Lottie Cockell started her creative business Purple Rose Embroidery fresh out of school, and has been busy growing shaping her business over the last 5 years. With a love of 'grid-based' hand embroidery, Lottie focuses on cross-stitch, blackwork and surface embroidery kits.

She is keen to try new things in her business and will often dive into the deep-end of something, figure it out as she goes, then decide if it is a direction that is suitable for her business and her self. 

That's the magic about running our own business.... WE GET TO CHOOSE what we do and how it works for US.

This is a fabulous and very inspiring story, and I'm so pleased I spotted Lottie's colourful blackwork embroidery on Instagram, and never imagined the story that would be revealed! 

Susan Weeks chats with Lottie about:

• Starting with hand embroidery commissions
• Quickly evolving into designs & kits
• Running her first stall ever at a high profile handmade event
• Designing her kits
• Encouraging and inspiring stitchers to have a go
• Shaping her business to suit her personality and lifestyle
• and so much more!

For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Lottie's art at https://stitcherystories.com/lottiecockell

Visit: https://purpleroseembroidery.com/

Look:  https://www.instagram.com/purpleroseembroidery

Like:  https://www.facebook.com/purpleroseembroidery

Also PurpleRoseEmbroidery on: TikTok, Youtube, Pinterest

Directory of all the things:  https://bio.site/purpleroseembroidery

Other places & people we mentioned:

Kirstie Allsopp Handmade Fair

Hochanda / Create & Craft

Other episodes you will enjoy:

https://stitcherystories.com/jengoodwin/ https://stitcherystories.com/ilkecochrane/ https://stitcherystories.com/kriscampbell/

Prism Textile Group members Hayley Mills-Styles and Maria Walker share behind-the-scenes challenges of helping to organise an annual textile art exhibition which features work from the groups' international members.

Hayley & Maria explain the background and history of this well-known exhibiting group, and then we dive into the details of organising and marketing the annual exhibition.

This is a fascinating insight into the details of how such exhibitions spring into life, and the work that goes on behind-the-scenes by so many members.

The 2023 exhibition with a theme of 'Warped' is at The Art Pavillion, Mile End Park, East London from April 20th to May 1st

Susan Weeks chats with Hayley & Maria about:

• Connections & collaborations within the group
• The history of Prism textiles
• How the group organises itself
• Setting submission dates to support consistent event marketing
• Planning the exhibition
• Using social media to spotlight members textile art 
• and so much more! 

For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Prism group members art at https://stitcherystories.com/prismtextiles

Visit: https://www.prismtextiles.co.uk/

Look: https://www.instagram.com/prismtextiles

Like: https://www.facebook.com/prismtextiles

Other places & people we mentioned: 

Art Pavilion, Mile End Park, Clinton Road, London, E3 4QY

North Yorkshire Open Studios

https://www.nyos.org.uk/

The House Of Smalls

https://www.thehouseofsmalls.art/

Other episodes you will enjoy:

https://stitcherystories.com/hayleymillsstyles/

https://stitcherystories.com/yorktextileartists/

Today I explore hand embroidered and beaded pop art with contemporary pop art textile artist Sarah Gwyer.

We talk about her magpie-like 'obsession' with colourful beads and charms and the artistic path to creating beaded portraits.

But beneath the colourful sparkling beads lies strong social commentary on celebrity, wealth and consumerism, all expressed in a distinctive pop art style.

And we dive into the copyright complexities that Sarah has found herself entwined in over her desire to portray celebrities as parody.

This is such an interesting chat, and thank you to Sarah for sharing her story. And of course... we have a good old laugh in amongst the serious topics!

Susan Weeks chats with Sarah Gwyer.

For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Sarah's work at https://stitcherystories.com/sarahgwyer

Visit: https://www.sarahgwyer.com/

Look: https://www.instagram.com/sarahgwyer

Like: https://www.facebook.com/sarahgwyerartist

Other places & people we mentioned: 

The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition

https://summer.royalacademy.org.uk/

Other Episodes You Might Enjoy:

https://stitcherystories.com/eleanorpigman/

https://stitcherystories.com/alexhall/

https://stitcherystories.com/claireedwards/

Back in 2014, textile artist, academic & designer Vanessa Marr posed the question:

Women & Domesticity - What's Your Perspective?

And invited those thoughts to be embroidered upon a yellow duster, in red thread. Little did she realise what she had unleashed...

