Danielle Clough aka Fiancé Knowles is an embroidery and visual artist from Cape Town. Her work is vibrant, uplifting and intriguing. 

How did you get into embroidery?

 My mum taught me how to sew and I was really keen on being a fashion designer while studying . I made really horrible clothes, like jackets out of curtains. I studied fashion design for about three weeks and I absolutely hated it! So I started studying art direction and graphic design while working with a company that made these plush toys for extra pocket money.  One day at work I couldn’t open the laptop, it was very embarrassing! I had a piece of scrap fabric, needle and thread with me and out of boredom I drew a rabbit and started stitching over it. That’s when I really realised I was doing embroidery and that it had actually been around for centuries.

Are you really good at drawing?

Not particularly no.

Ahhh really? How do you translate your embroidery on the rackets, what’s the process? 

I do different things; it mostly depends on my mood. I’m really interested in photography and I like to shoot my own references as much as I can. Sometimes I experiment with inks and explore the possibilities but mostly I work from a photographic reference.

How long have you been embroidering for?

About 2 and half years.

Wow that’s not long at all considering how detailed your work is! Your embroideries look like you’ve been doing this for a long time.

For me I see it as colouring in, basically filling the space.

Danielle’s first embroidered racket.

How the idea of embroidering on rackets come about?

Well I‘d love to that it was an incredible and divinely genius idea but really it wasn’t. There’s a video tutorial online that teaches kids how to weave simple shapes like hearts onto rackets. Someone sent me a couple of pictures of the rackets and I decided to challenge myself by doing something bigger and better and from there it evolved.

How long have you been making the rackets for?

About 7 months.

How long does it take roughly to complete one?

A couple of days normally.

Do you tend to sit all day and embroider or do you do a couple of hours, take a break then come back to a piece?

Often I’ll work on a project for about 5 to 6 hours or until I’m hungry! As of lately I embroider pretty much 6 to 7 days a week. I work in my studio and watch movies on my laptop while I stitch.

What other textiles would you like to explore besides embroidery?

I’ve done a little bit of felting before I think it would be cool to combine it with my embroidery. At the moment I’m really interested in spray paints; my boyfriend’s an amazing artist and has been teaching me how to use them. I’m always thinking of ways to explore different mediums together not just through textiles. I’m working towards street art and decorating fences. I’ve been accepted to work in Upfest, Europe’s largest street art festival in Bristol. That will give me the opportunity to do some street art embroidery.

Are there any other ways you’d like to transfer your textiles?

I recently created an embroidered patch for a 3 year old’s jacket and I’ve customised some Vans shoes. What inspires me most is creating big pieces. 

Do you ever embroider your own clothes?

No, I pretty much make things to give away or sell. I hardly keep anything for myself.

Who are your favourite textiles designers?

I really like the way Elizabeth Pawle uses colour and how graphic her work is. I’m mainly drawn to embroidery designers more than print ones.

Do you like print?

I do. I’ve taken a mono-printing class before and I transferred the prints onto fabric instead of paper.

 

Who would you like to collaborate with?

There’s an amazing illustrator I’d like to work with called Casey Weldon. I’d like to work with different photographers, one in particular would be a South African one called Travys Owen. He does the most beautiful portraits.

Does living in Cape Town inspire your work?

There are strong dynamic contrasts here. I live near the beach and wake up to fresh ocean air which is inspiring but at the same time there’s a lot of poverty around with very little help from the government. I feel that you have to work very hard and stay on top of your game to look after yourself.

What do you love most about textiles?

I love the possibility that almost anything can be a surface. It’s incredibly flexible and there’s so much opportunity to create. I really love the endless amount of colours you can use. Anyone into textiles or fashion will know the feeling of walking into a fabric store and getting super excited the textures. It’s really special.

Sometimes people don’t realise how important fabric is for our daily lives, from clothes to bedding and curtains.

Where did the name Fiancé Knowles?

I dated a DJ for a while and one of his friends introduced me as his wife to another friend. One of them asked if I were his fiancé and another friend turned it into Fiancé Knowles. I told myself that if I ever do anything noteworthy Fiancé Knowles would be my name!

You can see more of Danielle’s work here.