| Industry |
|
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001; merger of M Hand & Company Ltd and S Lock |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Key people | Alastair Macleod (Chairman) |
| Services | 020 7580 7488 |
| Website | handembroidery.com |
Hand & Lock is an embroidery brand in the United Kingdom [1] created from the merger of M Hand & Company and S Lock in 2001, and is based in Fitzrovia, London.
M Hand & Company Ltd was founded in London in 1767. [2] Hand was a Huguenot refugee who was skilled in working with gold lace, and had studied under Italian craftsmen. [3]
In 1898, C E Phipps began creating embroidered fashion items and selling them to department stores. Phipps retired in 1956 and sold the company to Stanley Lock. The newly named S Lock Company expanded to create special order embroidery items for fashion houses, including Christian Dior, Norman Hartnell, Hardy Amies and Catherine Walker [3] [4] The company has created embroidered gowns for Queen Elizabeth and Diana, Princess of Wales. [5] In 1972 it was awarded a Royal Warrant.
The Hand & Lock Prize for embroidery, originally called the M Hand prize for embroidery was created in 2000. [10] The competition occurs yearly and has two main categories, each of which has a top prize of $5000. The student category is open to people in part or full-time education, and the open category is open to everyone. In addition, the Wilcom Institutional Prize awards £6000 of embroidery software and training to the university of the winning student. In 2017 for the 250th Anniversary of the company the total prize fund was $42,000. [11]
In 2020, due to the global coronavirus pandemic the live final was a held virtually with a host of events livestreamed online including a series of talks. Guests included Embroidery designer Jenny King, Designer and teacher Beatrice Korlekie Newman and the Artistic Director of the Embroiderer’s Guild, Anthea Godfrey. The Live Prize Giving event streamed via Zoom from 18.30. [12] Winners included Royal School of Needlework Future Tutor Graduate 2020 Martha Blackburn [13]
Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on caps, hats, coats, overlays, blankets, dress shirts, denim, dresses, stockings, scarfs, and golf shirts. Embroidery is available in a wide variety of thread or yarn colour. It is often used to personalize gifts or clothing items.
The Royal School of Needlework (RSN) is a hand embroidery school in the United Kingdom, founded in 1872 and based at Hampton Court Palace since 1987.
Ann Macbeth was a British embroiderer, designer, teacher and author, a member of the Glasgow Movement and an associate of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. She was also an active suffragette and designed banners for suffragists and suffragettes movements.
Crewel embroidery, or crewelwork, is a type of surface embroidery using wool. A wide variety of different embroidery stitches are used to follow a design outline applied to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old.
Needlepoint is a type of canvas work, a form of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Traditionally needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas. Although needlepoint may be worked in a variety of stitches, many needlepoint designs use only a simple tent stitch and rely upon color changes in the yarn to construct the pattern. Needlepoint is the oldest form of canvas work.
Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, and Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Princess Beatrice also wore a dress designed for Queen Elizabeth II by Hartnell for her wedding in 2020.
Backstitch or back stitch and its variants stem stitch, outline stitch and split stitch are a class of embroidery and sewing stitches in which individual stitches are made backward to the general direction of sewing. In embroidery, these stitches form lines and are most often used to outline shapes and to add fine detail to an embroidered picture. It is also used to embroider lettering. In hand sewing, it is a utility stitch which strongly and permanently attaches two pieces of fabric. The small stitches done back-and-forth makes the back stitch the strongest stitch among the basic stitches. Hence it can be used to sew strong seams by hand, without a sewing machine.
Mary "May" Morris was an English artisan, embroidery designer, jeweller, socialist, and editor. She was the younger daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris and his wife and artists' model, Jane Morris.
Whitework embroidery is any embroidery technique in which the stitching is the same color as the foundation fabric. Styles of whitework embroidery include most drawn thread work, broderie anglaise, Hardanger embroidery, Hedebo embroidery, Mountmellick embroidery, reticella and Schwalm. Whitework embroidery is one of the techniques employed in heirloom sewing for blouses, christening gowns, baby bonnets, and other small articles.
