The Linen Peddler

Maker of things and dolls Inspired by faded opulence, curiosities, nostalgia and oddities

I am a gatherer, keeper and maker of things!
My current work is inspired by vintage spun cotton Christmas dolls and decorations
They are all hand made by my pernickety fingers combining materials such as recycled vintage lace, paper ephemera, Christmas decorations, natural cotton roving, paint, glitter and any other objects that suit.
Hording comes naturally to me and for years and years I have has gathered and collected an eclectic mix of trinkets objects, images, junk and jumble to use in my work.
“Its when I meander around bric a brac fairs, junk shops, car boots and antiques/collectors fairs “foraging and searching for pieces of this and pieces of that” my imagination comes alive and I fill with ideas.
I am especially enchanted by the faded opulence of bygone textiles, haberdashery and vintage fashion items such as white kid leather gloves, ballet shoes, pearls and diamante, dress shirt collars and studs.
Always on the look out for new inspiration I recently stumbled upon some delicate vintage spun cotton Christmas decorations. Immediately I just new I had to experiment and create my own pieces. They have a fairy tale story like feel and I adore them.
“Pernickety Fingers” was born. A collection of vintage inspired spun cotton dolls, objects and decorations for the festive season.
Items from this collection can be bought from thelinenpeddler shop on Etsy.
Ideas come and go and its in my nature to change direction and explore new paths of creativity. I have in the past produced hand printed table linen, one off pieces of taxidermy and sculptural objects inspired by museum collections
I was Senior Lecturer and Head of Fashion/Textiles on the Foundation course at the University for the Creative Arts, Maidstone from 1994 untill 2014. I was then for a short while an associate lecturer at UAL, teaching drawing classes on the BA (Hons) Fashion Illustration course.
I have a BA Hons in Fashion/Textiles and a Postgraduate in printed textiles from Winchester School of Art
I have been producing her own diverse work for many years and it has featured in articles, magazines and books such as Casa Vogue, Living Etc, Noi-se, Metro, Shop eat drink London, to name a few. Recent exhibitions of my sculptural art pieces include The Saatchi gallery ‘Burning Bright ‘ exhibition at The Hyatt Churchill, London. My work has also been for sale in various select boutiques in London such as Luna and Curious and Brixi.