Textile Talk

Gail Cowley
  • 0.0 (0)
  • CRAFTS
  • MONTHLY

This podcast is for craft and textile enthusiasts all around the world. We're constantly adding great interviews with textile artists, tutors and retailers plus a little advice on our own distance study courses in craft and much more. The School of Stitched Textiles is the largest UK provider of City & Guilds Accredited Textile based distance learning courses. You can find out site at https://www.sofst.org/. We also host the Stitch Directory, which showcases independent craft retailers and suppliers from around the world https://www.sofst.org/stitch-directory/.

  1. Artist Interview - Wen Redmond

    2 HR AGO

    Artist Interview - Wen Redmond

    “Making my art allows me to tap into levels of perception, becoming more aware, more conscious, & more grateful. I’ve loved photography my entire life. This brings a tender sensitivity to one’s surroundings. I make the art then the art makes me.” New England’s internationally recognized artist, Wen Redmond’s fascination with photography finds expression through printing original manipulated photographs directly onto created mixed media substrates, and specially treated natural fibers to craft unique photographic textural constructions. Imaginative presentations add to the pioneering innovations and giving her work edge. Every work generates an artistic tension, followed by the excitement of the actual creation of the work. A dialogue is started, and the work becomes real. She calls this work, Digital Mixed Media. Redmond’s work has been exhibited in major internationally recognized exhibitions, including Quilt National, Visions Museum CA, SAQA’s International Exhibit’s, Fiberart International, Fantastic Fibers, Quilts=Art=Quilts, Intersect Chicago, Excellence In Fibers, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, Art Quilt Elements, New Legacies, World of Threads, CA among other juried, invitational and solo exhibitions. Her work has won awards at New Legacies CO, Fiber Arts IX, Sebastopol, CA, Maryland Federation of Art, Maria V. Howard Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC , Fantastic Fibers and Visions Art Museum’s Quilt Japan Award among others. She has appeared on Quilting Arts TV, produced Interweave DVD Workshops and made an appearance on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims in 2025. Her work has traveled the US, UK, Europe, Japan, and Australia, and is part of the permanent collections of Marbaum at San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, CA, Maria V. Howard Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC, New England Quilt Museum, and private collections. She has been featured in numerous magazines and books including her own published books, Digital Fiber Art and Mixed Media Masterpiece and Explorations with Collage- Merging Photographs, Paper and Fiber with Schiffer Publishing. She currently splits her time between North Carolina and New Hampshire. School of Stitched Textiles' website https://www.sofst.org/ Wen's Site and contact details. Website http://www.wenredmond.com/ BOOKS- Explorations with Collage! Merging Photographs, Paper & Fiber and Digital Fiber Art: Combine Photos & Fabric - Create Your Own Mixed-Media Masterpiece DVD- Digital Imagery in Fiber Art: Using Textured Backgrounds for a Painterly Effect https://www.interweave.com/store/digital-imagery-in-fiber-art-download-in-hd FaceBook- https://www.facebook.com/greymooncove Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/wenredmond/?hl=en Etsy UpLIFTmeNTs Shop- https://www.etsy.com/shop/WenRedmondArt U-Tube channel- https://www.youtube.com/user/wenredmond/videos Artful Home- https://www.artfulhome.com/navigate?searchTerm=redmond Professional Member of SAQA- https://www.saqa.com/art/juried-artists/wen-redmond Surface Design Org https://www.surfacedesign.org/members/premium-gallery/?sauthor=wen%20redmond Fine Art America- https://fineartamerica.com/featured/whispers-of-the-positive-wen-redmond.html New Hampshire Art Association- https://www.nhartassociation.org/member-directory League of NH Craftsmen si

