Gemma Blackwell is textiles designer who recently graduated from the University of Huddersfield and studied with Jordan Williams Evans. She mixes a range of materials and embroidery skills to challenge tradition and create new and ambiguous textures.

How did you get into textiles?

I’ve always been making stuff since I was little.  I used to wake up really early around 5am and my mum sat me down with all my paints, art materials and left me to entertain myself so she could catch a few more hours of sleep! My grandma had a huge influence on me as she was always embroidering and knitting; she taught me how to sew and bought me my first tiny little sewing machine. She has a completely different style of work compared to me but she’s really inspired me making and creating. 

Did your grandma have a career in textiles?

No not at all. She was a nurse and made things in her spare time as a hobby. She was always making something incredibly intricate and was so patient with it. I think that’s a trait I’ve inherited from her as embroidery takes time. 

What kind of textiles do you make?

I use a lot of sportswear fabric and materials not conventionally associated with embroidery. My work is about pushing the boundaries of techniques, challenging pre-conceptions. I always take an experimental approach with the aim of transforming traditional processes to create unexpected, contemporary textiles. I’m always considering how the work I’m creating could be developed into garments, it’s something I’ve yet to explore within my practice.

What was the name of your course and how was it broken down?

Textiles with Surface Design. We had four specialisms: knit, print, weave and embroidery. Within those specialisms you chose whether you were a commercial designer, designer maker or a contemporary practitioner like an artist. I sat under the designer maker specialism where you make all your textiles and they can be used by high street or high end designers and worked into collaborations or go on display in exhibitions. 

Is a commercial designer purely for high street stores?

Yeah, the designs would be made with the aim of being produced on a mass-market scale. It was the most popular specialism by far on my course. I wondered how you could be commercial with embroidery really, it’s just such a slow technique and completely goes against the process of mass production. 

It’s funny you say that. I went to H&M the other day and saw a beautifully beaded halterneck top for only £70. I did wonder how much they paid to have it made. 

Yeah, there are a lot of copies on the high street with no reference to where the ideas come from. I read a story about a big company stealing ideas from an independent designer in America; it’s really scary.

What ways have you applied your textiles?

I haven’t actually applied my work to an end product yet. I imagine myself collaborating with a pattern cutter to create contemporary fashion pieces. I would concentrate more on the use of material and embroidery side of things. I think it’s important to collaborate as it allows you to play to your strengths and create more unique high quality pieces. It’s something I’d definitely love to do in the future.

Do you use machine or hand embroidery?

A mixture of both. My last project was mainly done on the Amaya digital machine with some small elements of hand embroidery, whereas Structure worked completely with hand-embroidered techniques.

Which one do you prefer hand or machine embroidery?

I honestly don’t think I could choose, it depends on what I want to achieve. Whichever I do I always enjoy challenging the expectations of the technique. For Oddity I used mainly digital embroidery, I love challenging the traditionally commercial technique, pushing it using unconventional materials and unusual processes to create more high-end bespoke pieces – not what springs to mind when you imagine digital embroidery! There’s a lot more stages to the process I was working on than meets the eye. With hand embroidery I love the slow nature, being able to see the application of each stitch, there’s a long time when you’re making but not knowing what’s going to happen. I love how it all seems to come together at once when the piece is finished, this happened a lot when I was creating Structure. I had no idea whether a piece was working until right at the end. There’s always an element of surprise! I’ve also created projects using a combination of machine and hand, such as my YWP project. So long as I’m experimenting and pushing the boundaries of embroidery I’m happy!

I really love the work behind Oddity and Structure.

Oddity’s my favourite one! With Structure I really wanted to challenge myself and do something colourless as I always use a lot of colours in my work. I experimented with traditional smocking and pleating techniques, reinventing them with contemporary detailing using laser-cut techniques.

What fabric did you use to create some of the Oddity samples? They have a nice bubbly looking texture to them. 

I used sponge; it was really about using unexpected materials and creating ambiguity in them, celebrating the beauty in things we often overlook in our everyday lives.

I would’ve never guessed sponge. It looks more like puff paint. 

Yeah I wanted to take an everyday material and use it in a way that people wouldn’t be able to recognise it, the application of stitch became a key part of the process.

What do you find difficult about the work you create?