Nine years later, Vanessa has an amazing collection of embroidered dusters and an even more amazing collection of stories from the people (mostly women) who have sent her a duster. There are so many fascinating elements to this project, we barely scratch the surface!

We do have a laugh as we start our conversation highlighting the now closed one off collaboration with The Profanity Embroidery Group as part of their Domesticity themed exhibition in Whitstable, Kent in February 2023.

PEG were early guests on the podcast so this was a fun start to this episode BUT we must make it super clear that the general Domestic Dusters project is NOT about swearing about housework.

Susan Weeks chats with Vanessa Marr.

For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Vanessa's work at

https://stitcherystories.com/domesticdusters

Visit: https://domesticdusters.wordpress.com

Visit: https://marrvanessa.wordpress.com

Look: https://www.instagram.com/domesticdusters

Look: https://www.instagram.com/vanemarr

Research profile: https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/persons/vanessa-marr

Other places & people we mentioned: 

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Dinner Party by Judy Chicago

The Subversive Stitch by Rosita Parker

Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber

Profanity Embroidery Group (Whitstable)

 https://pegwhitstable.co.uk/

Other Episodes You Might Enjoy: 

https://stitcherystories.com/profanityembroiderygroup/

https://stitcherystories.com/thereddress/

https://stitcherystories.com/karenruane/

It's an amazing project which has enabled unheard women, many in poverty, vulnerable through trauma and abuse, to share their personal stories, using the universal language of embroidery and hand stitching.

Kirstie had the idea for this dress back in 2009, and we chat about how the project and the dress has evolved over those years.

Connections and contrasts, empowerment & celebration, this is a story packed full of emotions.

 For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of The Red Dress at https://stitcherystories.com/thereddress

Visit: https://reddressembroidery.com/

Look: https://www.instagram.com/thereddress_embroidery/

Like: https://www.facebook.com/thereddressembroidery

Other places & people we mentioned:

Tamay in Vietnam

 https://reddressembroidery.com/Ly-Ta-May-Tamay

 The FanSina artisans in St Catherines, Sinai, Egypt

 Traces of Sisterhood, Salon Akademii Gallery, Warsaw, Poland

 https://salonakademii.asp.waw.pl

 ‘SPEAKING OUT’, an exhibition dedicated to and co-produced by women survivors of conflict-based sexual violence, with the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina.

 https://warchildhood.org/speaking-out-exhibition-experiences-of-crsv-survivors-and-children-born-of-war/

Preston Park Museum, Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees

 https://prestonparkmuseum.co.uk/

Embroidery artist Merrilyn Heazlewood shares her life in fabric & thread on Stitchery Stories embroidery podcast today! She takes us on a journey through her interesting and busy lifelong creative business career based around counted canvas work hand embroidery. And for those of you in the USA, you will know canvaswork as needlepoint.

Anyway, over the years, Merrilyn has owned several needlework shops, has written several books on wool embroidery, counted canvaswork techniques and also on silk ribbon embroidery. And she has also taught internationally for many years, in-person and now creating projects for online learning.

We catch up with Merrilyn as she looks forward to her summer holiday break, with several projects in mind to let her creativity flow.

Susan Weeks chats with Merrilyn about:

• why she opened a needlwork craft shop at age 23
• how she translates an idea into canvaswork and ribbon embroidery stitches
• playing with goldwork inspired by an ancient Aboriginal Rock art Echidna
• how do you learn crafts when your Mum is left-handed and you are right-handed?
• getting 'hooked' into counted cross-stitch embroidery
• combining silk ribbon embroidery with counted canvaswork / needlepoint
• a focus on inspiring customers
• self publishing several books...back inthe day when it was really difficult!
• selecting style, threads and accessories for 'longevity' of stitching
• meeting inspiring people around the world in so many locations
• designing the creative business you love and which protects your precious health.
• how NOT to thread your needle....

and so much more!

For this episode... View Show Notes, Links & Examples of Merrilyn's work at

https://stitcherystories.com/merrilynheazlewood

Visit: https://merrilynheazlewood.com.au

Look: https://www.instagram.com/merrilynsstitches/

Like: https://www.facebook.com/MerrilynBHeazlewood

Other places & people we mentioned:

In Tasmania:

Tarraleah, Hobart, Launceston, Battery Point, Mount Wellington, Iron Pot (a small flat island in the mouth of the Derwent River, Tasmania)

The Kimberley region in north-west Australia

Aboriginal rock art Echidna

Gumnut Yarns

http://www.gumnutyarns.com/

Lowery Workstands

https://www.workstands.com/

Other episodes you will enjoy

Sarah Rakestraw: Glorious Goldwork Embroidery

https://stitcherystories.com/sarahrakestraw/

Tina Francis: Tapestry, Needlepoint, Canvaswork

https://stitcherystories.com/tinafrancis/

Ilke Cochrane: Delightful Hardanger Embroidery

https://stitcherystories.com/ilkecochrane/

A cheerful & inspiring episode as global listeners of Stitchery Stories textile art podcast share their stories of creative joy from 2022, and shoutout those 'joy bringers' who helped them in some way to achieve that joy.

