Originally from North Wales, Kate studied costume at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating in 2001 with a BA Hons in Theatre Design. She worked at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Welsh National Opera before joining the RSN’s Future Tutors Programme in 2013, graduating with distinction in 2016. During her training, she won The Elizabeth Elvin Goldwork Award, The Merchant Taylors Company Outstanding Achievement Award, and a Heritage Crafts Bursary. In 2015, her Advanced Silk Shaded budgie, Smuggler, was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. Kate teaches for the RSN both in person and online and was a member of the RSN Studio team until 2019, when she returned to North Wales to establish her embroidery studio. She has taught across the UK and US for the RSN, Crewelwork Company, Creative Experiences, Needlework Tours, the Embroiderers Association of Canada, and the Embroiderers’ Guild of America. In 2020, she became a Trade Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers and exhibited in their 400th anniversary exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery in 2023. In 2023, Kate was part of the RSN Embroidery Studio team that worked on items for the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla, including The Queen’s Robe of Estate, the Anointing Screen, Chairs of State, and the Stole Royal.

Kate was awarded first place in the Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery 2021 for her whimsical timepiece Lockdown O’Clock, as well as the Worshipful Company of Gold & Silver Wyre Drawers Associate Award 2021 for the best use of the goldwork embroidery technique. Kate was also a Textile Art Open category finalist in 2023 for her embroidered goldfish “Fancy Free”.

Kate teaches in-person and online classes for the RSN including original kits, the Certificate & Diploma, Summer intensives and the Future Tutors. She also runs her own business teaching online, residential courses for embroidery groups, and commissions for individual clients.

In 2023, Kate was honoured to be part of the Embroidery Studio team at the Royal School of Needlework who worked on a number of items for the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla, including The Queen’s Robe of Estate and the Anointing Screen.

Kristina lives and works in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales town of Ilkley. She is a Registered Veterinary Nurse who has had an interest in embroidery since a youngster, and she has used home embroidery kits often during my career to switch off from what can be a stressful vocation. She came across the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) in 2017 and took a few modules of the Certificate Programme at the Durham studio. Inspired to take things that little bit further she found out more about the Future Tutor Programme (as was) and took the plunge to apply in 2021. She was accepted onto the course with the experience she had gained in the studio up in Durham, and underwent the rigorous training provided on the course over following 3 years. She graduated from the programme in 2024. Kristina loves combining animals and her local area with embroidery, and Ioves items that have a personal story to them. The stories surrounding them are often so interesting and tell us so much about the people who craft them, past and present.

Following an early interest in hand embroidery, Liz Tapper went on to study on the RSN Apprenticeship, graduating with a First Class qualification in 1998.

Since graduating, Liz has undertaken commissions from a number of high profile clients and organisations, for TV and from numerous private individuals, encompassing a wide range of hand embroidery techniques. These commissions range from new work to the conservation and/or restoration of antique embroideries and textiles.

Liz teaches for the RSN and for embroidery and textile groups around the UK. She also designs and sells her own line of embroidery kits, embroidered art, and a range of haberdashery through her company ‘Lenham Needlecraft & The Art of the Needle’

She is a member of the Society for Embroidered Work, the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen and the Heritage Crafts Association.

Masako is a London-based embroidery artist, originally from Japan. She gained the Certificate and Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery, and additionally the Advanced Diploma at RSN. Her career as a professional embroiderer began to take off when she was invited to be part of the RSN team, who worked on the Royal wedding dress in 2011.

Masako now works as a studio embroiderer for RSN Embroidery Studio. She is honoured to work on many high-profile projects, but at the same time she is fascinated by the restoration of antique samplers.

Masako is also part of RSN Stitch Bank team, helping to preserve embroidery stitches for the future. In addition, Masako produces embroidery kits for the RSN shop. Occasionally she teaches bespoke classes on request.

Outside RSN, Masako has been part of a group of volunteer needleworkers at St Paul’s Cathedral. She is also a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Broderers. She has been instrumental in organising The Broderers’ Exhibition: The Art of Embroidery. The exhibition promotes and celebrates embroidery as fine art.

Nao’s journey as an artist began with a childhood passion for handcrafts, evolving into a focus on analogue photography and printmaking during university. However, her affinity for handmade methods led her to seek more primitive, nature-inspired crafts which led her to enrol on the RSN Future Tutors Programme in 2019. She immersed herself in traditional English hand embroidery for three years, qualifying as a professional tutor with distinction in 2022. Nao’s artistry extends beyond embroidery; she prioritizes sustainability, incorporating natural dyeing and crafting her materials. Her commitment to well-being and environmental consciousness shapes her creative practice, aiming to inspire others and make a positive impact. In 2023, Nao contributed to the Embroidery Studio team at the RSN, working on the Anointing Screen for the Coronation. Based in Kent, UK, Nao continues to explore diverse creative avenues, sharing joy and leaving a mark on the future.

Nicola has always seen herself as an artist who uses drawing, painting, and stitch to create her work. In 1990, she entered the V&A Textile Gallery as an artist focused on drawing and painting, but the beautiful stitched objects on display ignited a burning desire to design and create embroidery. This passion led her to secure a place in the RSN apprenticeship, where she immersed herself in rigorous training across many aspects of hand embroidery.

Looking back over thirty-three years of a distinguished career in stitch, Nicola feels deeply fortunate to have acquired these precious heritage skills, which have opened numerous opportunities in teaching, fashion, heritage, and fine art. While no job is without its challenges, since the beginning of her embroidery training in 1991, she has worked in an industry she loves, continually developing an artistic practice that brings joy not only to herself but to many others as well.