Today we meet Jessica Aldred, a former Royal School of Needlework graduate and tutor, who combines her love of embroidery with her love of all things vintage! Jessica shares some fabulous career highlights with us as she is close to the new adventure of motherhood.
With big changes coming along in her life, Jessica has been investigating different ways of working and extending how she can support other embroidery artists. She loves to help others ‘know where to start’ in developing their embroidery career, and develop the confidence to move forward. Jessica is developing some ‘consultation packages’ which provide a structured way in which she can work one-to-one with a textile artist / embroidery artist to develop aspects of their embroidery business. She has launched her first one, on developing embroidery kits and is thrilled that she already is attracting clients. Even more exciting is that one of those clients is in USA, so Jessica’s vision of working with embroidery business clients online with a ‘virtual’ service is already coming to fruition. So exciting!
An interesting aspect of Jessica’s business is her love of vintage clothing and styling, and we chat about how she has combined the 2 aspects to create her own unique brand and business. That’s ultimately the reason why we build our own business and lifestyle, to express ourselves, and to generating income doing what we truly love to do, and making the world a brighter, happier place filled with beautiful embroidery and textile art.
Susan Weeks chats with Jessica Aldred about:
- Using lockdown time to investigate different ways of working online
- Conserving an embroidery from 1715
- Passionate about helping people who want to generate income from their embroidery skills
- Consultation around producing embroidery kits
- The feeling of fear when you start working on vulnerable antique embroideries
- Keen to support artists ‘know where to start’ and develop the confidence to move forward
- Always loved buttons & beads
- Her route into the Royal School of Needlework
- The delights of Pinterest
- Including her love of vintage styling into her business
- Embroidery for royalty
- Embroidery for prisoners
Look: https://www.instagram.com/houseofheydayembroidery/
Look: https://www.instagram.com/houseofheydayvintage/
View: http://houseofheyday.co.uk/
Like: https://www.facebook.com/houseofheydayltd/
Related Stitchery Stories episodes you might like:
https://stitcherystories.com/tracyafranklin/
https://stitcherystories.com/saradennis/
Other people, places & things we mentioned:
The History Wardrobe with Lucy Adlington
http://www.historywardrobe.com/
Bright Star (movie 2009)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0810784/
Bankfield Museum, Halifax
https://museums.calderdale.gov.uk/visit/bankfield-museum
Elstob & Elstob Auctioneers
https://www.elstobandelstob.co.uk/
Jessica Aldred Gallery Five
