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inspiration

Hawthorne & Heaney visits ‘Wonderful Things’ at the V & A Museum

November 6, 2019 by Natasha Searls-Punter

‘Tim Walker: Wonderful Things’ is the new exhibition on at the V& A Museum this winter. Looking at the works of fashion photographer, Tim Walker; expect to be amazed and delighted by the fantastical worlds he creates for his photographs and the stunning presentation of them by world leading design museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum. 

 

Chances are, you have probably come across Tim Walker’s work before, whether you knew it or not. He has been working for publications such as Vogue from the the start of his career and over the last 30 or so years, he has come to produce a great number of works. The first room is a celebration of this as many well know pieces are displayed here so you can bounce from one catagory to the next with pangs of recognition.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand EmbroideryThe Dress-Lamp Tree, Tim Walker, 2002, England

After you are introduced to Walker and given some context about the exhibition, that’s when things get really interesting. For this exhibiton, Walker has produced several series of new works, inspired by the items in the V&A’s own collections as inspiration.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

It is always lovely to see a maker’s process, so the addition of sketchbooks to the exhibition is a welcome insight into their minds.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

Along with the props,  the sets that Walker builds are rich and diverse, providing much interest in themselves alone even without a moving subject in them.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

In typical Walker style, there are oversized props which give a fantastical element to both the photos and the exhibition.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

I particularly enjoyed the section inspired by a 400 year old embroidery box and chamberlain’s key. Partially because, as an embroiderer, I am pleased to see any uses of embroidery that raise its profile and highlight it’s beauty but also for the resulting series.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand EmbroideryHawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

The exhibition acts as a masterclass in spring boarding inspiration from existing artworks and creating entirely new pieces from them. If you would like to see all the pieces in person, get down to the museum to experience their true magnitude.

”Tim Walker: Wonderful Things” will be on at the Victoria and Albert Museum until the 8th March 2020. Tickets from £15.00, free for members.

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, Interior Design, London Tagged With: exhibition, inspiration, London, photography, tim walker, v and a museum, victoria and albert museum, wonderful things

Hawthorne & Heaney visits ‘An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik’ at the Wallace Collection

August 21, 2019 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery‘A Girl Threading a Needle by Candlelight’ by G. Schalcken

The Wallace Collection is a hidden gem in London’s art history crown, which even this museum buff and lifelong Londoner has only just discovered. Set in a stunning 18th Century building on Manchester Square (just off Oxford Street) it is hard to believe it has taken this long to come across it. Housing some very famous works of art such as Hals’s ‘Laughing Cavalier’, Boucher’s ‘Madame De Pompadour’ and many Gainsborough’s there is plenty to see if you fancy a bit of an oppulent afternoon in the city. For keen stitchers, there are some stunning tapestry works as well as these 17th century wall hangings from Italy featuring lots of goldwork techniques. Now, until the end of August they have upped the ante a bit further by adding stunning couture shoes into the mix.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand EmbroideryWall hangings, Italian, c. 1650, maker unknown

For a limited time the Wallace Collection is also displaying a selection of footwear superstar Manolo Blahnik amongst their artworks. Unlike many other fashion exhibitions, this is more of an intergration of the shoes in amongst the other art, they sit alongside the permenant collection (sometime on them!) in carefully arranged bell jars. This makes the exhibiton much more intimate as you feel you can get up close to all the pieces on display and all are treated with equal respect.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand EmbroideryHawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand EmbroideryHawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

The selection of shoes in each room has been themed to compliment the artworks they are among. A particular favourite of mine was the oval drawing room where the most decadent shoes Blahnik designed for Sofia Coppola’s film ”Marie Antoinette” are shown amongst the sweet coloured room featuring Fragonard’s ‘Swing’ and Boucher’s ‘Madame de Pompadour’.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand EmbroideryHawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

From an embroidery perpective there are a few pieces that standout as particulally beautiful. These boots ‘ Lepanto’ (Davee) 2003 look to be a combinations of hand painting and embroidery to a very rich effect.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

These pink petal encrusted pair called ‘Amir’ 1997 look like they belong with some of the dresses from the ‘Designer of Dreams’ Exhbition which is still on at the V & A Museum

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

Of course, there are beads so we couldn’t not mention ‘Zarina’ 2015 which are the very definition of encrusted.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

Downstairs is a wall of the original sketches for shoes on display upstairs, showing Blahnik’s distinctive style and flare.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

Overall it has all been very respectly done. It is clear from the selection that Blahnik is passionate about beauty and craftsmanship with many skills shown in his designs and revisited throughout the years. There is not much information on each of the pieces, a simple sticker of each one’s name and year leaves you with a few questions perhaps, but lets you enjoy them uninterupted.

