Programme of Friday Night Talks
2023 – 2024
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.
2024
24th May 2024
Stephanie Smart, House of Embroidered Paper
Stephanie Smart is a fine artist who works with paper textiles making life-sized garments entirely from paper and thread. They are created using free-machine embroidery, hand-stitching, drawing and applied decoration. Every piece is accompanied by detailed research and is inspired by historical fashion and social and national history from different eras as well as the stories and memories of individuals. Her most recent collection The Regency Wardrobe was shown at Firle Place in the autumn of 2021, at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton in the summer of 2022 and at Chertsey and Worthing Museums where it was seen by approximately 140,000 people. Stephanie’s ambition for every piece of work is that it be: aesthetically beautiful, technically ambitious and intellectually interesting. In this talk Stephanie will describe the background to her work with paper textiles and her establishment of The House of Embroidered Paper, which she describes as part fashion house, part fine art studio. She will show images of particular pieces from The Regency Wardrobe and describe their inspiration and her working practice.
28th June 2024
Members’ Evening, Exhibition Preparation
26th July 2024
Anita Bell, Finding Inspiration
Talks about her work stitching papers, what has inspired her, different techniques she uses, exhibitions and how it has developed over the years.
26th April 2024
Emily Tull, A Stitch in Time
22nd March 2024
Bridget Bailey, A Making Safari
Bridget talks about her early experiences, her background in textiles and millinery and how these have influenced her current work, which is inspired by encounters with plants and insects on her allotment.
From textiles to fly-tying, and cat whiskers to millinery, her artworks and sculptures grow from the creative compost of her making life and demonstrate how techniques and materials transform when they combine and cross-pollinate.
23rd February 2024
Elizabeth Ashdown, Passementerie: An endangered yet thoroughly contemporary craft
Crete, Galoon, frogging and gimp…the mysterious and arcane world of Passementerie is steeped in rich traditions, yet is hardly known about today.
Join one of the last remaining Passementerie makers, Elizabeth Ashdown, to learn about her fascinating, contemporary approach to this heritage art form and hear about how she is giving Passementerie modern relevance.
Non-members please click HERE to book or to find out further information.
26th Jan 2024
Richard McVetis, The Act of Making
British artist Richard McVetis’ installations, drawings, and embroideries span the congruity of macro and micro, often monochromatic and labour-intensive. His meticulously stitched multiples of dots, lines, and crosses record time and map space.
Richard uses making to understand the world, to give material form to abstract ideas, and make the intangible tangible. More recently, he has taken inspiration from his family’s mining heritage to investigate a story of race and class.
24th November 2023 – Caroline Bartlett
From Here to There and Back Again
Caroline will share her textile creative practice and how her work has evolved through responding to various museum collections and historic and industrial sites. These include the Whitworth textile collection, Salts Mill and more recent work at Crafts Study Centre in Farnham. Non-members please click HERE to book or to find out further information.
25th November 2023, 10.30am – 4.30pm , St. John the Baptist Church Hall, Robin Hood Lane, Kingston Vale, SW15 3PY
Members’ Christmas Fundraiser for the 2024 Exhibition
Images from all artists are subject to copyright.
27th Jan 2023
Sophie Levi-Kallin, Sew the Scene
Sophie will describe her inspiration and method behind her art. This will include: how she chooses which scenes to sew and her compositions, collecting and selecting fabrics, using the sewing machine stitch/embroidery to attach the pieces and add depth, definition and details.
24th February 2023 – Amanda Cobbett
Stitching the Forest Floor
Amanda will discuss the basis of her inspiration, which comes from a love of nature and her surroundings in the Surrey Hills. She will outline her working process and materials used to create her sculptures using free machine embroidery and a selection of threads, papers and silks.
24th March 2023 – Lucy Martin
Hand & Lock Embroideries
History of Hand & Lock
– Specialist embroidery techniques (goldwork, tambour beading etc.)
Couture Fashion, Interiors, Military & Ceremonial
The Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery / Embroidered Arts
28th April 2023 – Linda Miller
In Stitches
Linda will talk through the joys of being a practicing textile artist, gathering ideas, working with galleries and shops, gaining private and public commissions, and working towards shows and exhibitions. Accompanying her dialog are her images of her machine embroideries whose naiveté and charm will capture all audiences of any age.
26th May 2023 – Emily Jo Gibbs
Our Previous Years:
The Value of Making
A tale of Emily’s career from making unusual evening bags, to developing her style of hand stitched layered organza portraits.
23rd June 2023 – Members Evening (non-members are very welcome)
A chance to meet the members – a fun evening with lots of chat and:
Mini-workshop
Collections
Members work on view
Sales table
28th July 2023 – Lora Avedian
Stitch in Bloom
The talk will be about Lora’s education and how she developed her practice and how she has developed it into a career. She will go through some key projects she has done so far and what she has planned for the future.
