Kristy Ford is an Australian based designer and illustrator who turns her lady faces into self taught embroidery art.

How and why did you get into embroidery?
I have been creating since I was little in all different areas particularly drawing and using my hands; so I naturally gravitated towards embroidery. I remember in primary school I was first taught how to sew with hessian and straw and absolutely loved it. As kids, my cousins and I used to sew with old scrap materials and tablecloths to make mini cushions. I was taught how to use a sewing machine in textiles class in high school and remember being so excited because I enjoyed it so much. I recently started hand embroidery as I love texture, fashion and style. I wanted to try something different with my illustrations and wondered what they would look like on material! It has been an idea in my head for too long and I finally decided to give it a shot. It’s still new to me but I love it and am so keen to practise and explore this area more.

What do you like most about embroidery?
I love the process of embroidery and sitting down to craft each of my designs. I find it very relaxing and a great way to unwind as you don’t have to think too much.

What other types of textiles would you like to explore?
To be honest embroidery is still very new to me! So I am definitely keen to explore this area more. I would love to learn more about different kinds of stitches to broaden my style, but for the moment I am determined to perfect my technique with simple stitches. I haven’t ruled out other textiles though, I have always wanted to pick up knitting again (Mum taught me once, but I’ve totally forgotten!) and working with beading and other embellishments. I would love to learn more about machine embroidery.

How do you go about planning what you’re going to make?
There isn’t much of a plan when deciding what I am going to make! Sometimes I look at my illustrations and think “Hey that would be cool on material, I wonder what it could turn out like?” and I will have a go at bringing my illustration to life. The planning goes mostly into deciding which colours I will use – I love gold and using metallic threads. I hope to establish more of a plan when I get the hang of embroidery, but for the moment I will enjoy the spontaneity of my creations.

What are some of your favourite fabrics to work on?
I’ve only embroidered on calico material so far, but would love to work with organza sheer fabrics. I am curious to see what my designs would look like on such delicate material.

Who’s textiles do you admire and why?
There are so many textiles I admire, but I absolutely love Vivetta! I have admired her work for a long time and her textiles inspired me to get into embroidery. I love the fun and detail of her designs; they have a whimsical charm to them and are so feminine. I love that.

What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am working on a few new illustrations for an exhibition in February 2017. I hope to start some new embroidery designs as soon as the new range of illustrations are finished.

Who would you like to collaborate with and why?
Ah heaps of different artists! But textile-wise I would love to collaborate with a few Australian designers such as Alice McCall, Romance Was Born and Jaime Lee Major. I have admired their textiles for a very long time and would love to see my lady faces combined with playful textures and embellishments! I would also love to collaborate with Delpozo; I love the intricacy of their designs they are so amazing.

You can see more of Kristy’s work here and follow her on Instagram here.