 

‘An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blahnik at the Wallace Collection’  is on until the 1st Sept 2019, Entrance is free.

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, Interior Design, London Tagged With: beading, Collection, couture, design, Designer, drawing, embrdoiery, exhibition, inspiration, London, Manolo Blahnik, Museum, now on, sewing, shoes, textiles, things to do, wallace collection

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up – Exhibition Visit

September 5, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter Leave a Comment

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up - Exhibition Visit London Hand Embroidery
Frida Kahlo in blue satin blouse, 1939, © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives

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.

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up - Exhibition Visit London Hand Embroidery
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: Making Herself Up - Exhibition Visit London Hand Embroidery
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.

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up - Exhibition Visit London Hand Embroidery
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.

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up - Exhibition Visit London Hand Embroidery
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.

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up - Exhibition Visit London Hand Embroidery
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.

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up - Exhibition Visit London Hand Embroidery
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?”.

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up - Exhibition Visit London Hand Embroidery
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: Making Herself Up - Exhibition Visit London Hand Embroidery
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.

Written by Laura Hill

Filed Under: Art, Embroidery, Embroidery, Fashion, London Tagged With: artist, clothing, embroidery, exhibition, fashion, floral, 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, woven

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Anna Sui Exhibition

August 3, 2017 by Hasina Akther

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Anna Sui Exhibition London Hand Embroidery

An exciting exhibition focusing on the daring, rock-n-roll  American fashion designer, Anna Sui. Exhibited at the London Fashion and Textile Museum until 1st October 2017. Anna Sui is not your traditional American fashion designer. From Detroit to New York her unique style is forever growing and adapting to the pop culture that reinvents itself for every new generation. She established her label in 1981 and had her first catwalk show in 1991. She has been forever growing her independant vision by not only creating garments but expanding into textiles, accessories, beauty and interiors. The World of Anna Sui features over 100 looks from the designer’s archive and is a beautiful commendation for all she has achieved so far from beginning to end.

“Even if people haven’t heard them for a while, I feel I’m telling stories that never go out of style” – Anna Sui.

The exhibition has a mass variety of archetypes from Mods and Punks, School Girls to Hippies and Surfers. Anna Sui creates a look for a particular woman, in her own words: “one with a sense of fantasy such as a fairy-tale princess but there is also a darker side, you could never tell whether she is a good girl or a bad one.” This is something everyone can relate to as a form of expression. It is also the first time an American designer has been the focus of a retrospective exhibition in the UK.

“But I’m always looking for the unfamiliar perspective on familiar things. That takes research. Which, as I said, is my favourite thing.” – Anna Sui.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Anna Sui Exhibition London Hand Embroidery

One aspects of the exhibition that will capture your attention was the research boards Anna Sui creates for every garment piece she designs. The quote you see above this text is said by the fashion designer herself, how she is always looking for an unfamiliar perspective which is achieved through her research. The boards tell a story, a journey in fact from where the source of inspiration came from and how Anna Sui has adapted that knowledge into her vision and essentially put her own, unique twist upon it in order to achieve the end result. This example on the right is her ‘Floral Stripe Peplum Dress’ part of her Spring 2012 collection. The collection was set out to “evoke the atmosphere of the fashionable Club Sept, frequented by the likes of Jerry Hall and Grace Jones in their early days as models. The collection mixed the glamour of the 1970s with a 1940s’ sensibility, reflecting the style of dress on the dance floor.”

This example showcases Anna Sui’s talent to combine eras, using that inspiration and knowledge from past decades in order to transform it and create a beautifully, modern peplum dress. Therefore if you have an interest in previous decades and an admiration for pop culture then this is the exhibition for you. The photograph below shows the research journey for this particular dress:

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Anna Sui Exhibition London Hand Embroidery

The following information was learned during my visit to the exhibition through a CGTN interview shown of Anna Sui opening up about this story. By far the best element of the exhibition as nothing beats hearing information first hand from the woman, herself. The interview is called ‘Anna Sui – Fashion’s true original’:

