Modern & Historical Crafts
Through my interest in embroidery I have been inspired to find out more about other traditional crafts, particularly in the area of needlework. As part of this research I have become interested in localised crafts, such as Dorset buttons and Suffolk puffs, and this is something that I’m very keen to pursue further.
In summer 2009 I spent some time volunteering at the Museum of English Rural Life, looking at their collection of nineteenth century smocks. Working in a small team, we took photographs and measurements of every garment, and wrote up detailed reports on their design and condition.
I was recently interviewed by Kate Davies for the first issue of her magazine Textisles. I contributed to her "Meet the Maker" feature, where we talked about what I'd learned both from the original MERL smocks, and from making my own.