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Susannah Weiland LSDC

Stitched & Constructed Textiles

About Susannah
Susannah Weiland is a contemporary hand embroidery artist based in Richmond upon Thames, working across figurative and abstract approaches. Her figurative works combine tonal drawing with fine hand stitching to create detailed studies of birds and wildlife; her abstract pieces build thousands of French knots into leather, translating light and landscape into richly textured surfaces. QEST Scholar, Homo Faber artisan and Royal Academy exhibitor. Original artworks available as limited edition prints and interior pieces. Commissions welcome.
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Biography Back to top

Susannah Weiland is a contemporary hand embroidery artist based in Richmond upon Thames, working across two distinct bodies of work — figurative and abstract — with the natural world as a constant source of inspiration.

Her figurative practice begins with observation. A keen photographer and dedicated observer of wildlife, Susannah works from her own images, building each collection around the creatures of a specific place. Her most recent series, Royal Park Life, was inspired by the wildlife of six of the Royal London Parks. Each work starts as a tonal pencil drawing, printed onto cotton-silk fabric, into which she meticulously hand stitches colour using fine machine embroidery threads — animating the animals and birds while keeping the background monochrome. The result is a work that sits precisely between drawing and textile art.

Her abstract works take a different material path. Stitching directly into soft fine leather, Susannah builds each piece from thousands of French knots in thread and wool, combined with seed beads, to create a densely textured pointillist surface. Her Stitching Sunsets series translates her own photographs of skies and sunsets — taken across different months of the year near her home — into richly layered compositions of colour and mark. The repetitive, meditative act of stitching is central to the work; each knot a small record of time and attention.

Across both approaches, the process is slow and deliberate, and every piece is unique. Susannah's practice grew from years of working as a graphic and textile designer in the fashion industry, during which she explored many creative disciplines before committing fully to hand embroidery as her primary medium.

In 2021 she was awarded a QEST Scholarship to study technical hand embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework, and in 2022 received a Newby Trust Award at Cockpit Studios. In 2024 she was selected as an artisan for Homo Faber, the Michelangelo Foundation's showcase of European craft excellence. Her work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2021), the Bath Society of Artists Annual Exhibition (2022 and 2025), the Royal Cambrian Academy Open Exhibition (2023), The Broderers' Exhibition (2022 and 2025), ICFF in New York, and at London Craft Week, the London Design Festival and Decorex. In 2026 she was awarded an Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant to support a period of research and development, including a three-month Drawing Intensive at the Royal Drawing School and dedicated studio time to experiment with new approaches to drawing and stitch.

Resumé Back to top

EDUCATION/ TRAINING

  • 2021 – 2025 Certificate in Technical Hand Embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework
  • 1996 – 1999 BA (Hons) Graphic Design at Nottingham Trent University
  • 1995 – 1996 BTEC Diploma Foundation Course in Art and Design at Kingston University, Faculty of Art and Design


GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026

  • Resonance with the Sussex Contemporary, Brighton
  • Spirit of Couples, Saga Cruises
  • (IM) Material with BobCat Gallery - Putney

2025

  • Quote & Curate Winter Curation - Chelsea Harbour, London
  • Orleans House Winter Show, Twickenham
  • Bath Society of Artists 120th Annual Exhibition, Bath
  • Crane Court Gallery Summer Exhibition, London
  • Richmond Art Society Summer Exhibition, Teddington
  • March Hares Open Exhibition, One Paved Court, Richmond
  • The Broderers’ Exhibition: The Art of Embroidery, Bankside Gallery, London
  • Nosakhari Able-Graphy Exhibition, Galleria Objets, London

2024

  • HERE+NOW, Chichester
  • Guildford House Open, Guildford
  • HelvetArt Fair, Reading
  • Southwark Park Galleries Open, London
  • STRANDS with ArtCan, London
  • The Horton Summer Exhibition, Epsom
  • Town House Open, London
  • Fiesta with ArtCan, London
  • Craftworks, London

2023

  • Orleans House Winter Show, Twickenham
  • Guildford House Open, Guildford
  • Cockpit Winter Open Studios, London
  • WONDER, Chichester
  • Richmond Art House Open Studios, London
  • Atelier Open, Brighton
  • Cockpit Summer Open Studios, London
  • London Craft Week with Future Icons, London
  • The Royal Cambrian Academy Open Exhibition, Wales

2022

  • Orleans House Winter Show, Twickenham
  • Thrown Contemporary Winter Exhibition, Online
  • The South West Academy Open Exhibition, Devon
  • Decorex with QEST, London
  • The Gallery Green & Stone Summer Exhibition, London
  • Atelier Beside the Sea, Brighton
  • John Lewis with QEST: Platinum Jubilee Showcase, London
  • Bath Society of Artists 117th Annual Exhibition, Bath
  • The Wild Collective with Thrown Contemporary at Omved Gardens, London
  • Artefact with QEST at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, London
  • Flora Flora at Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield
  • Eye of the Beholder with ArtCan , 508 Gallery, London
  • Fortnum & Mason with QEST: The Art of Exceptional, London
  • Contemporary Textiles Fair, Landmark Arts Centre, Teddington
  • The Broderers’ Exhibition: The Art of Embroidery, Bankside Gallery, London
  • Winter with ArtCan, Kingsgate Project Space, London

2021

  • Explorers Against Extinction, The Oxo Tower, London
  • Decorex with Design Nation, Olympia, London
  • Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London
  • The Makers Market, The Royal Exchange, London

2020

  • Design Nation at Oxo Tower Wharf, London
  • Decorex with Design Nation, Virtual
  • Top Drawer Craft with Design Nation, Olympia, London
  • Strawberry Hill House Christmas Festival with The Decor Cafe, Twickenham

2019

  • Decorex, Olympia, London
  • MAKE Festival, Watts Gallery, Compton
  • ICFF with British European Design Group, New York, USA
  • London Craft Week, with Design Nation, Bargehouse Oxo Tower, London
  • Midcentury Modern, Dulwich College, London

2017

  • Cockpit Arts Open Studio, Deptford, London

2016

  • Top Drawer Spotted, Olympia, London
  • One Year One at New Designers, Business Design Centre, London

AWARDS

2026

  • Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant

2025

  • Richmond Art Prize Finalist
  • Chiswick House & Gardens Wildlife Art Competition Winner
  • Runner up in the Richmond Dragon's Den Style Pitch Up

2024

  • HelvetArt Merit Award

2022

  • Newby Trust Award at Cockpit Studios
  • Shortlisted for the Sunny Arts Prize
  • Runner up in the Bath Society of Artists Open Exhibition Public Choice Award

2021

  • QEST Finnis Scott Foundation Scholarship

AFFILIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS

  • Society of Designer Craftsmen
  • QEST
  • Homo Faber Guide
  • The Koppel Project
  • Crafts Council Directory
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