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flowers

Student of the Month November 20

Tuesday 1st December 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter Leave a Comment

fabric flower, floral fabric, flower design, pink flower, organdie rose, fabric manipulation

A new month rolls in and so we have a new student of the month to announce…. @guajardostudio

Such a stunning interpretation of our organdie roses could not go without appreciation and sharing. From the photos you can see that Sophia Small of Guajardo Studio, shares her progress and inspiration. Putting her own spin on our Organdie Rose online class and have gone on to making them something new.

If you enjoy seeing this kind of work, check out their instagram and website for more behind the scenes content. Small is a British Textiles designer, working out of California USA and making all sorts of beautiful and interesting things. Well worth a visit!

If you would like to be the December’s #studentofthemonth, use the hashtag #londonembroideryschool or tag us when sharing your photos from your London Embroidery School class or the things you have gone onto make following one of our class.

 

All Images courtesy of @guajardostudio

(Thank you, they’re so beautiully shot)

 

 

Filed Under: Classes, Embroidery, News from London Embroidery School Tagged With: beginners, classes, courses, embellishment, embroidery, fashion, flowers, hand embroidery, learning, London Embroidery School, student of the month, technique

Free Lace Jewellery Flowers Design Online Class

Friday 23rd October 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter Leave a Comment

lace, jewellery, earrings, online class, beading, beads, sequins, hook, fish hook, pearl, embroidery

This class launch, Lace Jewellery Flowers Design, follows the success of the first of the first we released in this style, the leaves design. This too is aimed at our novice embroiderers where together we will be working to make a pair of embellished lace earrings. Using basic techniques we will guide you towards good practises as we add the beads and sequins to the lace, whilst considering the piece as a whole for a 3D outcome. If you are fairly new to embroidery then this one is great for you as we share some of our tips that will help you on your way. Oh and did we mention, the class itself is free so you can enjoy the techniques taught and apply them to your own projects if you like.


This approach is more of a challenge on how to be delicate and tension your work as it is a bit fiddly. The finished pieces make a lovely thing to gift to someone special as the outcomes are so pretty and will post well if you aren’t able to see one another particularly at the moment .


The flowers design kit will be the first design in this style, though there are more kits to come which you can apply the same techniques to, or freestyle it to really make them your own. Kits are available to purchase on our website so head there now to grab your class and choice of kit today.

Filed Under: Classes, Embroidery, News from London Embroidery School, Stock Updates Tagged With: 3d embroidery, couture, craft, embellishment, fashion, flowers, flowers design, free class., hand embroidery, lace embroidery, lace jewellery, london, London Embroidery School, stitching, textiles

May’s Student Of the Month

Friday 5th June 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter Leave a Comment

fabric flower, blooming peony, peony, Rose, Fabric peony, yellow Rose, fabric Manipulation, Embroidery, sewing, yellow

Confession! We have been slacking, we got so caught up in the online classes we forgot about student of the month!

We are here to rectify that as we are delighted to annouce that May’s Student of the Month is….. @valbotham !

 

She has been very busy, getting involved in a whole host of the online classes we have recently shared to stunning results.

Blooming Peony By Val Botham

Her instagram is filled withlots of things she has made so you can see this is a lady of many talents demonstrated in her versitility, switching between skills easily.

Organdie Rose by Val Botham

Pretty impressive, I’m sure you will agree!

Valentino Rose by Val Botham

If you would like to be the June’s #studentofthemonth, use the hashtag #londonembroideryschool or tag us when sharing your photos from your London Embroidery School class or the things you have gone onto make following one of our class.

All Images courtesy of @valbotham

Filed Under: Classes, News from London Embroidery School Tagged With: classes, courses, craft, embroidery, embroidery class, embroidery class london, fashion, flowers, hand embroidery, learning, London Embroidery School, making, online classes, stitching, student of the month

The Blooming Peony Class has Arrived

Thursday 7th May 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter Leave a Comment

blooming peony, peony, online class, kit, flower, fabric flower, rose, fabric manipulation, pink flower, product outcome

A brand new class to the London Embroidery School, never before taught in the studio, is now Online. The Blooming Peony Class is the most robust of the silk flowers we teach, making them ideal for any project where the flowers need to be able to ‘hold their own’. Outerwear, accessories and costume are just a few of the outcomes that spring to mind as the blooming peony is a silk flower that is made to be both seen and touched.

