Programme of Friday Night Talks
2025 – 2026
We are looking forward to an exciting new programme for the year ahead.
Friday evening meetings are held from 7.15pm -We open the doors at 7:15pm for members to catch up and visitors to get acquainted, help themselves to a cup of tea, and shop the sales tables. Talks start at 7:45pm and we leave at 9:30pm.
We look forward to seeing you !
Venue: St Mark’s C of E Church Hall, Church Hill Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 4UG Map
Surbiton Station is at the bottom of St Marks Hill. The following buses stop near to the Church Hall:
K1. K2, K4, 281, 418, 406
To note: in special circumstances , we may need to change speakers at the last minute – please check ahead.
Non-members:
There is a charge for your visit and if you become a member on the night, you can deduct that charge from the membership fee. thanks.
Kingston University Fashion Students attend Talks for free. Please book ahead.
photos are copyright to the artists.
2025
28th November 2025
Livia Papiernik
The Embroidered Realms of Livia Papiernik
Through this one hour talk. Artist Livia Papiernik will share her inspiration and process behind her embroidered realms. From her studies at the Royal School of Needlework and the Royal College of Art, Livia will explain the foundations of her techniques, and how she challenges her craft through material and scale. She will talk us through the emotional stories imbedded in her work, and how her passion for storytelling and history fuels her practice.
2026
Thursday 8th January 2026
Mandy Pattullo
*Textile Collage
*please note this is a bonus online talk for members
Mandy Pattullo is a textile artist from Northumberland. She primarily uses old fabrics and pieces of quilt to put together her textile collages. She loves to unpick both garments and old pieces of quilt to discover the layers within and she then applies or patchworks these fabrics, which bear the shadow of the needle of the previous stitcher, together. Mostly she create flat pieces, which include bird and animal portraits, but she also works in fabric book forms and embellishes garments with her collage technique. In this talk Mandy will illustrate her love of old textiles and quilts and tell the story of how she has come to work in this way. Mandy is the author of two books published by Batsford – Textile Collage 2016 and Textiles Transformed 2020.
23rd January 2026
Richard Box
Richard’s Adventures in Embroidery
Richard will talk about his work over the last 60 years particularly his having discovered textile art way back in 1964
27th February 2026
Katy Emck – Fine Cell Work
Teaching Needlework in Prisons
A description of the purpose, origins and activities of Britain’s largest prison enterprise training and paying men and women in prison to do museum-worthy embroidery and selling their work to the general public
27th March 2026
Cas Holmes
Embroidering the Everyday
Cas Holmes is one of UK’s most renowned textile and mixed media artists, join her as she discusses her artistic practice and her life in stitch. Hear how she has shared her experiences and methods through her book, Embroidering the Everyday encouraging us all to look to our own environments and personal references for inspiration.
24th April 2026
Beatrice Mayfield
Capturing Place Through Texture & Stitch
A talk illustrating the development of my work, explaining the inspiration, processes and materials I use to create art works or wearable pieces.
22nd May 2026
Ali Ferguson
Cloth Stories
Stories lie at the very heart of my textile practice. I often say that I am more interested in ‘why’ a textile piece is made than ‘how’ it is made! In this talk I’ll explain why mind maps (or Threads of Thought as I call them) are important to me and tell the stories behind some of my favourite pieces of work.
Members Evening – 26th June 2026
24th July 2026
Jayne Emerson
My Life in Textiles
A journey through my creative life, including studying Textiles at Central St Martins, having my own upcycled fashion label, writing 6 books, selling designs to international fashion and interior companies, being on TV with Kirstie Allsopp and sharing my experimental ideas through online courses and my group the No Rules Textile Society
AGM
25th September 2026
Kingston Stitchers 