Embroidery London

Hawthorne & Heaney for the Tiffany Gala

August 12, 2022 by Connie Mabbott

We recently had the pleasure of embroidering bespoke napkins for the August Tiffany Gala.

The event was organised by Alison Price Co. at the National Gallery in London’s Trafalgar Square, a beautiful setting for luxury cocktails and an evening meal.

Hawthorne & Heaney for the Tiffany Gala London Hand Embroidery — Tiffany Gala at the National Gallery | Photo by Alison Price Co.

We were commissioned to embroider the ‘Tiffany ‘ logo in aqua blue onto 180 napkins, which were used to adorn every dinner place at the event. Each was decorated with a Tiffany napkin, flowers, candles and extravagant tableware for a truly opulent event.

Drawn & Formed Exhibition

August 5, 2022 by Intern

The Goldsmith’s Centre’s Drawn + Formed exhibition; in partnership with the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers

This exhibition explores the history and contemporary uses of hand-drawn wire in embroidery, jewellery and silversmithing. London was first introduced to gold and silver wire drawing by craftsmen from Europe around the 15th century, however, there is reference to combining metal wire with textiles as far back as the writing of the bible.

Wire drawing is the process of hand making wire for jewellery and silversmithing, using a draw bench at room temperature. The draw bench reduces the thickness of the metal by forcing it through a series of draw plates, although today metal thread is most commonly mass manufactured using moulds. The resulting wire is polished and coated with a precious metal, after which the wire can be drawn and reduced to a tenth of the size of a human hair!

This necklace by Teri Howes (Image 1) was inspired by the double helix structure of DNA. The use of contrasting gold and grey/black filaments highlights the helical structure more obviously. Howes uses crochet to create her jewellery pieces, an unlikely technique when using wire, but very effective.

Drawn & Formed Exhibition London Hand Embroidery — Image 1: DNA Necklace by Teri Howes – 18ct gold, fine silver, oxidised fine silver, grey diamonds, black diamonds | Photo taken by Cadi Williams

This display case (Image 2) was almost hidden in plain sight as you entered the exhibition and it was only when I returned to the entrance that I noticed the familiar items from the exhibition advert. They were smaller than I expected but this made the intricacy even more impressive.

I can see why the curators chose the stunning Tiger by Laura Baverstock to promote the exhibition; I noticed I wasn’t the only one admiring it whilst there. The Lenticular Brooches by Andrew Lam were packed with scale-like beads, appearing like textured fur from afar.

This goldwork design titled Morphosis by artist Annalisa Middleton (Image 3) immediately caught my eye due to the striking contrast of bright colours against the shimmering gold. This has to be my favourite piece from the exhibition. Middleton took inspiration from cellular biology and marine life and combined this with her interest in futuristic technologies to create this fantastical, organic, data capsule. The artist describes the design as a ‘portal’ for the viewer to be immersed in her world. From a biological perspective you could interpret the main feature of the design as a virus or a cell filled with a variety of organelles.

Image 4 shows embroidery in a more unusual frame in the form of a used alarm clock. Pankhurst started her alarm clock series with Lockdown O’Clock, an alarm clock with an embroidered face and great feathery wings, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. This most recent addition to the alarm clock series was inspired by nature and growth, something that many appreciated more throughout lockdown.

Another personal favourite was this rose gold, three-dimensional piece titled Embrace by Naomi Aindow (Images 5 & 6). I kept coming back to this display and would notice extra details every time. This body adornment piece is part of Aindow’s Spores of Life collection inspired by the intricate details of lichen and moss. The focus of this shoulder piece is enhancing the scale of these details through textured hand stitching and beading. I particularly like the contrast between the smooth, shiny, glass beads and the soft, comfortable fields of french knots. The hand embroidered forms remind me of the diverse species seen in coral reef photography.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to The Goldsmith’s Centre and would highly recommend it to anyone else interested in goldwork, silversmithing and body adornment. My favourite design was easily the goldwork Morphosis piece by Annalisa Middleton, due to its biological context and personal connection to the artist. The exhibition has inspired me to be more adventurous and explore more obscure materials and processes in my practice.