Deluxe and mini kits are available to go with the class, unusually for us though this class is not just hand embroidery based. Therefore it requires access to a couple of items that are not included in the kits- such as a sewing machine. So do check those out before purchasing to avoid disappointment. (Please note there are a copy of items you will need access to, to make these peonies which are not included in the kits: Sewing machine, pins, ruler, pencil/ dissolvable pen)

When you have made your purchase, the link will be sent to your email and kits through the post. You can use the video as many times as you like, watch, rewatch, rewind and pause us as you please. At the end of the the class you should have your beautiful peony along with the unlimited skills to cut and make your own from whatever takes your fancy.

Want to see what all the fuss is about first? Watch the video below to see a taster version of the class.

Filed Under: Embroidery, Things to do in London Tagged With: blooming peony, blush, embellishment, embroidery, fabric flowers, Flower Making, flowers, kit, making, rose, sewing machine, silk flower, stitching

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up – Exhibition Visit

Monday 27th August 2018 by HH Intern

The exhibition Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up is currently at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and we recently took the chance to visit. This unique show gives a detailed overview of Kahlo’s life: her family and heritage; her politics; her relationship with mural painter Diego Rivera; the near-fatal accident that caused her a lifetime of pain; and most importantly, how she constructed her image and the way in which she lived her life.

Kahlo’s home in Mexico, La Casa Azul (The Blue House).

Upon Kahlo’s death in 1954, her husband Rivera locked up her most valuable possessions in the bathroom of the Casa Azul (The Blue House, their home in Mexico) and instructed that it not be opened until 15 years after her death. In 2004 this bathroom was opened, and the contents of the room went on display at the Casa Azul as a museum dedicated to her life. These objects are what now fill the exhibition space at the V&A, carefully shipped thousands of miles to be shown outside of Mexico for the first time.

Frida Kahlo and Family, 1926, photograph by Guillermo Kahlo.
Kahlo challenges gender stereotypes by wearing a suit.

The exhibition begins with old photographs of Kahlo and her family, some of which are adorned with Kahlo’s handwritten notes. Some simply label family members, whereas others are more personal: for example, on the back of Kahlo’s Communion photo she has scrawled “¡IDIOTA!” as she renounced Catholicism later in life.

Pre-columbian jade beads, possibly assembled by Frida Kahlo. Museo Frida Kahlo.

The show continues through a series of rooms to Kahlo’s accessories: heavy jade necklaces; crescent earrings featuring paired birds, which are traditional of Mexican jewellery; and hand-woven ‘Rebozo’ shawls and ‘Morrale’ sack bags. These items highlight Kahlo’s pride in her Mexican heritage.

Revlon nail varnishes, compact and lipstick in Kahlo’s favourite shade, ‘Everything’s Rosy’.

We then move on to Kahlo’s possessions, perhaps one of the most personal parts of the exhibition. Intimate items are on display such as used lipsticks and empty medicine bottles accompanied by letters to and from her various doctors.

Plaster corset, painted and decorated by Frida Kahlo. Museo Frida Kahlo.

Kahlo’s suffering due to childhood polio and a car accident at the age of 18 lies at the foundation of some of these objects. For most of her life she wore uncomfortable corsets to help support her back and alleviate pain, some of which were made of plaster and decorated with painting as Kahlo used them like a canvas.

Left: Cotton Huipil with chain stitch embroidery, cotton skirt with printed floral motifs.
Right: Guatemalan cotton coat worn with Mazatec Huipil and plain floor-length skirt.

Finally, the main feature of the exhibition is a stunning display case of Kahlo’s clothing. Kahlo is renowned for her combinations of indigenous garments from different regions of Mexico, and she was photographed in such outfits many times. To see them up close in real life is breathtaking.

Detailed embroidery is present in most of the outfits, from complexly shaded flowers and birds to cross stitch to traditional Chinese embroidery (due to Kahlo’s fascination with Chinatown when she moved to the USA with Rivera). The exhibition gives details of her most striking outfits, describing how she was followed by children when in the USA, who asked “Where is the circus?”.

