Our 2019 Graduates put on a fabulous display at our annual Graduate Show at Hampton Court Palace in May followed by New Designers in London in June, where we welcomed design and industry experts, including ‘living sculpture’ Daniel Lismore.

In July, Degree Students collaborated with HRH The Duchess of Cambridge to bring her ‘Back to Nature’ garden to life at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival.  For the project, we created a hand embroidered textile by only using compostable materials to complete the surround of a forest den.  The hand embroidery techniques of Appliqué, Whitework and Needlelace were a perfect combination to emulate a camouflage style netting and provide magical, dappled light into the den.  The Duchess of Cambridge created the special garden to inspire families and communities to spend time in natural environments and to help build foundations for positive physical and mental wellbeing, which hand embroidery also helps.

Also in July, the RSN Degree was invited by Fashion Roundtable to be part of the ‘Global Stories, Local Britain’ event at the V&A where pieces by Abigail Noronha were displayed, followed by taking part in the Port Eliot Festival, Cornwall.  Here, Graduates Dev Patel and Carys Atkinson displayed their final fashion pieces in the Festival’s ‘Fashion Foundation’ area, during a panel discussion, talking about their expertise and ambitions for moving hand embroidery in to new areas of practice.  Dev and Carys then led an inspiring ‘Funky Button’ workshop where the festival goers could let their creativity go wild!

Finally, throughout August, there was an exhibition of our Degree Students and Graduates work in R Space Gallery, Lisburn, Northern Ireland.  ‘Out of the Frame’ showcased a variety of projects which embodies the art of hand embroidery applied to individual creative practice, and was seen by visitors from far and wide.