Hello & Welcome to my final episode of 2022.

A recurring theme is how much comfort & joy creative activities bring us.

So I thought it would be lovely to hear your stories of creative JOY from 2022. But not only that, to give us an opportunity to hear about those people that helped create that joy for you - the JOY BRINGERS as I decided to call them.

A massive thank you to all of you who took the time to send in your JOY.

As usual I have created a blog post for this episode on the StitcheryStories.com site

Each contributor will be listed, with their links and also the details and links for their joy bringers.

I also sent out a quick question asking what your fevourite techniques, and again got some lovely replies, so I have featured a selection of those too, which are along the same theme of joy and yet more shoutouts to others.

Please tell your friends about this episode, share on socials thru stories, or write your own post, maybe with an image of you busy making and creating whilst listening? We can bring joy to others by sharing what we love. And it's always very much appreciated.

So as we wrap up 2022, I wish you all a creative and joyful 2023 Sue xxx

For this episode...

View Contributors, Links, & Information at https://stitcherystories.com/2022CreativeJoy

To support this embroidery & textile art podcast:

You can 'Buy Sue A Coffee' here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sueweekspodcast

Follow Susan Weeks for course creation and online marketing stuff

https://virtualityworks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining

https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks

Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners.

Course Creation Quick Start Guide. https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/

Elizabeth Griffiths is a mixed media artist using hand embroidery, lino print-making, inks and watercolours to explore a range of themes.

She shares the uplifting experience (and challenge!) of using hand embroidery as a competitor in Sky TV Portrait Artist Of The Year.

We dive behind the scenes!

Who was her portrait subject? How was it organised?

What was it like trying to compete using hand embroidery against 'paper & paint' artists?

This was just one of a number of events that have made 2022 a rollercoaster of a year for Elizabeth, and we chat about how these events have affected her art and creativity.

Susan Weeks chats with Elizabeth Griffiths about:

• Exploring mixed-media - lino prints, inks, watercolours - with hand embroidery
• The excitement of taking part in Sky Portrait Artist Of The Year
• How to use embroidery in a time limited, live, portrait competition
• Keeping true to her style
• Using mixed media to trigger embroidery
• Why Elizabeth put away her needles & thead for a while
• Do silk paints go off, we wondered?
• Evolving our art as we also evolve
• Using our art to cope with stress
• Having her 1st solo exhibition
• When everything happens at once...

and so much more!

For this episode... View Links, information & Examples of Elizabeth's work at

https://stitcherystories.com/elizabethgriffiths

Look: https://www.instagram.com/lizgstitches

Sky Portrait Artist Of The Year Competition 2022

https://www.sky.com/watch/title/series/3e1cfda1-28a9-42f2-be75-220b7e8863ca/portrait-artist-of-the-year/episodes/season-9/episode-4

General Office - Gallery in Stourbridge, UK

https://generaloffice.co.uk/

Oh and for a laugh...

Sue mentioned that her portrait drawing attempts were like those of internet star 'Pet Portraits By Hercule'

Here is a BBC article about Hercule...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-58309087

Instagram: @portraitsbyhercule

To support this embroidery & textile art podcast:

You can 'Buy Sue A Coffee' here:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sueweekspodcast

Follow Susan Weeks for course creation and online marketing stuff

https://virtualityworks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining

https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks

Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners.

Course Creation Quick Start Guide. https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/

Other Episodes You Might Like:

Justine Warner: Textile art landscapes from a surprising source

https://stitcherystories.com/justinewarner/

Sorrell Kerrison: Creating Hand Embroidered Portraits

https://stitcherystories.com/sorrellkerrison/

Tracey Coverley: Textile Art Portraits

https://stitcherystories.com/traceycoverley/

Stacey Jones creates colourful, modern, abstract hand embroidery art. Her work powerfully reflects her thoughts & emotions through her life experiences.

