £180 per person

May Saturday 14th

Jacobean - one day class. Our Jacobean embroidery classes cover the basics, and practical application. Jacobean embroidery is a style of embroidery design, rather than an embroidery technique. £95 per person

Tuesday 24th - Tuesday 28th June

Saturday 13th

Silk shading - one day class. Silk Shading, also known as painting with thread is possibly the most artistic embroidery skill you can master. Students will learn how to blend coloured threads to produce depth and realism in their embroidery. £95 per person

class previously. Join us for a weekend workshop where you can learn the fine couture technique of Tambour beading. £180 per person

April Saturday 2nd - Sunday 3rd

Advanced Tambour Beading - weekend class. This course is for advanced learners who have preferably taken part in the beginners tambour beading

Introduction to Embroidery - six week course. Series of evening taster classes which will cover a range of techniques which you can perfect at home. The class will be two and a half hours every tuesday evening. These classes cover the basics, insider tips and practical application making sure students are fully equipped to go on and apply what they have learned to their own garments

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and develop their own unique styles. £280 per person

June Saturday 4th - Sunday 5th

Tambour beading - Join us for a weekend workshop where you can learn the fine couture technique of Tambour beading. £180 per person

July Saturday 2nd

Silk Shading - one day class. Silk Shading, also known as painting with thread is possibly the most artistic embroidery skill you can master. Students will learn how to blend coloured threads to produce depth and realism in their embroidery. The class covers the basics, insider tips and practical application. £95 per person

Saturday 20th

Blackwork - one day class. Our blackwork class is a new class for 2016 and we are happy to invite you join our class about the techniques that was developed in the 20th century.

Blackwork is now used to portray realism and form through differing densities of thread and pattern to create tonal shading. £95 per person

flowers leaves and patterns. Basic hand embroidery skills are required for this class. £95 per person

November Saturday 19th

September

Monogramming - one day class.You will cover the basic stem stitch monogram, along with the more elaborate french monograms. £95 per person

Sunday 11th

Saturday 26th

Monograming - weekend class. You will cover the basic stem stitch monogram, along with the more elaborate french monograms. £95 per person

Saturday 24th

Introduction to Embroidery - one day class. The Introduction to embroidery workshop is an ideal way to discover the basic principles of embroidery.

Students will learn a selection of decorative stitches as well as techniques for attaching beads and sequins to materials. £95 per person

Goldwork - one day workshop. This one day class covers the basics, insider tips and practical application making sure students are fully equipped to go on and apply what they have learned to their own garments and develop their own unique styles. £95 per person

Monday 18th - Thursday 21st July

The Embroidery Festival returns in 2016 with daily workshops and a series of evening talks.

Monday 18th: Intro to Embroidery Tuesday 19th: Silk Shading Wednesday 20th: Tambour Beading Thursday 21st: Goldwork Workshop + evening talk: £95 per person Evening talk: £10 per person

August Saturday 6th

Contemporary beading - one day class.

Our Contemporary Beading workshop is your chance to take traditional embroidery techniques includ mbour beading and produce contemporary 3d designs with folding sequins, bugles and strings of beads. £95 per person

December Saturday 3rd

October Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th

Tambour beading - Join us for a weekend workshop where you can learn the fine couture technique of Tambour beading. £180 per person

Saturday 29th

Ribbon Work - day workshop. Our ribbon work class teach you how to twist, gather, and stitch an array of flowers and patterns. You will learn how to put to fashion your own arrangements, and create beautiful

Contemporary beading - one day workshop. Our Contemporary Beading workshop is your chance to take traditional embroidery techniques including Tambour beading and produce contemporary 3d designs with folding sequins, bugles and strings of beads. £95 per person

Saturday 10th

Jacobean - Day workshop. Our Jacobean embroidery classes cover the basics, insider tips and practical application.

Jacobean embroidery is a style of embroidery design, rather than an embroidery technique. £95 per person Book classes at www.handembroideryshop.com or call 02075807488

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Hand & Lock have been producing the world’s finest hand embroidery since 1767. We cover a wide range of niche markets from Civilian and Military Regalia through to Ecclesiastical and Couture, specialising in bespoke, individually crafted embroidery.

As a traditional embroidery company, our heritage reaches back to Roman time and as such, we have become world reowned as providers of the finest hand embroiodery. We are a living antique, but moving with the times, bringing hand embroidery into the present. We are ready to take on all types of embroidery, big and small, and our rich history guarantees our clients consistency and quality every time.

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