Written by Cadi Williams

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Exhibition details:

The Goldsmith’s Centre, 42 Britton Street, London EC1M 5AD

Free admission

16 June 2022 – 15 September 2022, 9am – 6pm

Ceremonial Embroidery

April 7, 2022 by Connie Mabbott

Embroidery is a popular addition for university, legal and military ceremonial dress for robes and uniforms. For small scale commissions from private enthusiasts to full sets of robes for well know heritage companies Hawthorne & Heaney have the privilege of working on ceremonial embroidery for projects all over the world.

Ceremonial Embroidery London Hand Embroidery — Gold cut work cuff embroidery

We pride ourselves on our ability to produce traditional cut work and purl embroidery at home and overseas with reliable lead times and faultless quality. Our experts have over 40 years experience in the ceremonial gold work industry making our product and service unparalleled.

In contrast to this we also run a digital embroidery workshop and are able to offer incredible results, with extremely short lead times. With lots of experimentation we have developed our own unique way to create the traditional hand embroidery and gold work effects using the digital process. These techniques and skills are what gives our small team the ability to produce stunning, large scale pieces within a very tight turn around.

If you wish to get in touch with us about embroidery for ceremonial dress, head to our contact page for our contact details and we will be delighted to help with your enquiry.

Corporate Branding Embroidery

March 28, 2022 by Connie Mabbott

Do you have an offsite to prepare for or just want to treat you team ? Hawthorne & Heaney are a mayfair based embroiderer specialising in quality embroidery and fast lead times. We dedicate the same attention to customer service as we do to embroidery detail and our expert team are on hand to consult and find solutions for your branded goods.

We are happy to work on pre bought items and also help source where needed. Being based in Mayfair makes us very flexible on urgent orders and because of our location we can offer a central London consultation service and an opportunity to check samples before actioning large orders.

Our team has many years experience working with companies and their corporate identity, we often personalize items with initials on a range of pieces, from shoes and bags, to sweatshirts, polo shirts and gilets – perfect for showing your appreciation to hard working staff members and valued customers.

Previous well known clients include Boots, Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, Ella’s Kitchen and many local finance and law firms.

To enquire about your corporate brand embroidery, get in touch here.

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Learn To Embroider Like Us With Our London Embroidery School Classes

February 25, 2022 by Connie Mabbott

You may have heard of our sister company, London Embroidery School. Located in Central London, London Embroidery School is dedicated to delivering high standard embroidery classes for all abilities.

‘Embroidery is a lifelong skill and even if you are just starting out, it is something that will stay with you, to be passed down through generations. Perfect for slowing down a busy mind, we teach hundreds of techniques on demand. Our online classes can be stopped, restarted, replayed and paused all so you can fit them into even the craziest schedule.’ -London Embroidery School

Offering a wide range of classes online which all start with the basics, you can learn the embroidery techniques we use daily, with no previous experience in the comfort of your own home, in your own time.

Hand Monogramming Classes

At Hawthorne & Heaney, we work on a lot of hand monograms for luxury items like shirts and silk pyjamas. You can learn this skill yourself with the London Embroidery School online classes. Starting with part one, which kicks off with the most basic form of hand monogramming, and moving into more difficult techniques with part two and three.

Goldwork Classes

We are very well known for our gold work skills at Hawthorne & Heaney, and through our sister company London Embroidery School, you can learn this technique from one of our expert team members through online classes. Starting you off with an introduction to gold work to get you started, there are 5 classes to choose from varying in skill level depending on how confident you’re feeling.

Don’t forget to share your creations on social media and tag us on @londonembschool so we can see your progress!

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

March 24, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

As a member of the V&A, I try to visit most of the temporary exhibitions they put on in the fine institution that is the Victoria and Albert Museum. At the start of March, they opened their doors on their newest addition ‘Kimono:Kyoto to Catwalk‘.

