Featured: Beth Sommerville, Guild Graduate in 2023
For over 30 years the Embroiderers’ Guild have partnered with Immediate Live, the organiser of the fabulous Knit+Stitch Shows, to exhibit and celebrate across the UK the very best emerging new talent in the textile art world.
The benefits for graduates to showcase their work at the Knit+Stitch Shows cannot be under estimated. Exhibiting at two venues, Alexandra Palace in London and the Convention Centre in Harrogate exposes their talent to tens of thousands of enthusiastic craftspeople. They meet students, Guild members, teachers, artists, members from the industry, journalists, and commissioners. Where else would they be exposed to such a cross-section and be exposed to so many networking opportunities?
The Graduate Showcase selection process is managed by the Embroiderers’ Guild and takes place June-July each year at appropriate Final Year exhibitions and The New Designers Show held at The Business Design Centre in London. It is not possible for the selection committee, all of whom are volunteers, to visit all the shows, so they concentrate on visiting New Designers where the majority of colleges present their best students. Selected textile artists are assigned to colleges that are not represented, and they are asked to provisionally accept students who send a small selection of representative photographs electronically to the Chair of the selection committee. A final selection takes place, and the finalists are invited formally by the Embroiderers’ Guild and then Immediate Live commit to exhibiting. Graduates are selected on the basis of their work, their communication skills, their motivation, their design processes and ideas and their willingness to become an ambassador for the Guild.
‘We love to play a part helping young talented embroiderers and textile artists develop their careers and it’s always a thrill to support them in exhibiting their work at the Knit & Stitch Shows’
Anthea Godfrey – Guild Artistic Director
Graduates are expected to exhibit at both London and Harrogate. This great opportunity would usually cost them a great deal of money. The space, lighting and staging are provided free by Immediate Live, whilst the Embroiderers’ Guild provide a grant towards travel to the venues and accommodation with any balance funded by the graduates themselves. The Embroiderers’ Guild provide coaching and valuable advice based on decades of experience to ensure that each graduate showcases their work to best advantage in a way that is attractive and inspiring for show visitors.
To help the selected graduates make the most of the Showcase opportunity and help launch their career in embroidery and textile art the Embroiderers’ Guild provide an extensive support package which includes:
A business support programme delivered by Patrica van den Akker director of The Design Trust- the online business school for designers, makers & other creative professionals. Over the last 25 years she has worked with 1,000s of creative professionals as a creative business adviser, trainer and coach. She works with creatives especially around strategy & business modelling, and all aspects of marketing & selling creative products & services. In 2025 her book ‘Teaching Creative Workshops in Person & Online’ was published by Bloomsbury. She regularly teaches at Central St Martins & University of the Arts London, and works with many organisations such as the King’s Foundation, Crafts Council, London Potters, and Great Northern Contemporary Crafts Fair. She is known for her practical and action-orientated approach to developing a sustainable creative business. www.thedesigntrust.co.uk @TheDesignTrust
The business support programme has two parts:
Part 1: Making the Most of the Knit + Stitch Shows Two online workshops to help graduates prepare professionally, reduce overwhelm, improve commitment to the programme, and ensure they gain the maximum benefit from exhibition opportunities at the Knit & Stitch Shows in London in October and Harrogate in November.
Part 2: Professional Development Course Designed to provide foundational business knowledge, skills and confidence. The programme is tailored to embroidery and textile practitioners who have a multitude of potential income streams and sales channels (incl. art, luxury fashion, freelance, teaching, workshops, kits, galleries and exhibitions). There are four online sessions with practical homework exercises in between to drive and expand learning. The online business workshops cover:
- Planning Your Creative Business & Professional Practice
- Who am I and who are my ideal clients?
- Marketing & Creating an Online Presence
- Money, Costing & Pricing
Plus, guidance on photography and networking and a copy of The Design Trust Dream Plan Do handbook and planner (100+ pages), which is full with practical business, marketing, financial tools.
Guild graduates also receive:
- One year Guild membership. This includes discounted tickets for online events
- £125 grant towards travel, accommodation & incidentals for the K+S Shows
- Features in Embroidery the world’s leading textile art magazine, Guild website, The Creative Thread (the quarterly digital magazine for members) and social media
- Opportunity to participate on a paid basis in the Guild’s annual event programme providing an online workshop or demonstration (after suitable coaching received)
- One year print plus archive subscription to Embroidery magazine. The magazine archive contains all 94 years back issues plus each current issue.
We’re impressed by the The Guild graduate offer. It is incredibly attractive especially at a time when there seems to be such limited investment or care about creative subjects.
We hope students will really benefit from this great package’.
Anna Baptiste – Knit+Stitch Event Director
