HAND & LOCK AT THE KNITTING & STITCHING SHOW
Hand & Lock are celebrating their 2023 Prize for Embroidery with an exhibition of finalists and winners at The Knitting & Stitching Show 2023 at Harrogate Convention Centre, Harrogate from 16 – 19 November 2023.
Julie Parmenter of the Knitting & Stitching Show speaks to Hand & Lock about their Prize for Embroidery. 
Image: Hand & Lock Eliza Gomersall Student Textile Art 8628. Hand & Lock Ana Maria Restrepo Open Textile Art 8971.
Hand & Lock, we have been waiting with much anticipation to see the final pieces and winning entry to your prestigious 2023 Prize for Embroidery! From hundreds of entrants, your judging panel selected 24 finalists for the 2023 Prize, six in each of the four judging categories. What can visitors to The Knitting & Stitching Show expect to see this year?
There is such a variety of work that will be on display. The categories allow work made by machine and hand so there is always such a diverse selection of stitches to see. We also have the two different subject categories of fashion and textile art, this means we see embroidery in a huge variety of settings, anything from jewellery, wall hangings, furniture, and art installations.
The brief this year was Modern Mystic Arts and the Power of Colour, asking entrants to interrogate the physical and visual language of spirituality through embroidery. How do you come up with and settle on a brief?
In recent years, we have seen a rise in how many entrants were talking openly about the importance of stitching in their life – it was a form of meditation, escapism or relaxation. When creating the brief for this year, we were keen to see how people would interpret a brief about spirituality, religion, and Mystic arts. For a lot of people, embroidery has become their religion and a form of meditation. It is interesting to see the investment in the process of producing the embroidery, sometimes it is not even about what will be achieved at the end but how it made the artist feel during its creation.
Image: Hand & Lock Ella Parr Student Fashion 8093.
In a rapidly evolving digital age, how do you see traditional textile artistry maintaining its relevance?
It's important we recognise nowadays there will always be new technology that will threaten the existence of ancient techniques. I feel it's important to work alongside new innovation, to learn how it works and build something new and exciting which takes inspiration and ideas from both new and old. Two years ago, we made the decision to include machine embroidery into the main Hand & Lock Prize. Previously we had this as a separate category and we only allowed hand embroidery into the main prize. We felt that a lot of entrants worked with both and we were not providing a space for that growth. Since then, we have not seen a fall in the amount of hand embroidery used but more a growth in mixed media and the combination of the new and old. In a broader setting outside of The Prize, I think there will always be an interest and a desire for people to have things handmade. This becomes even more prevalent with the increase of technology as people seek something 'authentic' as a juxtaposition from everything else.
The prize is highly coveted due to the incredible exposure it brings for up and coming artists. What role do Hand & Lock see that they play in creating more diversity amongst the textile art world?
We would love to see more diversity in the textiles world, which is one of the reasons The Prize started in the first place. We hope to give aspiring embroiderers the exposure and financial support they need in order to succeed in the industry. In the lead up to the final exhibition, there is a whole year's work put into making this happen. Throughout the year we run a series of workshops, talks, webinars and open studios to encourage people from all sorts of backgrounds to enter the prize. We visit schools and universities, talking to the students about The Prize and embroidery as a career path. We also have a set number of free entries into the prize for entrants who are unable to afford to enter.
Image: Hand and Lock Deborah Rushchmeyer Open Fashion 9032.
Can you tell us about your recent involvement in the King’s Coronation, including assisting with Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt’s outfit. Penny famously undertook her role as Lord President of the Council and became the first woman responsible for carrying out the ancient custom of bestowing King Charles with the Jewelled Sword of Offering. How did it feel to be the creative behind such a poignant moment in history?
It was fantastic to watch our work take such a centre stage in the Coronation. I don’t think any of us were quite expecting how much Penny would be centre stage. The whole team here was honoured to have worked on so many pieces for this day, a moment where so much tradition is seen in one place. It is lovely to know that these things will be appreciated and viewed for years to come.
The Knitting & Stitching Show 2023 is on show at Harrogate Convention Centre, Harrogate from 16 – 19 November 2023.
Text courtesy of Julie Parmenter.
Find out more about the upcoming Knitting & Stitching Show:
www.theknittingandstitchingshow.com
@theknittingandstitchingshows
Find out more about Hand & Lock:
handembroidery.com
@handandlocklondon