Self Portrait with Monkeys, 1943. Oil on Canvas, 81.5 x 63cm.

There are some of Kahlo’s paintings – mainly self portraits as she used herself as a subject when painting from her bed – but the exhibition mainly focuses on Kahlo’s items and how she presented the complex layers of her identity within her life. It states that her wardrobe was not staged: she dressed up even when she wasn’t expecting visitors, and even when she was in bed rest.

Frida Kahlo on the Bench, 1939. © Nickolas Murray Photo Archives.

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up is a bewitching and intimate exhibition. The items on display are fascinating, and through them the personal details of how Kahlo naturally lived an artistic life – despite her misfortunes and pain – are revealed. A must-see for anyone interested in textiles, and anyone interested in Frida Kahlo’s complex and inspiring life.

Purchase tickets at the V&A website here.

Filed Under: Embroidery, Things to do in London Tagged With: artist, clothing, embroidery, exhibition, fashion, flowers, frida, frida kahlo, herself, inspiration, jewellery, kahlo, london, make up, making, making herself up, museum, painting, photography, review, show, textiles, things to do, up, V&A, victoria and albert, visit, weaving

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams

Thursday 10th May 2018 by claire

View this post on Instagram

Runway through the years #Dior #runway #couture

A post shared by Tasha Searls-Punter (@tashasearlspunter) on Dec 21, 2017 at 3:44am PST

Every now and then, there is an exhibition that we feel we just have to see, and usually one holds out until it (hopefully) comes to London. However the risk of missing out on ‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’ at Musee Des ArtsDecoratifs was one that was too great and we felt compelled to go. So, Natasha made the trip to Paris to see the much hyped display.

 

The exhibition begins with some history of Christian Dior’s family and his life before setting up the house as an art gallery owner and fashion illustrator. A brief introduction to the facets of the house is followed by the first main gallery. In this room, each section is divided by colour, each cabinet displaying a palette with a variety of dresses, 12” miniatures and accessories.

 

As an embroiderer, one of the most outstanding aspects of this exhibition was the level of detail you could see in the gowns and the emphasis that was placed on showing off the incredible textures. These were reflected in the papercut flowers and foliage that hung from the ceiling in a few of the rooms which were inspired by the fragrances that make up Dior’s famous perfumes.

 

 

Some of the textiles could be described as traditional beading, whilst others would be considered to be more experimental, playing with feathers and layering but all were undeniably beautiful.

 

 

They also had an in-house embroiderer demonstrating some tambour beading onto a panel of one of the gown and chatting with the public about what she was doing. The piece was framed up in a large slate frame, with one end complete and, the other drafted on. The drafts and drawings for the piece were hanging to one side of her with a partially completed gown on display behind her. The finished gown was part of the final gallery to put the whole process into context.

 

View this post on Instagram

Tambour beading demonstration #Dior #tambour #embroidery

A post shared by Tasha Searls-Punter (@tashasearlspunter) on Dec 21, 2017 at 3:28am PST

 

The white gallery was reminiscent of the layout of the Savage Beauty exhibition at the V&A museum in London where you were dwarfed by the pieces, however here the emphasis was placed purely on the cut of the garments. Each one is the toile of a gown we had already seen in the body of the exhibition to explain the development of each piece and the alterations process it has been through to get to the final design

 

 

Final last gallery was all the real show-stopping gowns, the space itself adds to the gravity of the items on display. They enhanced the experience with moving light displays across the walls which gave the impression of gold snow, unashamedly playing up to the couture fairytale.

 

 

 

 

It would be fair to say this exhibition was excellent, going around it all took at least 2 and a half hours going through it all but one could have stayed much longer. The number of pieces on display and the generous space that was given to each one made it a very leisurely experience. I really enjoyed the way they played with scale in the layout, starting off the with miniatures gallery, then allowing you to get up close with the real sized pieces and then immersing you in the white and final galleries.

If you would like to read another perspective on the exhibition, have a read of Tina Isaac-Goizé’s thoughts for Vogue here.

Filed Under: Embroidery Tagged With: beading, beads, couture, craft, embellishment, embrodiery, embroidery, fashion, flowers, inspiration, sequins, specialist, tambour, tambour beading, techniques, textiles

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