22nd September 2023 – AGM
Annual General Meeting, Plus, presentations:
New Programme – 2023/24
KS Banner Design Reveal
KS 2024 Exhibition Group Project
27th October 2023 – Tina Pedick
Lace Beginnings to Pinewood Studios
The talk will cover lace making history with examples. How Tina began lace making and became a teacher, including working at Pinewood Studios.
Non-members please click HERE to book or to find out further information.
Our Previous Year:
25th November 2022 –
Janet Jones, presentation on Ecclesiastical Embroidery
A gallop through the development of Clerical Vestments and textiles, especially those of the English Church since Christianity arrived in the British Isles, and how I came to be involved in making some examples.
28th October 2022 – Kate Findley – Working in Series; Hadron Collider quilts, gardens and landscapes
This talk encompasses a number of different styles and series of work including highlights from the Hadron Collider Quilt series, the Henley series and more recently work on landscapes and gardens using the confetti technique . Kate Findlay trained in industrial textiles at Kidderminster College and worked in the carpet industry before retraining as a teacher where she taught design and technology. In addition she developed her own practice and after being inspired by the Hadron Collider she spent 5 years making large art quilts to much acclaim. She is currently looking to the natural world for inspiration encompassing wildlife especially birds, landscapes and woodland.
She says Art is a complete passion and is probably the most important thing in her life. She travels extensively giving talks and running workshops.
23rd September 2022 – AGM and mini-workshops
29th July 2022 – Joan Matthews – My Route to an Exhibition
Looking forward to tonight’s meeting with our own Joan, Chair of Kingston Stitchers. (this is a change to previously advertised).
Joan’s route to an exhibition is the theme of her talk – from design beginnings to the last 3 exhibitions she has shown with textile artist’s group, Fabrications.
She has presented this talk to other groups and we look forward to hearing her share her knowledge with us tonight. 
24th June 2022 – Members’ Evening – a social evening – time to share skills and have a chat with members of Kingston Stitchers, and there may be cakes!
27th May 2022 – Sara Cook – Bojagi-
from Ancient Traditions to Contemporary Interpretations
An introduction to the historical significance and symbolism of Bojagi this ancient craft form Korea and how contemporary textile artists are interpreting these ideas in their work
29th April 2022 – Rob Jones – An Exploration of Japanese Textiles
An exploration of a number of Japanese textile techniques and the history of Shibori, Katagami stenciling Sashiko and Kogin Embroidery, Boro and Kasuro woven work. Rob will talk about his trips to Japan and present textiles from his extensive collection gathered on his travels in Japan. Rob studied in Japan under the indigo guru Bryan Whitehead and has spent a great deal of time in Japan collecting beautiful pieces as well as authentic supplies for his own practice. His passion is finding the new in the old building on traditions and centuries of skill to take his work in new directions combining techniques and inventing his own forms He loves colour and pattern and he has a keen eye for detail . He starts every day with a meditation to clear his mind to help him focus on the tasks ahead.
25th March 2022 – Diana Springall – Embroidery as a Way of Life
Diana will talk about her long embroidery practice as well as the large collection of
embroidery that she has collected which she has recently given to Sunbury
Embroidery Gallery. Trained as painter but realised the importance of adding craft skills especially embroidery. She is a passionate teacher and has often said ’I will show you’ when asked what do you mean by embroidery. She started collecting contemporary embroidery from graduate students, colleagues and peers so she could show real work to her students, She believes that the fine art world can regard crafts as lower in artistic importance and believes this is an injustice and is mindful and ready to find ways of saying we are all equally ’fine’
25th February 2022 – Shinjini Thakar – Folk Art from India
Shinjini will talk about various art forms; Madhuran folk art from eastern Bihar; Gond tribal art from central India; Kalamkari art from Andhra Pradesh; Cheriyal folk art from Telangana. Method paints used what they symbolise and how this folk art has become famous in international art society. In addition, she will talk about kantha embroidery – its origins and practices . Shinjini was born in Kolkata India. Her interest in drawing and painting started early in childhood. She studied at Art School and won several state and national prizes. Her work has been shown widely .
28th January 2022 – Amarjeet K. Nandhra – Finding My Visual Language
An illustrative talk of her creative journey, exploring the ideas that inspire her thought processes and work. She will discuss the starting point of an idea, how she uses drawing and sampling to inform the making. Her creative journey allows her to find her personal visual language, create a signature and integrity to her practice. Amarjeet is an artist and educator. Her work explores the narrative of cloth within a social. economic and cultural setting and examines the hidden meaning looking beyond the sensibility of textiles. She has a passion for print.
Kingston Stitchers 