Alongside the tutors at the London Embroidery School there are the support staff who will be the people you speak to when you are planning your time with us and your learning objectives. One of these people is Natasha who you will likely speak to on the emails, so we asked her a few questions to help you get to know her a bit better.
How did you first become interested in embroidery and textiles?
I spent a lot of time making things at home when I was young and my parents were very encouraging when it came to creating as I seemed to be enjoying myself, whether it was painting or pottery or one of my many many cross stitch kits and I guess it just went from there. I was quite a girly girl and always liked clothes, so the two just started to come together until I found my niche.
Where did you study, and what was your favourite outcome from it?
I went to Chelsea College of Art and Design for my Foundation and then onto the London College of Fashion for my BA which was in Surface Textiles for Fashion, specialising in Embroidery. It’s hard to pinpoint a favourite outcome from my studies but I produced a collaborative collection with a womenswear student called Roxanne Leger which made it into my final year’s press show which I am pretty proud of. I had a lot of free rein to interpret my drawings into embroidery and apply them to Roxanne’s construction and pattern cutting skills which was where I realised that this was exactly what I wanted to do, just the embroidery. Once I knew that it made it much easier to make decisions about what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be at the start of my career.
Credits: Womenswear- Roxanne Leger, Embroidery- Natasha Searls-Punter, Photography- James Rees, Creative Direction-Rob Phillips, Beauty-Pace Chen, Model-Laura O’Grady
How long have you been working in embroidery?
I have been working for Hawthorne & Heaney and the London Embroidery School for the best part of 2 years now. I mainly work on the CAD machine embroidery side of Hawthorne & Heaney’s production and keeping the London Embroidery School ticking over. This usually involves arranging bookings, preparing for the tutors, stock control and the best bit, developing new classes. The most recent one I have worked on is our new DIY Runway Class: Chiffon Roses which I am really excited for as they are so luxurious and I need to make some for myself!
What other creative things do you get up to in your spare time?
I still very much enjoy drawing, so I try and make time for that along with jewellery making as I’m a bit of a magpie.
Is there any embroidery technique that you have yet to master and wish to learn in the future?
I’d love to have more time to work on my own hand embroidery as I love goldwork and would like to create something amazing with it in my style.