After 17 years at the RSN, we will be saying goodbye to RSN Chief Executive, Dr Susan Kay-Williams, who will be retiring from her role at the end of August. Susan has been with the RSN since 2007 and has been an integral part of the RSN’s growth and development.  Here, Susan shares some of her highlights:

“Back in 2007 when I first joined the RSN it was a very different organisation.  For a start we only offered the Apprenticeship, the Certificate and a few short courses. Of course, we have always had the Studio and one of the pieces we were working was an interpretation of a work by Basil Alkhazi that was 1.2m square. We only had two areas at Hampton Court Palace; the Studio and apartment 11, and the website was a recent development.

I am very proud of what we have achieved over the past 17 years, as a huge team effort. We introduced the Degree, the Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery, the Future Tutors programme, expanded the short courses, started the Experience Classes, the schools programme and the US summer school. Then, came lockdown and we pivoted the organisation to teach Online, introduced the Online Talks, Technical Tuesdays and the Online International Summer School. In 2022, we celebrated our 150th anniversary with an exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London, and launched RSN Stitch Bank, and, in 2024 the Digitisation Collection & Archive project.

Major RSN Embroidery Studio projects have included work for English Heritage for Dover Castle, Red Carpet Green Dress, Patrick Grant, Nicholas Oakwell Couture, Game of Thrones, and Cornelia Parker for Magna Carta. And perhaps our proudest commissions, the work for the wedding dress of the now Princess of Wales and especially the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla last year.

In that time, we have grown hugely, but still operate with a very small, dedicated team in each area. It has been an enormous privilege to lead the team through all of this, and I very much consider my role to have been a custodian, and now the time has come to pass it on to the next person so the RSN may continue to grow and flourish.”

RSN Chair of Trustees, Pip Wood, says: “Susan has much to be proud of and we thank her for her significant achievements during her 17-year tenure at the RSN.  We hope she enjoys a well-earned retirement.”

The whole team would like to thank Susan for everything she has done over the years in helping to support our mission to preserve the heritage and lead the development of hand embroidery.