Discover more about the RSN and find out why we’ve been the international centre of excellence for the Art of Hand Embroidery for more than 150 years. We’ll also introduce you to key guest speakers in our engaging live talks.
This season our new and vibrant online talks explore pattern, material, and craft across history and cultures. We hope you’ll join us!
Easily accessed via Zoom, all of our talks are embellished by captivating images and are followed by live Q&A sessions.
Pattern Design in the Art Needlework Movement
RSN Curator of Designs & Archives, Vicky Bevan, Wednesday 13 May, 7pm UK
The Arts and Crafts movement, spearheaded by William Morris, generated a new interest in pattern and the making of repeat pattern amongst a whole generation of artists and designers in Britain.
Join our curator Vicky Bevan to find out how that interest translated into needlework designs and to the work of the Royal School of Needlework’s Paint-Room. Vicky will use the designs and antiquarian book collection of the Royal School of Art Needlework to explore the subject of pattern in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
150 Years of Liberty Designs
Cultural historian and author, Kassia St Clair, Wednesday 27 May, 7pm UK
Celebrating 150 years of Liberty, this talk explores the rich design heritage behind one of the world’s most iconic textile houses. From its signature Tana Lawn cotton to luxurious silks, wools, and cashmeres, Liberty’s fabrics have defined innovation and craftsmanship for over a century.
Drawing on a curated selection of 150 standout patterns—ranging from classic florals to bold contemporary designs—the session places these works within the wider creative history of the brand. It traces Liberty’s evolution through its distinctive Tudor-revival store, its visual identity, and its extensive archive of prints, drawings, and design experiments.
Join cultural historian Kassia St Clair, author of the best-selling book Liberty Design. Pattern. Colour. for insight into the creative process behind Liberty Fabrics, revealing how each season begins with research, sketching, and exploration. This colourful talk presents a vivid story of design innovation, material culture, and enduring artistic influence.
Wood Carving and Embroidery
Artist Jo Grogan, Wednesday 10 June, 7pm UK
In this talk wood sculptor Jo Grogan explores the intersection of wood carving and textiles through the embroidered wooden flowers created for her award-winning piece Rocaille Morphosis after expert tuition from the Royal School of Needlework.
Blurring the boundaries between traditionally distinct crafts, Jo will discuss her process of translating the softness and fluidity of embroidery into the rigid medium of wood. The work draws on the ornate language of Rococo decoration while reimagining it through a contemporary lens where transformation, material tension, and illusion play central roles.
Jo offers insight into her technical experimentation, conceptual influences, and the dialogue between past and present that underpins the piece, opening a conversation about how heritage crafts can evolve through interdisciplinary practice.
The Embroidery of Mexico
Artist & Researcher, Gimena Romero, Wednesday 1 July, 7pm UK
Join us to discover the traditional and modern styles of embroidery thriving in modern Mexico and how local communities make art and tell stories that transcend time and culture.
Artist and researcher Gimena Romero will take you on a journey through Mexico’s rich embroidery heritage. Gimena is keeping the stunning traditions of Mexican artistry alive in her work and her book The Embroidery of Mexico that explores the symbolic language of stitch, tracing its threads from indigenous communities to contemporary urban streetscapes.
Gimena is based in Mexico City and is an expert on distinct regional styles including Tenango, Street, Mazahuua and Purépecha embroidery and experimental practices such as Lavin (using human hair). She also uses fruit-based filler stitches like Open Banana, Pineapple, Strawberry and Woven Watermelon!
Important Booking Information
Please note that these Talks are live online events and are not available to watch immediately afterwards. If you cannot watch the live event — or if you want to watch again in the future — some of our talks are re-released at a later date On Demand. Please note that there is a separate fee for Talks on Demand.
Bookings for live RSN Online Talks close at 3pm on the day of the event and are NON-REFUNDABLE. After booking, you will receive your unique Zoom invite by email 24-48 hours before each event (3 hours if booked on the day). The invite should arrive ‘from’ [email protected] – we strongly recommend that you add this address to your ‘Safe Senders’ list to ensure safe receipt.
If you do not receive your invite by the above deadline please first check your ‘junk/spam’ mail folder to ensure it hasn’t been routed there by mistake. If you still do not have the invite, please email [email protected] no later than one hour before the event is due to start. Please include your order reference number.
Each place booking and subsequent Zoom link is unique to ONE customer and ONE device only. If you wish to book multiple places on behalf of additional attendees please provide the name AND email address of any additional attendees in the ‘Additional information’ section of your order at checkout.
All RSN Live Online Talks are scheduled and advertised in UK local time (GMT or BST depending on the time of year). If you are outside of the UK please check your local time, particularly if your location changes to/from Daylight Savings Time on a different schedule to the UK during March/April or October/November. To check and convert times please visit TimeAndDate.com.
All RSN webinars include live Closed Captioning (subtitles). These can be disabled if not required.
If you require additional assistance, please refer to our FAQ page. Thank you.
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