Garrard & Co. Limited, formerly Asprey & Garrard Limited, designs and manufactures luxury jewellery and silver. George Wickes founded Garrard in London in 1735 and the brand is headquartered at Albemarle Street in Mayfair, London. Garrard also has a presence in a number of other locations globally. Garrard was the first official and most notably important Crown Jeweller of the United Kingdom having supplied jewels for Queen Victoria herself, and was charged with the upkeep of the British Crown Jewels, from 1843 to 2007, and was responsible for the creation of many tiaras and jewels still worn by the British royal family today. As well as jewellery, Garrard is known for having created some of the world's most illustrious sporting trophies, including the Americas Cup, the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy and a number of trophies for Royal Ascot in its role as Official Trophies and Silverware Supplier, which originally dates back to the first Gold Cup in 1842.
The Embroiderers' Guild is the UK's leading educational charity promoting embroidery.
Cutwork or cut work, also known as punto tagliato in Italian, is a needlework technique in which portions of a textile, typically cotton or linen, are cut away and the resulting "hole" is reinforced and filled with embroidery or needle lace.
English embroidery includes embroidery worked in England or by English people abroad from Anglo-Saxon times to the present day. The oldest surviving English embroideries include items from the early 10th century preserved in Durham Cathedral and the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry, if it was worked in England. The professional workshops of Medieval England created rich embroidery in metal thread and silk for ecclesiastical and secular uses. This style was called Opus Anglicanum or "English work", and was famous throughout Europe.
Queen Elizabeth II's coronation took place on 2 June 1953. Ordered in October 1952, her gown took eight months of research, design, workmanship, and intricate embroidery to complete. It featured the floral emblems of the countries of the United Kingdom and those of the other states within the Commonwealth of Nations, including the English Tudor rose, Scots thistle, Welsh leek, Irish shamrock, Canadian maple leaf, Australian wattle, New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, Indian lotus flower for India, the Lotus flower of Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.
The Oxburgh Hangings are needlework bed hangings that are held in Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, England, made by Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick, during the period of Mary's captivity in England.
Caroline Townsend (1854-1889) was an American designer and embroiderer, best known for her design work at Tiffany & Co. and as the principal designer at Associated Artists.
Suzhou embroidery, Su embroidery or Su xiu is the embroidery created around the city of Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. It is one of the oldest embroidery techniques in the world and is the most representative type of art in Chinese embroidery. One of the well-known "four great embroideries of China" along with Cantonese embroidery, Sichuan embroidery and Xiang embroidery, Suzhou embroidery already has a history more than 2,000 years and is an important form of handicraft in the history of Chinese art and folk custom, representative of Chinese traditional folk arts. It is famous for its variety of stitches, beautiful patterns, elegant colors, and consummate craftsmanship.
Beryl Dean MBE was a British embroiderer. She was known for rejecting the traditional Victorian designs and for creating her own contemporary embroidery designs.
Leek Embroidery Society was established in 1879 in Leek, Staffordshire. It was known for producing both domestic and ecclesiastical embroidery work, which was granted prestigious awards for its fineness and high quality. The Society also developed a form of embroidery using tussar silk and aimed to promote art embroidery and fine needlework which would be shown in many international exhibitions. The establishment of the Leek Embroidery Society also led to the founding of the Leek School of Art Embroidery.
Diana Springall is, according to the Victoria and Albert Museum, "amongst the most well-known of all British textile artists", who has been committed to raising the profile of the contemporary art of embroidery through the Diana Springall Collection. Her work is found in many private and public collections worldwide. As well as creating art and teaching, Springall has held various appointments including chair of both the Embroiderers' Guild and the Society of Designer Craftsmen. Throughout her career, Springall has campaigned for the promotion of embroidery as a true art form. She has assembled the Diana Springall Collection, an extensive collection of contemporary pieces from various artists showcasing embroidery as fine art.