    57 min
  2. Artist Interview - Cassandra Dias

    4 FEB

    Artist Interview - Cassandra Dias

    Cassandra was born in Santa Barbara, California in 1985, and has been creating art since she was old enough to pick up a crayon and put it to paper. She started her self-taught embroidery journey in January 2020 with a bag of vintage DMC thread and quickly became passionate about the mindful work of creating her landscape hoops, developing her style over the following months during the pandemic lockdown. Her work has since been reviewed on Colossal, My Modern Met, and School of Stitched Textiles. She has been featured in print in Love Embroidery Magazine, The Montecito Journal, and Studio Visit Book, Vol. 3 by Arts To Hearts Project. She also taught an online workshop for members of The Stitch Club on TextileArtist.org and presented live with Creative Spark Online Learning. Her work was selected to be included in the group exhibition, Open Call: All Media 2025, at Studio Channel Islands in Camarillo, California. And, most recently, she wrote her first book, Richly Stitched Landscape Embroidery: Mastering Thread Painted Scenes, scheduled to be released on April 28, 2026. Cassandra lives and works in Camarillo, California, where she continues to produce original art pieces, and shares her love of hand embroidery on her social pages. School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/ Cassandra's Links: - Website: https://www.cassandramdias.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassiemdias - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cassiemdias - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassiemdias - Pre-Order Richly Stitched Landscape Embroidery: https://rstyle.me/+vPmLRLQK7zZWBsXXrgvZjg - My Favorite Embroidery Products: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/Cassiemdias/productsets/11eec2ff5596b721968b0242ac110003

    53 min
  3. Artist Interview - Kandy G Lopez

    14 JAN

    Artist Interview - Kandy G Lopez

    Kandy G Lopez was born in 1985 in  New Jersey, USA and is a multidisciplinary artist exploring cultural identity, representation, and power through fiber art, portraiture, painting, and mixed media. Born to Dominican parents, she draws from her experience navigating multiple cultural landscapes. Lopez holds a BFA in Painting and a BS in Marketing/Management from the University of South Florida and earned her MFA in Painting from Florida Atlantic University in 2014. Her background in both fine arts and business informs her meticulous material investigations and strategic engagement with art institutions. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Arts at Nova Southeastern University, where she integrates critical theory with hands-on material practice. Website: kandyglopez.com  Instagram: @kandyglopez School of Stitched Textiles

    1h 4m
  4. Artist Interview - Carolyn Forster

    03/12/2025

    Artist Interview - Carolyn Forster

    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 @quiltingonthego School of Stitched Textiles www.sofst.org

    1h 12m
  5. Artist Interview - Robert Ossant and Jessica Pile

    12/11/2025

    Artist Interview - Robert Ossant and Jessica Pile

    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 Pile Born 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 Barrow https://www.instagram.com/michaelbarrowphoto/ Robert and Jess's new book, The Art of Couture Embroidery, is available from 6th November in the UK https://amzn.to/3J9UtXc School of Stitchex Textiles's course details are at https://www.sofst.org/

    1h 2m
  6. Textile Artist - Hannah Lamb

    15/10/2025

    Textile Artist - Hannah Lamb

    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.uk School of Stitched Textiles https://www.sofst.org/

    1h 8m
  7. Artist Interview - Emily Jo Gibbs

    24/09/2025

    Artist Interview - Emily Jo Gibbs

    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 @emilyjogibbs Photo credit Lol Johnson School of Stitched Textiles www.sofst.org

    1h 3m
  8. Artist Interview - Fleur Woods

    20/08/2025

    Artist Interview - Fleur Woods

    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/fleurwoodsart www.sofst.org

    1h 6m
See All (42)

About

This podcast is for craft and textile enthusiasts all around the world. We're constantly adding great interviews with textile artists, tutors and retailers plus a little advice on our own distance study courses in craft and much more. The School of Stitched Textiles is the largest UK provider of City & Guilds Accredited Textile based distance learning courses. You can find out site at https://www.sofst.org/. We also host the Stitch Directory, which showcases independent craft retailers and suppliers from around the world https://www.sofst.org/stitch-directory/.

Information

  • Creator
    Gail Cowley
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Gail Cowley
  • Show Website
    Textile Talk

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