Stacey shares her story of how her life with her husband has strongly informed her embroidery designs, particularly his illness, tragic death and her mourning process as she evolves into living alone. Embroidery has been a massive help to Stacey, and she shares stories and wisdom around the power of creativity in such situations.

This is a fascinating conversation about developing themes, ideas, inspirations, designs, colour and stitch.

Susan Weeks chats with Stacey Jones about:

• Using sunflowers as an enduring symbol of hope, strength and inspiration.
• The impact of mood & emotions on choosing a colour palette to work with.
• Considering 'the spaces in-between' and developing art around that concept.
• Inspiration from galaxies to the spaces inbetween seeds.
• Finding comfort in repetitive processes & stitching.
• Learning some new hand embroidery techniques, goldwork, tambour embroidery.
• Going to cool life drawing classes with neon painted models.
• The luxury of creating work purely for herself.
• Finding freedom in reposting her embroidery archive.
• Exciting plans for the future.
• Representing calm breath work with embroidery.
• Ways to spark creativity when you are feeling stuck.
• and so much more!

For this episode...

View Links, information & Examples of Stacey's work at https://stitcherystories.com/staceyjones

Look: https://www.instagram.com/bystaceyjones

The Hand & Lock embroidered arts exhibition 2021

https://handembroidery.com/hand-and-lock-exhibition-2021/

Sarcoma UK The bone & soft tissue cancer charity

https://sarcoma.org.uk/

To support this embroidery & textile art podcast:

You can 'Buy Sue A Coffee' here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sueweekspodcast

Follow Susan Weeks for online course creation and online marketing stuff

https://virtualityworks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining

https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks

Sign up for information

on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners.

Course Creation Quick Start Guide. https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/

Other Episodes You Might Like:

Claire Edwards: Pushing The Boundaries Of Traditional Hand Embroidery

https://stitcherystories.com/claireedwards/

Jessica Grady: Embroidery Artist Using Unusual Materials And Bold Colours

https://stitcherystories.com/jessicagrady/

Michelle Morgan: Hand Embroidery Artist

https://stitcherystories.com/michellemorgan/

Floriane Schmitt loves to experiment with creative fabric manipulation ideas. Under her brand name of FloHomeDesign she creates accessories and home decor items from smocked neoprene and is writing a fabric manipulation book, due out end 2023.

Floriane shares her story of how her dream of a career in fashion evolved into specialising in fabric manipulation and creating her own collections bringing a very modern twist on some traditional Canadian Smocking techniques with very modern materials. Neoprene + Smocking = Neosmock

Floriane has packed a lot of experience into her education and career so far, topped off by her fabulous story behind the fabric manipulation book she is writing at time of recording (Oct 2022). This is an inspiring story of 'going for it, making opportunities, and of saying Yes!

Susan Weeks chats with Floriane Schmitt about:

• A chance comment on Instagram that led to a book writing deal
• The structure and challenges of creating her book
• Don't be afraid to show your work
• Using Instagram as a quicker way to showcase your skills and work
• Making a major pivot from fashion design to fabric manipulation designer
• Creating her accessories and home decor collections and brand
• Giving a traditional technique an interesting twist with modern materials
• Her inspiring internship
• Innovation with new fabrics and creative fabric manipulation techniques
• You can't keep the creativity flowing for endless hours
• and so much more!

For this episode...

View Links, information & Examples of Floriane's work at

https://stitcherystories.com/florianeschmitt

Visit: https://linktr.ee/florianeschmitt

https://florianeschmitt.com/

Look: https://www.instagram.com/florianeschmitt

Look: https://www.instagram.com/flohomedelight

Inspiration from Iris Van Herpen:

https://www.irisvanherpen.com/

You can 'Buy Sue A Coffee' here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sueweekspodcast

Follow Susan Weeks for course creation and online marketing stuff

https://virtualityworks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheMissingTraining

https://www.instagram.com/susan.l.weeks

Sign up for information on Sue's 'How To Create An Online Course' which is specifically created for textile artists and other crafty business owners. Course Creation Quick Start Guide.

https://virtualityworks.com/how-do-you-create-a-course-quick-start/

Other Episodes You Might Like:

Ann Small: Layered Cloth

https://stitcherystories.com/annsmall/

Jayne Emerson: Textile Designer, Author & Tutor

https://stitcherystories.com/jayneemerson/

Kathleen Laurel Sage: Shaping Machine Embroidery With Heat

https://stitcherystories.com/kathleenlaurelsage/