Held in North Court of the building, this exhibition brings a little Asian influence to their corner of the world. The Kimono is a fascinating piece of social history, carrying so much culture and responsibility within its relatively simple folds.

Kosode: From Edo period demonstrating Yuzen dyeing (Cloth tube fitted with a metal tip used to apply a thin ribbon of rice paste, then dyes are brushed within the paste boundaries) 1730-70

I won’t go into all the history as you should be able to make your own discovery of the exhibition and enjoy it fresh yourself, but I will show you a few of my highlights which may stir your interest. For an embroiderer or anyone interested in textiles, the exhibition is full of wonderful examples of hand embroidery and lesser known textile techniques. They draw a lot of attention to them, which was something I had not necessarily expected of the exhibition but was delighted to realise. As the basic form of a kimono is very clean and unfussy, once the structure of the garment has been addressed and the pattern explained there is not very much more to say about the shape. It is the varying and evolving elements of the details displayed on them which holds all the intrigue. Even though this is a fashion exhibition it is the textiles that does the lion’s share of the talking.

Design for a Kimono 1800-50

The historical examples at the start of the exhibition were very strong, the pattern books were a surprise but of course it makes great sense to sell such a garment in this way, with patterns being chosen and customised from a book rather than remade examples. The women of the elite military class could have designs made specifically for them, particularly for special occasions.

Detail from Kimono of a Geisha- a very elaborate example demonstrating the parallels between fashion and the theatre in 18th Century Japan

On the embroidery front, there are many great examples of goldwork and silk floss/ silk shading styles throughout the exhibition. The lion above is quite an extravagant example, taken from the back of the kimono shown in the first image of this blog. Amazingly, the lion is only a very small part of the work on that kimono probably only measuring about 20-25cm high and isn’t even the main centre back motif. However I’m sure you will agree it is an exquisite use of Japanese thread (cotton core wrapped with gold leaf paper).

There are also a few pieces that feature a dying technique called Shibori which you may have heard of. It’s use is using much larger scale and bolder than the examples on the kimonos where it is used to create very small and delicate designs, creating a much more subtle and quietly expensive impression. The technique is quite labour intensive as it require parts of the fabric to be tied off very tightly before dying so they are left in negative as can be seen in the white squares pattern.

Uchikate- Outer Kimono for a young woman featuring Shibori and embroidery 1800-50

When Japan opened up its began trading with western countries such as Holland and Portugal, we can start to see the cultures influences each other, as Japanese kimono makers start to make kimonos from cottons South-east Asia and foreigners eager for everything Japanese started to use Japanese fabrics for their own pieces.

Day Dress: Misses Turner 1876-8

Japanese influenced robe, Victorian Era

Towards the end of the exhibition they turn the attention to more modern applications and influences of the Kimono. This includes pieces from modern fashion houses such as Dior, Commes De Garçons and Alexander Mcqueen. This room brings the exhibition full circle, they also demonstrate the cyclical nature of fashion as you can pick out the elements of kimonos that have influenced that ‘new’ piece.

‘High Voltage Power-Lines’ Yamawaki Toshiko 1956

Evening Dress: also by Yamawaki Toshiko (1956) featuring Obi like bow and scrolling asymmetric designTextile details, couched goldwork and red embroidery imitating kanoko shibori

While this last room holds many beautiful pieces, the real gems of this exhibition are the historical pieces. Many people will be familiar with what a Kimono is on sight from walking through the Asia exhibits, but this exhibition delves so far into this garment and unpicks the elements of it. The V & A puts on lots of great fashion exhibitions and in London we are spoilt that we have fashion specific exhibitions at all. But as this one puts so much detail into the textiles and processes, it has something special to offer in my opinion.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams

February 28, 2019 by Natasha Searls-Punter

If your instagram feed is anything like ours then you will not have failed to notice the hugh amount of attention that the Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition is getting at the V & A Museum at the moment. Following its opening on the 2nd February, the exhibition which is held in the museum’s new Sainsbury wing, it has received an unprescedented amount of visitors.