Anna Sui went to her first Paris fashion show with fashion photographer and friend, Steven Meisel. On the way to the show they stopped at The Ritz to pick up his friend, Madonna who came out of her dressing room and into the car wearing a coat. When they arrived at Paris fashion show, Madonna took her coat off and said to Sui, “Anna, I have a surprise for you.” this resulted in Madonna revealing Anna Sui’s dress that she had on. This gave Anna confidence as out of all the high-end labels Madonna could have worn, she chose hers. When Anna Sui arrived back in New York, 10 years after establishing herself as a fashion designer, she premiered her first catwalk show in 1991. Through Steven Meisel, Anna also became friends with models, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista who helped her get all the models together. Everyone pitched in. Her first show opened up multiple opportunities including international, in particular Japanese companies. All this movement from the simple, kind gesture that Madonna did for Anna therefore Sui believes she will always owe a debt of gratitude to her.

To watch the interview yourself please click on the following URL: https://america.cgtn.com/2016/11/12/anna-sui-fashions-true-original

“My favourite thing was always research. I met all the trim people, the button people, the pleating and embroidery people… I kept coming back to music, too. Music made the fashion more amazing, more accessible.” – Anna Sui.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Anna Sui Exhibition London Hand Embroidery

The exhibition ‘The World of Anna Sui’ showcases a variety of craftsmanship including millinery, gold work, print, embellishment, applique, weave, knit and embroidery techniques which you can see evident in the photographs above. If you have an interest in any of these of design or fashion then you will certainly enjoy your visit to the exhibition. Not only will you see a unique twist put on these traditional techniques but it will open up your mind and inspire you as to how you can use inspiration from your surroundings in your own designs. Anna Sui’s work is narrative as her powerful garment collections simply document her journey and interests through the decades. Her archive clearly shows her fascination with pop culture. You can see from beginning to end, how previous decades have influenced her design, how as a fashion designer she, herself has evolved and grown over time with this particular movement. Her interest in fashion, art, design and music is at the core of each idea, with every collection having its own style and inspiration. The composition of Anna Sui’s archive I personally found very powerful as you were completely surrounded by a wide variety of collections that for me, I just did not know where to start. A true statement of the daring, rock-n-roll designer that Anna Sui is. Her research and collections are the “desire to understand why things happened or what inspired the design, song or artwork. This then leads her onto other topics and ideas that themselves become part of the design process.” I truly would recommend anyone to visit this exhibition as it was a pleasure to witness as there is something to suit everyone’s particular taste and interests.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Anna Sui Exhibition London Hand Embroidery

“Anna Sui’s holistic vision as a designer is about making connections, and everything around the designer is part of the connectivity, and the story.”

Please note that the text written in bold is from the ‘The World of Anna Sui’ exhibition and not my own. For further information regarding the exhibition please follow the URL below: http://www.ftmlondon.org/ftm-exhibitions/the-world-of-anna-sui/

Written by Lauren Stewart

 

 

Filed Under: Embroidery, Embroidery, Fashion, London Tagged With: 1981, accessories, achive, american, Anna Sui, beauty, detroit, exhibition, garments, hippies, inspiration, interiors, journey, london fashion and textile museum, madonna, mods, mood board, new generation, new york, pop culture, punks, retrospective, rock-n-roll, school girls, style, surfers, textiles, uk, unique, vision

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits The V&A: Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London

May 19, 2017 by Hasina Akther

Just as you enter the V&A from the Grand Entrance on Cromwell Road, to your left you will come to this wonderful exhibit about the life of John Lockwood Kipling, Father of the famous poet, Rudyard Kipling. It’s not all that often that you get the opportunity to see this kind of Indian heritage, but on display at this exhibition, your senses are spoilt. Historical pictures of India through the Victorian ages, fused together with Lockwood Kipling’s own illustrations, structural designs and photography of his students in Mumbai.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits The V&A: Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London London Hand Embroidery

 Exhibition entrance, courtesy of V&A
 This exhibition is great for those with keen interests print, architectural design, upholstery, embroidery, textiles (etc) and are in need of inspiration from this rich culture and its prominent history, or those that just want to expand on their knowledge of art history. The exhibit is atmospheric and full of vibrant information, you can easily lose yourself in here for a few hours, it is a fascinating period of history.

