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Hawthorne & Heaney, Short Internship Available

August 13, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Sample by Charlotte Pearson

Hawthorne & Heaney is currently looking for an embroidery intern to join us for a few weeks in August 2018. Usually we only take internships of 3 months or more but we have a short period when we are looking for a little extra help between the 20th August and 7th Sept.

Duties will include machine and hand sewing, general administration, maintenance of the social media sites, research, assisting with embroidery preparation for both the staff and for the School and errands. Applicants must be hard working, versatile, enthusiastic, professional, responsible and able work well in a small team. Attention to detail is a must along with patience as nothing in embroidery is particularly quick.

Specific Needs

Sewing skills are essential, and a proficiency in both hand and machine sewing would be ideal.
Computer knowledge of both MAC and PC, ideally with an understanding of adobe programs and G drive
Trend aware
Looking to gain experience in a live studio in the embroidery sector
Must be a current undergraduate student of a fashion/textiles related course
Able to travel into London every day

This internship is unpaid and should be taken in addition to a current undergraduate course, we are therefore unable to accept non students for this position. Hours are full time, Monday- friday 9-5pm.

If you would be interested in furthering your studies please fill out the attached form.

Elsie Wong (Former Intern) with her sample work

Hawthorne & Heaney at Goodwood’s Eagle Sprint

August 9, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Embroidering onto already made up items can be tricky, but at Hawthorne & Heaney we pride ourselves on giving these more challenging pieces a go. One such piece is the race suit we embroidered for Hawthorne & Heaney’s director Claire who participated in Goodwood RRC’s Eagle sprint a few weekends ago.

There were quite a few additions made to the suit including the Heaney Motors Logo on the back and personalisation on the front

We even managed to add some patches to her race boots!

All the embroidery is to fire retardancy specs as is the purpose of the suit so special requirements can always be taken into consideration.

And here it is in action!

images curtsey of @clairehawthorneheaney and @heaneymotors

Hawthorne & Heaney Adds a Little Something Special

August 3, 2018 by Eleanor Rowlands

Who doesn’t love a bit of good tailoring?

Monogram to motif, embroidery can add a little something extra to your tailoring. We do it all, from a timeless monogram to a bespoke design. Here are just a few example of the little touches we can add.

A personal reminder

A special date placed under the collar of a jacket

A small simple addition

Or a personal message

If you have something in mind, get in touch and we can let you know what we might be able to add to that special outfit for you.

Hawthorne & Heaney, Mother Eagle and The London Embroidery School

July 27, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter

As some of our regular readers may know, Hawthorne & Heaney has a sister company that teaches embroidery called the London Emroidery School. As the London Embroidery School we run classes at a range of time in specialised embroidery classes such as Tambour beading, goldwork and lace making.

Whenever the opportunity arises to get in a guest tutor, we love to an exciting textile artist in to teach one of their own designs, or a piece in their signature style. This October we have instagram sensation Mother Eagle, a.k.a. Katie Tume coming to teach a piece she has designed especially for us!

Katie’s work is influenced by folklore, mythology, burial customs and the old Gods. She is currently working on projects around our disappearing natural world, and lost species which have become her signature style. ‘The Surreal Stitches with Mother Eagle Course’ combines Katie’s style and techniques. She has created this new artwork for the course, and refers to the artwork as ‘the Divine Mushroom’.

Booking is now available for this class where you will be learn this original artwork from the artist herself. Follow the link here for more details and to secure your place.

All images are courtesy of @mother_eagle_embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney at Holly Fulton’s Retrospective

July 23, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter

FASHION IN MOTION

Holly Fulton

Fashion in Motion: Holly Fulton | Image: Chris Taylor

On 20th July, we attended Fashion in Motion featuring Holly Fulton at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was a spectacular retrospective of the label, that featured highlights from past seasons. We sat eagerly and were anxious to get a snapshot of how the label has evolved over the years. As the shows began, we were not disappointed, Fulton sent down models decked out in beautiful and complex graphic embellishments, laid out in eye catching bold colours..

