Louise Nichols - March 2020

Louise Nichols’ talk this month was entitled “From Graduation to a career as a Textile Artist".  As a child she always enjoyed drawing and sketching so when the time came, Louise went to De Montfort University in Leicester to follow a Fashion and Textile degree specialising in surface design.  After graduating Louise went to work for an Upholstery designer, Jennifer Sanderson creating fabric and wallpaper designs.  Following that she worked for William Love who was an agent for stationery and Simon Elvin (Greetings cards) was a client.  Louise showed us a wonderful selection of Christmas cards, wrapping papers and gift bags she had made for sale in Superdrug, Oxfam and Clinton Cards.  

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​Louise started making her own cards and a range of handmade wedding stationery but when she returned after a break when her children were little, she found that technology had moved on giving her too much competition and so she made basic pictures and stitched gifts.  When she moved to Cornwall Louise started going to Craft Fairs and creating projects for SEW magazine.  Initially the editor would give a sewing brief and source the material but as time went on, a regular production line of items was needed so it was time for a change.  Louise enrolled on a printing course run by Sophie Fordham and started to use hessian backed lino to print simple basic images on fabric.  As she kept the copyright for the projects she was able to start her own workshops and now has kits and items for sale in 17 galleries around the UK.  

Thank you Louise for a most enjoyable talk and if you would like to purchase one of her kits or to find out more about her workshops visit her website at : https://louisenichols.com/

Report and photos by Ros