Textile Talk

Carolyn Forster is a quilt designer, teacher and author from Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Since self-publishing her first book, “Quilting On the Go” in 2007 Carolyn has gone on to write many more patchwork and quilting books with Search Press in the UK and Landauer Publishing in the USA.She has been a regular project contributor for magazines in the UK, including Todays Quilter, as well as abroad.Carolyn's quilts are an eclectic mix of fabrics, a posh way to say she makes scrappy quilts, and they always have their roots from some point in the past, being inspired by quilt makers who have gone before us. Accessibility is Carolyn’s key philosophy with her teaching, demystifying techniques to allow every quilter to discover their own voice.Carolyn combines her passion for travel and teaching, having been a regular teacher at Quilt Festival Houston, as well as for The American Quilters Society. She continues teaching in the UK exploring new areas and meeting new quilters both at home and abroad and is a textiles tutor for the craft holiday company Stitchtopia.Carolyn's website is https://www.carolynforster.co.uk/ Instagram is @quiltingonthegoSchool of Stitched Textiles www.sofst.org

Robert Ossant Author and fashion historian Robert Ossant hails from Lancashire and moved to London to work in newspapers, getting his big break at the Daily Mirror. Feeling disillusioned with tabloid life, he joined London embroidery house Hand & Lock as their communications manager in 2013. It was at the 258-year-old atelier that he became close friends with co-author Jessica Jane Pile and developed his love and passion for embroidery.Regularly inspired by the designers, artisans, makers and artists he met, Robert enrolled at night school and completed a Master’s in the History of Art. Now, equipped with cultural studies insights and academic frameworks, he applies the tools of art analysis and interpretation to all areas of the fashion industry. From haute couture catwalk show analysis to researching Queen Victoria’s wardrobe, his interests and expertise span both contemporary and historical style.Now based in France, his freelance work has appeared in Vogue, Marie Claire, Selvedge, The Independent, Forbes and Newsweek, and he has worked with international fashion brands including McQueen, Saint Laurent, Gucci and Balenciaga. He has also spoken at the World Embroidery Conference, the Chelsea Flower Show and the National Gallery on embroidery as a vital expression of art.Whether researching, writing or talking about embroidery, he brings personality, humour and intellectual rigour - making an often-overlooked artistic expression feel vivid, relevant and alive.Jessica Jane PileBorn in Kent, Jessica Jane Pile is an author, designer, educator and technical embroidery specialist based in London. After graduating from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a degree in Costume construction for Performance, she joined historic embroidery house Hand & Lock. Within a few years, she was appointed Managing Director, becoming the youngest person to hold that role.During her twelve-year tenure, she relaunched the embroidery school, expanded the annual embroidery competition into a globally recognised art and fashion event, and managed complex commissions for major fashion houses including Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Dior and Vivienne Westwood. She also worked on large-scale, high-profile embroidery projects for the 2012 London Olympics, The Diamond Jubilee and Kings Coronation.In 2018 while working at Hand & Lock, she authored Fashion Embroidery: Embroidery Techniques and Inspiration for Haute‑Couture Clothing, drawing on her deep knowledge of high-level embroidery. The book’s success led to a demand for a follow-up, and Jess approached Robert to bring ‘The Art of Couture Embroidery’ to life In 2023, she left Hand & Lock to found Norica Studios, an embroidery studio focusing on bespoke embroidery for interior design and fashion. The business she runs with her sister Eleanor, and they are currently developing a new product range launching in 2026. Whether leading projects, teaching or writing, she combines technical skill with a calm, confident tone that has made her a trusted voice in contemporary embroidery.Photographer credit is: Michael Barrowhttps://www.instagram.com/michaelbarrowphoto/Robert and Jess's new book, The Art of Couture Embroidery, is available from 6th November in the UK

Fascinated by textiles and the stories they can tell, Hannah Lamb’s practice is a personal dialogue with materials. From her studio in Bingley, West Yorkshire she experiments with layers of imagery and surface. Print, stitch and deconstruction techniques are carefully combined to create both sculptural installation works and smaller, more intimate pieces. She is particularly known for her use of cyanotype printing to create shadow-like prints on textiles.Hannah’s interest in archives, collections and the heritage of textile manufacturing in the North of England has led to a number of collaborations and commissions, including ‘Lasting Impressions’ (2016 & 2017) with Claire Wellesley-Smith at Salts Mill, ‘Fragment of a Dress’, commissioned by the Brontë Parsonage Museum and ‘A Cloth for The Lost Mills’ (2024) for 509 Arts with Hannah Robson. She has a love of historical buildings and interesting industrial spaces and enjoys situating her work in non-gallery settings. Hannah exhibits widely and is an exhibiting member of the 62 Group of Textile Artists.Alongside her work as an exhibiting artist, Hannah is a lecturer and author. She teaches the Foundation Degree and BA Textiles Practice programmes at Bradford School of Art, Bradford College. She has also delivered talks, workshops and masterclasses for Gawthorpe Hall, FibreArts Australia, Harewood House, Hope & Elvis, DeMontfort University, The Textile Study Group and The 62 Group. Her first solo book Poetic Cloth: Creating Meaning in Textile Art was published by Batsford in 2019. Her second book Unfolding Cloth: Inspiration from Historical Textiles is released 11 September 2025.Hannah's website www.hannahlamb.co.ukSchool of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

Emily Jo Gibbs has established an international reputation for her delicate silk organza appliqué. In her current practice Emily creates hand-stitched Portraits and Still Lifes with a graphic quality, observing the quiet beauty of the overlooked. Gently advocating The Value of Making by creating work that celebrates people who make things; their skill, dexterity, material knowledge and their creative problem solving. Emily first started working to this theme for Collect Open in 2018 She makes work to commission and for exhibitions and projects. She is currently Artist in residence at Trinity Buoy Wharf.She is a member of the 62 Group of Textile Artists, Contemporary Applied Arts and the Artworkers Guild. Between 1993 and 2006 Emily made luxury handbags. Works from this period are in The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Crafts Council Collection and The Museum of Fine Art, Houston.instagram and Facebook are @emilyjogibbsPhoto credit Lol JohnsonSchool of Stitched Textiles www.sofst.org

Fleur Woods is a Contemporary Fibre Artist, Author, Teacher and Mentor based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Inspired by nature and drawn to fibres and textiles Fleur has developed her 'stitched paintings' through a decade of experimentation in her studio. Largely self taught she creates intuitively and her works evolve organically, often combining concept development and research as the pieces evolve. Stitch became a large part of her practice, making marks with thread has overtaken brush work due to the beautiful texture and dimension it brought to her pieces. A collector of all things vintage and pre-loved many textiles and found objects are repurposed into her maximalist works.The Untamed Thread, Fleur's popular book is part journey from corporate world to full time artist and part creative inspiration and guide to the art of living creatively and developing an art practice. When she's not in the studio creating originals, dying wools & textiles or creating other projects, Fleur can be found on the road teaching in person workshops / online gathering with her Joyful Embroidery students or enjoying creative conversation mentoring sessions. https://www.fleurwoodsart.com/https://www.instagram.com/fleurwoodsart/https://www.facebook.com/fleurwoodsartwww.sofst.org