Lockwood Kipling was always an active social campaigner for the preservation of Indian arts and crafts, he even brought much of that skill he learnt in India back to England where he worked as an architectural sculptor for the V&A. The terracotta panels created by Lockwood can still be seen on the exterior of the grand V&A building. The perfect place to hold an exhibition about his colourful life.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits The V&A: Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London London Hand Embroidery

Exhibition poster in the museum tunnel and exhibition leaflet from H&H visit to V&A

His passion for the preservation of Indian culture and skill is apparent throughout the entire exhibit, and it is wonderful to see techniques that have been used in traditional Indian culture for centuries. By including the work of his students at the Mayo College, Ajmer, the exhibit shows how his passion and knowledge has been transferred onto his students.

Kipling moved to India in 1865 when the country was under British rule, and at the time the economy was quite unstable. He recognised this uncertainty in his students and encouraged them to channel these feelings into their creativity.

In 1851 he trained as a designer and modeller, which gave him the knowledge which he took to India and applied this to the traditional crafts which he learnt and was able to design beautiful Mosques, some which still stand today. 

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits The V&A: Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London London Hand Embroidery

Painting: Entrance to the Mosque of Wazir Khan, by Mohammed Din, 1880, by Mohammed Din. Displayed at the exhibition

The intricate detailing on the architectural work is magnificent to see and his illustration style is timeless! He has captured a moment via drawing as if it were a photograph. A series of images seen at the exhibition depicts local craftsmen doing their everyday using the said skills making creations which later on Lockwood would go on to do himself.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits The V&A: Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London London Hand Embroidery

Illustration: A wood carver from the North West Provinces of British India, by Lockwood Kipling, 1870.
Displayed as a series of natural drawings of craft workers.

If you are interested in how artistic crafts and merit is applied throughout different cultures, or just intrigued to see how ancient skills that are ingrained in the wonderful Indian culture have progressed and evolved over the past 200 years, then this exhibition is a must see.

By Amelia Beaumont-Dodd

Filed Under: Art, Embroidery, London Tagged With: architectural design, craft, creativity, culture, embroidery, exhibition, inspiration, Lockwood Kipling, Mumbai, Museum, print, Rudyard Kipling, skill, structural designs, techniques, textiles, upholstery, V&A, Victoria & Albert

Hawthorne & Heaney in Conversation with Laura Lees

April 5, 2017 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Hawthorne & Heaney in Conversation with Laura Lees London Hand Embroidery

Fellow embroiderer, artist and designer Laura Lees is usually found creating highly colourful, fine art pieces furniture pieces but she took a little time away from her usual pursuits to speak with us about her work:

 

Hawthorne & Heaney: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today, we’d like to start by asking you the question we get asked quite a lot of how did you get into embroidery originally?
 
Laura Lees: I applied for a city and guilds embroidery course when I was 17 and fell in love with it then. I found my skills at drawing not exceptional but confident. I found a new level of ability with the needle and thread superior than that of drawing with a pencil.
H&H: And what is it that inspires you?
LL: The way you can transform something from the ordinary to the extraordinary. I love the feel of the threads, the sound the scissors make when they’re cutting fabric, the quality of line and the battering noise and speed of my beloved Bernina industrial sewing machine. most importantly, I love the clarity of heart and mind, the skill involved and the the fact that i am always learning.

H&H: What would you like your students to take away from your class?

LL: A real sense of achievement, pride and enjoyment.

H&H: Where can we see more of your works?

LL: I am preparing for an exhibition to take place at the end of the year, inspired by dutch author Joris Luyendijk s book ‘Swimmimg with Sharks’ which demistifys the financial world of the city banks. This resonated deeply with me, having amongst many others lost my fashion label in the 2008 crash.  I explore the ‘smoke and mirrors’ architectural language of finance by descending on what must be the least understood environment in Europe: the City of London. Taking the habitat of the so-called and self-described Masters of the Universe as my inspiration and translating the visceral world that lives and survives by opacity into tangeable abstract textiles.

H&H: Anything coming up in the pipeline you can share with us?

LL: I have recently launched The Mighty Stitch corporate workshops, The Mighty Stitch embroidery workshops teach teams a new skill, engendering engagement and motivation, ultimately creating a bespoke embroidered piece of art for your workplace. • Simple, supportive instruction • No experience needed, anyone can take part
Participants are encouraged to be playful and experimental – the workshops facilitate collaboration, communication, storytelling, mindfulness, and, most importantly, making a mess! Enhanced work environment we all need a bit of that, i think .

H&H: Thanks again, I’m sure we will be seeing much more of you with all that come up!

