Help preserve our future
West Dean is part of a registered charity and relies on the support of generous donors, friends, legacies to help us deliver world-class education in conservation and the creative arts and maintain our award-winning gardens.
Charlotte Bailey
Charlotte Bailey is a hand-embroidery artist who trained at the Royal School of Needlework and works from her studio on the south coast. She has collaborated on commissions from Louis Vuitton and Mary Katrantzou to the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress, and has embroidered for esteemed London ateliers Hand and Lock. More recently she has worked on freelance embellishment for Disney and Netflix projects alongside maintaining her own personal practice.
What inspires your own work?
My own work is underpinned by a strong technical grounding and
combines an appreciation for technique with less traditional
subject matter. Often slightly subversive or darkly humorous, I
believe stitch to be a highly versatile and valuable medium with
which to communicate personal experiences.
Describe your approach to teaching:
My approach to teaching combines both technical foundation and
creative direction. Although I regularly teach 18th -century
embroidery classes at Jane Austen's house in full Regency attire,
the application of traditional methods to contemporary outcomes is
an exciting and inspiring overlap.