The winners of the Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery 2021 tell us what it is like to have won such a prestigious award and their hopes for the future.

Kate Pankhurst, RSN Future Tutor Graduate 2021

“I was thrilled and shocked in equal measure to win not one, but two top prizes at Hand & Lock 2021. Throughout the third lockdown when I was stitching Lockdown O’Clock, I had quite a few moments of doubt; it was too hard to make, it was a silly idea or it was just not good enough. RSN Tutor, Marg Dier, mentored me throughout the process, and gave me so much kindness and confidence as well as technical assistance.

For my whole life, I’ve always felt ‘somewhere in the middle’ achievement-wise but all of that has changed now. Thanks to Hand & Lock, and the Worshipful Company of Gold & Silver Wyre Drawers, I have an unexpected windfall. I can’t think right now what to do with it, but I’d like to continue my studies alongside working as an Embroiderer.

Right now, I’ve just submitted a piece for the Broderer’s Exhibition, which is a ‘sibling’ of Lockdown O’Clock. I’m looking forward to teaching my ‘Mistletoe Kiss’ Christmas kit online for the RSN and need to get started on my next kit, ‘Tudor Embroidery Toolbox’, which I am teaching next January to March. I also want to offer something special for the RSN’s 150th Anniversary and I will be developing that too. This should keep me busy until Christmas!”

Read more about Kate Pankhurst here and on Instagram @kate_artofstitch

Lucy Martin, RSN Degree Graduate 2021

“I am absolutely over the moon to have won not just one but two prizes at the Hand & Lock Embroidered Arts exhibition. In the first few days of our induction onto the RSN BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery course, we were given a tour around Hand & Lock and I distinctly remember thinking how incredibly beautiful the pieces were and how it would be a dream come true to win a Hand & Lock Prize.

I am currently establishing myself as a professional hand embroidery practitioner and I plan to use the money from the Prizes to fund my business and grow my practice. It has been a whirlwind since Graduation and I am incredibly grateful for every project and piece of work that comes my way. This prize win has inspired me to push my business with my commissions, tutoring and wider projects to become a practitioner in my own right within the industry.”

Read more about Lucy Martin here and on Instagram @lucymartinembroidery

Millie Whitehead, RSN Degree Graduate 2021
“Winning third prize in the Hand & Lock 2021 Prize for Embroidery has been a huge personal achievement for me. It has helped me to make a mark on the embroidery world and has given me great confidence in my own work. Moving forward with my career, I plan to continue to learn and develop my skills at the job I am lucky enough to have now,  at Alexander McQueen, working in the Embroidery Department. I am now extremely lucky to have secured a full-time position with McQueen, as it’s a company I have long admired and dreamed of working there.”

Read more about Millie Whitehead here and on Instagram  @mgw.studios

Rebecca Offredi, RSN Degree Graduate 2021

“I was so pleased to have been selected as a finalist for the Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery. My main aim when entering the Prize was to have my work displayed in the exhibition as a finalist so to win a prize as well was an unexpected and added bonus! I have an established career as a Freelance Hand Embroiderer, which I love and for which I am so grateful. Since coming third in the Hand & Lock Prize, I plan to use the publicity generated from this to continue to build my business and brand and to see what new opportunities it may bring. In addition, I also plan to run some classes teaching useful skills for embroiderers who wish to become Freelance Embroiderers in the fashion industry.”

Read more about Rebecca Offredi here and on Instagram  @rebecca.offredi.handembroidery

Sabina Lima, RSN 3rd year Degree Student

“Although my installation has an amount of very technical hand embroidery work, there is also a technological component that tries to push the boundaries of people’s preconceived notions of hand embroidery as a medium. I had not expected to be selected as a Finalist. Having Diana Springall as my Mentor and to receive the 3rd prize in the Textile Art Open Category, without having finished my Degree in Hand Embroidery, was certainly a very welcome recognition of my work, and gives me a lot of motivation to keep pushing on.”

You can follow Sabina Lima on Instagram  @sabinalima_embroidery

This year, Hand & Lock curated an ‘Embroidered Arts’ exhibition from 3-7 November which showcased the most exciting cutting edge, contemporary and historical embroidered arts from around the world. The exhibition featured three floors of embroidery by the 2020 and 2021 Prize Finalists and Winners, as well as by artisan makers and contemporary artists such as Yinka Ilori, Karen Nicol, Alice Kettle, Nelly Agassi and Richard McVetis. The exhibition featured all the 2021 finalists as well as work by the 2020 Prize Finalists and Winners, which included RSN Future Tutor and Degree Graduates.

Read about 2020 Hand & Lock Prize Winners and Finalists