 

Hawthorne & Heaney in Conversation with Laura Lees London Hand Embroidery

Laura also has a Workshop coming up in April which will give the participants the opportunity to be a part of Laura’s work as the pieces created on the day will be encorporated into a new piece which will be exhibited at the RIBA as part of the London Festival of Architecture. Follow the link to secure your place for this intriguing and unusual opportunity:

Hawthorne & Heaney in Conversation with Laura Lees London Hand Embroidery

‘The Riba workshop is a full day, immersed in urban embroidery.  We will focus on how a city evolves through its inhabitants by learning freehand machine embroidery, hand stitching and applique. The outcome is to create an embroidered image of a building or architectural structure.  

Afterwards, I will explore how a city is fabricated by stitching together the individual and diverse pieces made by workshop participants into a new work to be exhibited a the RIBA as part of @londonfestivalofarchitecture. 

All artwork will be returned to the participants after the exhibition.
This workshop is part of the programme of events inspired by the exhibition ‘Mies van der Rohe and James Stirling: Circling the Square’. 

Urban Tapestry with Laura Lees, 22 & 23 April, 11am to 4pm
RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD
Booking at architecture.com/Workshop ‘

Hawthorne & Heaney in Conversation with Laura Lees London Hand Embroidery

All images credited to Laura Lees

Filed Under: Art, Embroidery, London Tagged With: architecture, art, artist, Collaboration, Designer, embroidery, furniture, Hawthorne & Heaney, inspiration, Laura lees, London, London festival of Architecture, machine embroidery, riba, stitch, tapestry, textiles, texture, workshop

Hawthorne & Heaney works on Script Inspired Goldwork Collar

October 11, 2016 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Here at Hawthorne & Heaney, we get a wide variety of projects to work on. One of the great things about working in such a creative industry is to see where people get their inspiration from and in turn having your own knowledge expanded. One such project is a collar piece which we worked on for a suit by a city tailor, where the inspiration was drawn from a little know archeological site called Mohenjo-daro or ‘Mound of the dead men’.

                Hawthorne & Heaney works on Script Inspired Goldwork Collar London Hand Embroidery

The symbols were taken from pieces that were discovered at the site which is in Pakistan from what is thought to be a stamp or seal. Located in the Indus Valley, the original name of the city is unknown but they are know to supposedly had the world’s first known toilets, along other developments in civilisation such as complex stone weights, elaborately drilled gemstone necklaces and exquisitely carved seal stones featuring one of the world’s stubbornly undeciphered scripts. It is this Indus script upon which we based the design which was then excicuted in antique styled goldwork techniques.

Hawthorne & Heaney works on Script Inspired Goldwork Collar London Hand Embroidery

The height of the raisings of the embroidery and the blue highlights really bring this piece to life, from the unicorn to the mask.

Hawthorne & Heaney works on Script Inspired Goldwork Collar London Hand Embroidery

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, Tailoring Tagged With: ancient civilisation, antique, goldwork, indus, indus valley, inspiration, mahenjo-daro, mound of the dead men, pakistan, script, Tailoring

Hawthorne & Heaney for Andrew Totah

June 30, 2016 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Hawthorne & Heaney for Andrew Totah London Hand EmbroideryThis year we were lucky enough to work with a very promising CSM MA student called Andrew Totah. We produced a series of embroideries for him which feature in his final collection which are so vibrant and exciting, we couldn’t wait to share them with you.Hawthorne & Heaney for Andrew Totah London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney for Andrew Totah London Hand Embroidery

Andrew Totah’s collection is based on his travels through South Africa and features a wonderfully vibrant colour palette which reflects the culture. Andrew’s collection is very much about telling a story through his designs so his girls are superheroes of a kind who modify their clothes and empower themselves by take back control of their city in the night. Hawthorne & Heaney for Andrew Totah London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney for Andrew Totah London Hand Embroidery

We produced a series of heavily machine embroidered patches to compliment his collection, all of which were his own graphic designs. Most of the embroideries are raised from the surface of the fabric, that combined with the punchiness of the colours makes a strong impression.Hawthorne & Heaney for Andrew Totah London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney for Andrew Totah London Hand Embroidery

To see more about the collection and the inspiration behind the designs, as well as the embroidery on the garments shown in the show at the end then have a watch of the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3bs5Yu_1gI

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, London Tagged With: 2016, andrew totah, badges, central saint martins, CSM, denim, design, embroidery, exhibition, fashion, fashion design, fashion designer, graduate, inspiration, London, MA, machine embroidery, Masters Degree, process, raised satin stitch, raising, show, university, video, womenswear

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