I experiment with a lot of different materials like heat-treated rubber and it takes a while to learn and understand how the materials are going to behave. Using these unusual materials on the Amaya machine can be risky because I don’t know how or if the embroidery will work well on them. It’s a challenge getting my ideas to work the way I want especially as I’m a perfectionist. With my Oddity project it took around ten attempts to get it exactly how I wanted. I remember the technician at uni asking me if I think I’d had enough. I was so determined and told her “no, this is going to work, it’s better than it was yesterday.” I think I’d enjoy the whole process less if there weren’t any challenges. Another challenge I faced was with the sportswear base fabrics I used; they moved around a lot when they were in the machine. I really wanted the stitches to be in the right place or the whole concept of creating ambiguity with the materials would be lost!

Are you confident with the Amaya machine?

Yeah I am, I’d never actually used it before my final year of university. Luckily I’m a fast learner and I was fortunate enough to have access in using the machine as final year students were given priority.

What other types of textiles would you like to make?

I’d like to try and work with beading, I know I can do it but I’d like to push my skills further and see where I can take it. I haven’t beaded in a while so it would be fun to get back into it. Before I went on my placement year I liked doing a lot of illustrative pieces.

Like print based?

No, illustrating with embroidery. Drawing with stitches. I’d like to do more of that; I really enjoyed using different yarns to create depth and texture within an illustrative piece.

How did your collaboration with Fydor Golan come about?

They had a vacancy for an embroiderer and I applied. I love all the colours, techniques and textures they create, it’s so eclectic and exciting. 

Did they give you the ideas or did you present them with your own to work on?

They gave me an idea and told me to work on it exactly how they wanted. It had to be really perfect and precise.

How do you find working that way, do you prefer to have more of an input or are you happier working with the designers’ ideas?

I really like having creative freedom. When I interned with Jane Bowler she gave me an idea or a shape to work from and I went off and made what I wanted. We had a few team meetings to see what worked and gave each other feedback. Jane’s a really great designer and works with heat-treated plastics that are hand cut. She’s coming out with a bridal wear collection soon. I loved interning there because I felt like part of the team and I had such an input in the design process.

What else did you learn on your placement year?

One of the biggest things I learnt on my placement year is that it’s ok to make mistakes! Not everything turns out as you expected, and that’s not a bad thing. Working at Jane Bowler there was always a super experimental approach to developing the collections. Before my placement year I had an awful habit of throwing samples away if I didn’t think they were working as I expected, working in such an experimental studio meant I couldn’t do this. I think this really broke a bad habit and taught me something incredibly valuable – even if I hate what I’m making I’ll persevere, take a step back and look at it again in a week or so. By looking at it with fresh eyes I could see interesting characteristics I’d previously missed and develop these. I followed this process in the studio and have kept it with me since, not everything in the design process turns out perfect and that’s ok!

Who else would you like work with?

I’d love to work with Shrimps.

Ahhh yeah, I could see your textiles working really well with their aesthetics.

I’d also like to work with Mary Katrantzhou, her work’s so eclectic. 

Do you have any favourite designers with inspiring textiles?

I really like Juju Just. Her woven wall hangings and the colours she uses are amazing. I just want to touch them! Phoebe English too, she has such an innovative approach to traditional techniques like smocking and pleating, it’s refreshing to see.

What do you love most about textiles?

I love the scope of it. You can have all these different materials, techniques and processes. You can do so much beyond the techniques if you put your imagination to it. I like the surprise factor of textiles and how you can look at somebody else’s work from afar and be drawn in to find other elements. Even with my own work there are always surprises and things don’t always go to plan which I like.

Do you ever make things and half way through you realise it’s not working but still continue because you’ve made too much?

A few times, I often find though if I go back and look at the piece again a week or so later I can find elements I’d overlooked before which then inspire me to develop new pieces in a slightly different way. Sometimes you just need to take a step back!

Do you think it’s more of you being highly critical of yourself?

Yeah definitely, it helps to have a second opinion. Sometimes though, looking at something for so long makes you hate it. I had the same feelings when I made Oddity; I looked at it and thought, “what have I made?” I really didn’t like it but the next morning I loved it again!

Do you have anyone you can show your work to and get his or her opinion?

I show people in general really. Although I do rely heavily on gut instinct when I’m making. I think following your gut and knowing what makes you tick can play a lot in creating a pieces that really reflect your individual style and aesthetic as a designer. It’s about finding that balance between the two.

You can follow Gemma on Instagram here and see more of her work here