I grew up with an interest in theatre and film design, going off to art college with the intention of being a set designer! During my foundation year - after deciding I wasn’t technically minded enough for set design - I became interested in costume and went on to gain a degree in costume at the Arts Institute at Bournemouth. During this time I developed a keen interest in surface decoration, and from there embroidery. I had dabbled a bit in embroidery as a child - my first ever piece was of a roller skate(!), but had never considered it possible as a career until this point.
After my degree I concentrated solely on embroidery and was accepted on to the apprenticeship scheme at The Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace, London. This was to mean three years away from my home in Dorset, but was an excellent opportunity to learn many forms of historical embroidery such as stumpwork, goldwork, whitework and silk shading, as well as conservation and restoration techniques not often taught now. During this time I was to win several prizes including the Hilda Watson prize for silk shading in 2002 and the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers prize for goldwork in 2003.
I returned to Dorset after completing my apprenticeship and now work as a freelance specialist embroiderer. My own work is inspired by the natural world - embroidery lends itself to many things but is as good at portraying the delicate nature of flowers as it is the energy of an animal or bird. Rather than working in a specific medium I prefer to work in several combined and love to introduce colour into the more traditionally monochrome.
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