The exhibition is currently sold out, with tickets being drip released around the 15th of each month and a few kept back each day on a first come first served basis. Members of the V&A however can still visit at their leisure and Hawthorne and Heaney were lucky enough to visit the exhibition on members night in order to bring you our insight.

The London exhibition has a much greater focus on the individual designers of the House of Dior so if you had already seen it at Musee Des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, then this version brings a different angle. Split into a series of sections, this part of the exhibition really gives you a sense of what each creative director has brought to the house. Furthermore it also highlights some of the key aspects of Dior as a fashion house, which holds all the designs together over the years. Identifying these values allows them to keep delivering pieces which are recognisably ‘Dior’.

Each rooms has its own sense of the wow factor with the paper cut flowers room, displaying some of the more romantic pieces amongst the flowers which were dripping from the ceiling. The center piece of which is this gown embellished with hundreds of tiny cut feathers.

We can not cover this exhibition without mentioning the toile room. Probably the simplist room with its ehite cubes, it really brings home the process of producing couture garments and the work that goes into them. It is lovely to look around and recognise some of the dresses you have already seen the final versions of, in their developmental form. As well as taking the time to watch the series of videos they have on display amongst the toiles which show the making process of other Dior producs such as shoes and jewellery from their specialist makers.

Some of the toiles have notes and annotations left on them which highlight the complexity of the pattern cutting when all the other details are stripped away in white.

From an embroiderers perpective, there is plenty to see and appreciate in this exhibition. The variety of styles and techniques is huge so whilst all the pieces may not necessarily be your taste, you can not help but be humbled by the skill.

Goldwork, raffia, feathers and beads all feature in this Galliano piece created for Dior by Lesage.

An interesting use of mesh appliques create the beatle wing/ petal effect amongst the sequins on this gown from the 1950’s.

Where else would you get the chance to get this up close and personal with dresses like this one, worn by Charlize Theron in the ‘J’adore’ adverts?

It is here that you can see that the sequins are tamboured onto the tuelle by hand with their joining stitches adding to the texture of the piece.

Some of the more contemporary pieces provide a different perspective on ‘les petite mains’ (the little hands; referring to the skilled makers that create the designers vision) that we get to see a modern application of traditonal skills such as the use of beads and velvet in this a line evening gown.

Of course, there are also the iconic, historical pieces that you have probably glimpst before, like this gown worn by Princess Margaret for her 21st Birthday photoshoot.

If you find the opportunity, then this exhibition is a absolute must see for fashion, design and embroidery fans everywhere. Follow the link for all the booking details.

All photos courtesy of Natasha Searls-Punter

Dior: Designer of Dreams

The Victoria and Albert Museum, London

On now until 14th July 2019 (extended to the 1st Sept 2019)

Hawthorne & Heaney for Lack of Colour at Selfridges

July 6, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter

During last weekend, Hawthorne & Heaney set up camp in London’s Selfridges store for a monogramming event for Australian Hat brand ‘Lack of Color’.

‘Lack Of Color is the popular Australian label that produces a range of men’s and women’s hats available in seasonal colours and styles. Created by Tess Corvaia and Robert Tilbury, a creative couple from Queensland, Australia who aim to bring their loyal customers a range of innovative and wearable pieces each season.’ (Lack of colour About page)

Thanks to the lovely hot weather we have being having here, we were offering these hand embroidered monograms onto the hat ribbons or bands, usually of their strawhats as shown.

With a choice of 16 colour for the embroidery, the combinations on offer are numerous.

It’s always great fun working with such different and interesting brands in some of the best known shops in the world!

If you missed out on the opportunity to have your hat personalised in store and would like to get it done, this is something that we can do for you in the studio, get in contact with us by phone or email and we can advise you futher.

Or if you would like to put on your own hand embroidery event with us… get in touch!

We look forward to hearing from you.