We chat to Gill Flury, expert at turning embroidery hoops into sewing storage, and ask how she comes up with her clever ideas for stitching accessories
Interview by Julian Odessa
INSPIRING PEOPLE
With a stint at art college and role in arts administration, it was only a matter of time before Gill Flury would combine her love of crafts with her design skills to come up with a range of items for stitchers…
Hi Gill! What first sparked your passion for design?
I’ve always liked making things – I didn’t think I’d design products or start a small business, but I was at my happiest doing something creative. My dad had a room in the house when I was little where he designed things like record covers and that’s what I wanted – my own room to make stuff.
Tell us more about your processes – do you design primarily for fibre crafts? Did you study design?
I did Sculpture and Printmaking at college before working in arts admin for 10 years, all of which has contributed to what I make now. All my designs are made for crafts – I love finding unusual materials and try hard to improve where they are sourced from. All my designs are digitally printed using eco-friendly inks on organic cotton and I’m so pleased to be using British lambswool and Shetland felt in my pincushions and needle keepers as I can source them from a farm nearby to where I live.
Your products ingeniously turn embroidery hoops into storage containers – how did you come up with this idea?
Whilst I was working full-time in arts admin, I did a refresher course in screen printing. We learned how to print on fabric, so I took some photos of Sylko cotton reels for my prints. I had the idea that they would suit being framed in an embroidery hoop, after which it occurred to me that they would make great lids for sewing storage. I spent a lot of time looking for the right sized containers to fit the hoops on.
What is your favourite piece that you have created so far?
I really enjoy making my new pattern weights. I’ve wanted to design a pattern weight for years and tried lots of different things before I hit on the idea of using brass plumbing parts. I love objects that have been designed for a very specific function and, by altering them, I can make them useful and attractive for a completely different purpose. I added the lambswool and felt inside them so you can put your stray needle in there.
I wrap them in vintage sewing patterns – they fit so well into their boxes. I just find each one so satisfying to hold and a pleasure to make. I hope that people find them a joy to o
