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Impressionist Goldwork with Michelle Agnew

£595.00
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Description

Location: This course is delivered via Zoom & WhatsApp. Please click here for guides to using Zoom & WhatsApp

Duration: 9 Week Embroidery Course (1 x 2.5 hour session per week for 9 consecutive weeks) 

Date: 30th January - 27th March 2026 (1pm-3.30pm - Fridays)

This nine-week course explores the meeting point between traditional goldwork embroidery, impressionistic expression and the flowing lines of the Art Nouveau movement. Taking inspiration from Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh—one of Klimt’s lesser-known influences—students will create embroidery that features elongated lines and varied textures.

Like the Impressionists, who used broken colour and light to suggest rather than define, students will use the reflective qualities of goldwork—its texture, direction and play of light—to convey the essence of an idea.

The original design for this class is inspired by the wind phone: a disconnected telephone placed in a quiet spot to carry messages on the wind to loved ones. These spaces offer solace and reflection, giving people a chance to share memories and say the words left unspoken.

A 12.5 cm × 12.5 cm design will be provided, but students are welcome to develop their own subject and create a design of the same size. Those choosing this route will be asked to prepare a mood board and proposed design ahead of the first class.

Throughout the course, students will learn core goldwork techniques including couching, cutwork, chipping and s-ing, alongside innovative approaches that draw on unconventional techniques such as knitting, braiding and the deconstruction of deadstock fabric. Unusual materials—like china fragments, beads, found objects or precious scraps—will also be incorporated to push creative boundaries and expand traditional practice.

Important Course Information
  • Check your shipping address and email are correct before ordering.

  • Please read all of the course description information above and the technical and shipping information below before booking your course.

  • All courses are non refundable, if you cannot attend please let us know as soon as possible and we will try to move you to another course.

  • If you have any questions please check our FAQ's page here.

Course Design Inspiration

The design for this course is inspired by the wind phone, a simple, disconnected telephone placed in a quiet garden in Japan as a way for people to speak to loved ones who have passed away. Over time, similar installations have appeared around the world, offering spaces of solace and reflection where words can be spoken into the wind. This idea of messages carried through air, fleeting yet powerful, informs the composition of the piece. Flowing lines echo the movement of wind, while areas of light and texture created through goldwork suggest the intangible nature of memory and emotion. The design balances structure with fluidity, encouraging personal interpretation and emotional connection.

About Your Tutor 

Michelle Agnew is a Canadian artist specializing in sculptural goldwork embroidery. With training from the Royal School of Needlework, she transforms traditional embroidery into a three-dimensional art form through impressionistic goldwork. Michelle’s work merges the ancient craft of goldwork with contemporary techniques, recontextualizing it within modern frameworks. Her approach aims to celebrate the medium's versatility and honour the craft’s rich heritage while expanding its boundaries, creating visually striking and conceptually engaging artworks.

Michelle is also a Freeman of The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers.

List of Taught Techniques 

Over the course of the 6 weeks of this course you will learn the following embroidery techniques

  • Work with pearl purl to create delicate raised outlines and decorative borders

  • Explore cutwork to shape and place metal threads for structured, reflective areas

  • Learn chipping to add sparkling texture and dimension

  • Practise s-ing to form flowing, decorative patterns with s-shaped coils

  • Develop couching techniques to secure metal threads neatly on the surface

  • Use whipped plate to hold plate in place with a decorative over-stitch

  • Refine couching with metal threads for precise lines and varied textures

  • Experiment with knitting using goldwork threads to introduce unexpected structures and surfaces

  • Learn plunging and tying back to finish work cleanly and professionally on the reverse

What You’ll Need to Provide 

For this course you will need to provide the following (all other materials will be sent out to you): 

  • You will need to provide scrap fabrics, any additional threads you’d like to use (such as DMC for couching or alternative metal threads), and at least one unusual material to incorporate, for example beads, china, sea shells or similar.

  • If you’d like to work with your own colour scheme, you should create a mood board or palette and select your materials accordingly. Hand & Lock will provide gold metal threads for this class; if you wish to use metal threads in other colours, you’ll need to source these yourself.

  • You may also bring your own background fabric (non-stretch) to match your chosen palette, subject to approval.

External Embroidery Course with Kew Gardens - Daisy Teaching

How the Course Works

Technical Information

Our online courses are delivered via Zoom using a high-quality visualiser for close-up stitching. We record each session so you can catch up or revise later. You’ll also be added to a dedicated WhatsApp group, where students and tutors can connect, share photos, ask questions and cheer each other on.

See our guide to downloading Zoom and WhatsApp here

All courses are run on UK time, please check here for help converting to another time zone.

Shipping Information

All of the materials for your course will be shipped to you, unless otherwise stated in the product description.

UK Shipping - Parcels will be sent via Royal Mail Tracked 2 weeks to 3 days before the course start date.

International Shipping - Parcels are shipped via express courier 2 weeks before the course start date, at the latest. If you book in the 2 week window, we cannot guarantee on-time delivery.

Additional Items in Your Order - If you place an order that includes both your course and other shop items, these will all be shipped together with your kit. If you would like non-course items sooner, please place a separate order.

PO Boxes / Third Party Couriers - Please do not use PO Boxes or third-party courier addresses. Hand & Lock cannot be held responsible for delays, lost parcels or additional costs.

Please be sure to double check your shipping address and email

External Course with Kew Gardens - Lucy Martin teaching

Teaching Style

Hand & Lock’s embroidery courses are known for their welcoming, student focused atmosphere where students of all levels quickly feel part of the Hand & Lock community. With small class sizes and tutors who are attentive and personable, everyone receives the guidance and encouragement they need to reach their creative goals. Our teaching style is approachable and down to earth and we go out of our way to share knowledge while celebrating each student’s progress. What makes the School so special is the community that grows around it, supportive, creative and often leading to friendships that last well beyond the classroom. The friendships and support that grow here are often just as valuable as the skills you learn.

Additional Information