Based in the heart of the New Forest, I have been stitching since I was a child. I have an MA in Conservation and Restoration of the Decorative Arts, which I follow by training at the Royal School of Needlework, Hampton Court Palace as a specialist in the historical art of hand embroidery. I graduated with a distinction and I work as a tutor for the RSN across their programs.
However, primarily I run my own embroidery business Cloud Juno. I work as a freelance embroiderer and tutor all over the country and abroad, creating my own designs for kits and running workshops and holidays with a variety of organisations. I have also developed a wonderful online community of stitchers and teach regular Zoom classes with students all around the world. I have published two books ’50 Blackwork Patterns: Book 1 & Book 2’, which have been very positively received and are available to purchase in various countries.
As well as teaching, I am keen to develop my own personal portfolio of work and I have been lucky enough to have been recognised for my work in a variety of ways. In 2017, I won a church kneeler design competition for the Worshipful Company of Broderers, whereby my design was made up into a kneeler and presented to St. Olave’s Church, Hart Street, London. In 2018, I won the category for Raised Embroidery in an internationally prestigious competition, run in conjunction with Inspirations Magazine and the Beat Around the Bush convention. In 2022, my work ‘Bottled Curiosity’ was included in the exhibition ‘The Art of Embroidery’ for the Worshipful Company of Broderers at the Bankside Gallery in London. In 2023, I won third place for my hand embroidered Blackwork portrait ‘Ayanna’ with the internationally renowned Mr. Stitch Competition. And presently, my embroidered stumpwork box, ‘An English Sonnet’, is on display at Parham House & Gardens for their 2024 season.
My personal aim is to encourage the art of hand embroidery making it accessible to all whilst fulfilling my own potential by capturing nature and the beauty of the world around us with my humble needle and thread.
