Written by A Merry Christmas, a Joyful Yule, and Happy Holidays to all who celebrate this time of year!
Once again the Trustees would like to thank our members, our affiliated groups, our subscribers and donors, and everyone who’s attended a Guild event in the past year, for all their support in 2023. We hope you are looking forward to what we have planned for next year.
We celebrate the art of the stitch and we celebrate all those who create that art, from the tentative beginner to the renowned professional artists who inspire our community. Don’t forget, in all the hustle and bustle of the season to find a little time for yourself when you can sit, stitch, and relax. We will certainly be doing so ourselves!
May the season bring family and friends together, provide good things to eat, and entertainment for the heart and the soul. We’d love to send each and everyone a card, but since we can’t, here is a glimpse of a few that we have in our collection.
These are a collection of 20+ Christmas Cards sent to his aunts ( Nimbo Temple and Dorothy Goldsbrough) and his grandmother (Lady Elizabeth Kilner) by the designer, Norman Hartnell between the 1950’s to the 1970’s. They were donated by Charlotte Smith, George Gordon-Smith and Sue Gordon-Smith
One card is sequins on a card of “The Conjuror” by Susan Williams-Ellis, eldest daughter of Clough Williams-Ellis who set-up Portmerion Pottery.
The Hartnell in-house embroidery workroom was the largest in London couture, and continued until the designer’s death in 1979. It produced the embroidered Christmas cards for clients and press during quiet August days – a nice gesture, but also a practical form of publicity that helped promote Hartnell’s brand.
The cards are a few of the 554 items that have been photographed for the Guild’s digitisation project so far!
PS: The Embroiderers’ Guild’s Trustees and volunteers will be taking time off between Christmas Eve until the New Year. We’ll see you all in 2024!