She restyled the looks, so as to create a more congruent show. In spite of the varied colour palettes and array of inspiration that stretches across 6 seasons, she succeeded in highlighting her unique visual aesthetic that couples with her hand rendered backdrop. Below are some of the looks:

Holly Fulton | Image: Hawthorne & Heaney

The collection that we liked the most was Spring Summer 2016, seen in the two looks below. She drew inspiration from Eileen Agar, who collage decorative elements with nature. Fulton skillfully translated the spiral seashell shapes and kaleidoscope colour palette into her prints and embellishment. And she even included a cascading tail into the mix, that were balanced out with well orchestrated and balanced proportions.

Holly Fulton | Image: Hawthorne & Heaney Holly Fulton | Image: Hawthorne & Heaney

Eileen Agar | The return of the Blues

Holly Fulton | Image: Yanyun

After this opportunity to feast on Holly’s designs, we are excited to see what the designer would sent down the runway in the coming fashion week.

By Elsie Wong

Hawthorne & Heaney at The BTBA Summer Party 18

July 9, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter

A warm mid summer evening has become the mark of the BTBA Summer Party and this year’s do was no exception. The very best dressed of London’s tailoring community congregated on Friday evening in the gorgeous Merchant Taylors’ Hall to mark the occasion.

The party includes the presentation to those who have earned their Savile Row Bespoke Cutting diploma such as Kathryn Sargent’s Alistair Nimmo, whom we must congratulate along with the others who earned their certificates.

The Hawthorne & Heaney team were there to enjoy the celebrations and spread the love for embroidery. It was great to see everyone, but if you missed us, pop by to the studio and say hello!

Hawthorne & Heaney for Lack of Colour at Selfridges

July 6, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter

During last weekend, Hawthorne & Heaney set up camp in London’s Selfridges store for a monogramming event for Australian Hat brand ‘Lack of Color’.

‘Lack Of Color is the popular Australian label that produces a range of men’s and women’s hats available in seasonal colours and styles. Created by Tess Corvaia and Robert Tilbury, a creative couple from Queensland, Australia who aim to bring their loyal customers a range of innovative and wearable pieces each season.’ (Lack of colour About page)

Thanks to the lovely hot weather we have being having here, we were offering these hand embroidered monograms onto the hat ribbons or bands, usually of their strawhats as shown.

With a choice of 16 colour for the embroidery, the combinations on offer are numerous.

It’s always great fun working with such different and interesting brands in some of the best known shops in the world!

If you missed out on the opportunity to have your hat personalised in store and would like to get it done, this is something that we can do for you in the studio, get in contact with us by phone or email and we can advise you futher.

Or if you would like to put on your own hand embroidery event with us… get in touch!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits the Von Unwerth Exhibition

June 28, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter

A few weeks ago, we seized the opportunity to visit the new photography exhibition at Opera Gallery. Featuring german photographer Ellen Von Unwerth, titled ‘Ladyland’, whose fashion work have been published in American, Italian, and British Vogue, Interview and Vanity Fair . Stepping into the gallery, we were greeted by a series of playful yet sensual photographs, which are Unwerth’s celebrated style. Although provocative in nature, there is an atmosphere of silliness and spontaneity, we often do not see in fashion and beauty photoshoots.

Upon unearthing more about Unwerth, we discovered that much of her photo taking style is attributed to her experience as a model. She explains “I know how vulnerable and naked people can feel in front of the camera, so I’m very positive.” She gives girls roles to play, for example, because she found the lack of freedom to express herself as a model frustrating. “I like to go big and wild! I want the models to be silly in front of the camera, I want them to live their life!” Being frustrated with standing still in fashion shoots, Unwerth decided to be behind the lens instead, giving her subjects the freedom to be silly.

In some of her photographs, the spontaneity shines through in absurd poses that happen often when the models think she has finished shooting. This contributes to the feeling of movement, and heightens the carefree spirit that runs through much of her work, that makes it so appealing.

Check out her work! It is definitely not unwerth it to see.