Autumn's final stretch; Christmas filling fast
I seem to have reached that peculiar point of the year where the Sail Loft is still very definitely autumnal, while downstairs my brain is rapidly filling up with Christmas.
Quite a lot has happened since the last newsletter:
The Autumn Exhibition has continued to find new homes for pieces;
The Christmas pop-up has had a rather enthusiastic response;
The bauble workshops have been filling up;
And I’ve found a couple of places to take the stitching once the Sail Loft starts disappearing under Christmas stock. So, plenty to catch up on.
Well... the Christmas tables filled quickly
When I wrote last time, applications had only just opened for the 6th NaviStitch Christmas pop-up shop. Two weeks later, I can report that the table-top space is now full.
I knew that would probably be the first bit to go. There are always more lovely ceramics, jewellery, textiles and other handmade things than there are surfaces to put them on.
It’s a nice problem to have.
We’ve got lots of familiar NaviStitch exhibitors returning this year, alongside some new names, so it’s already shaping up to be a really interesting mix.
I do still have wall space available, though - so I’m particularly interested in applications from artists with giftable original work, or makers producing something designed to hang rather than sit on a table.
Applications officially close on 11 October, although obviously once the remaining space is full, it’s full. So if you know someone whose work might suit the walls of the Christmas Shop, please do point them in my direction.
And thank you to everyone who has applied already. At some point I will have to work out where everything is actually going. Future Sam can deal with that.
One final week of Autumn
The 2026 Autumn Exhibition is now moving into its final stretch - it closes on Saturday 3rd October, so if you’ve been meaning to come upstairs and have a proper look, there isn’t too much longer.
Over the course of the exhibition I’ve been sharing different groups of artists on social media, because with so many people taking part I really wanted everyone to have their moment rather than repeatedly showing the same few pieces.
That has also been quite a nice way of looking at the exhibition. One day it’s local places.
Another it’s wildlife. Then colour, material, collage, glass, pottery, abstraction or something completely unexpected. It reminds me that there really isn’t one single way to experience a mixed exhibition. And, of course, pieces have continued to sell, so what you find upstairs now isn’t exactly what was there on preview night.
If you’d like one last autumn wander, we’re open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-4pm.
And then the Sail Loft changes again
Once the Autumn Exhibition comes down, the space changes gear almost immediately.
One thing I’m particularly looking forward to is getting my workshop teaching space back.
There are still spaces available on some of the October workshops, so if you’ve been thinking about having a go at paper embroidery, there are still opportunities to come and spend some creative time upstairs.
Alongside the workshops, the gallery programme keeps moving too:
From 7-17th October, I’ll be welcoming back Chris Harvey, whose beautiful woodturning has appeared at NaviStitch before.
Then from 21-24th October, another familiar NaviStitch name returns: Anne Plummer.
Both are previous exhibitors and old friends of the gallery, so October has a lovely feeling of welcoming people back.
Same stairs.
Same rooms.
A completely different reason to climb them.
The stitching is escaping NaviStitch
The Christmas bauble workshops have been booking really well: Both of the original evening bauble sessions at NaviStitch have sold out, and there are only a small number of daytime spaces remaining. The only problem is that once I start preparing the Sail Loft for the Christmas pop-up, I lose my usual teaching space. My solution to this is to take the baubles on tour!
First up is a new Embroidered Paper Baubles workshop at Stoke Bridge Workshops on:
Wednesday 4 November
We’ll be working with the Christmas-themed designs, and bookings are now live.
Then I’m heading rather closer to home. I’m working with Claret & Brew on South Street for a Christmas Baubles Sip and Sew evening on:
Tuesday 10th November at 6pm.
We’ll again be making the Christmas-themed embroidered paper baubles, but this one also includes your first drink, provided by Claret & Brew. Stitching apparently travels quite well. And stitching with a drink on a November evening sounds particularly civilised.
I really like the idea of taking the workshops into other venues while Christmas takes over the Sail Loft, particularly when it means working alongside other independent businesses and creative spaces.
While we're talking about getting ahead of Christmas
Do you have something you’ve been meaning to get framed?
A print still in its tube?
A picture leaning against a wall?
A photograph you love?
Something you inherited?
Something you bought ages ago and have been meaning to sort out “when you get around to it”?
Consider this your gentle nudge.
I offer bespoke framing through Nick Holyman Framing, and I’m always happy to talk through the piece, where it will be displayed and the sort of look you have in mind.
And if it happens to be intended as a Christmas present, September is a considerably calmer time to start that conversation than December.
Just saying.
Meanwhile, downstairs...
The Christmas lights donations pot is still here too, collecting for Light Up Manningtree.
And alongside all the increasingly festive planning, NaviStitch is still NaviStitch:
Cards.
Gifts.
Books.
Paper embroidery kits.
Stitched charts.
Framing.
Commissions.
Creative supplies.
And usually something I didn’t intend to buy for the shop but decided was too lovely to leave behind.
We’re open:
Wednesday to Saturday 10am-4pm
The Autumn Exhibition continues until Saturday 3 October.
Then the Sail Loft changes again.
And somewhere in the background, the Christmas Shop is getting considerably less quiet.
Thank you, as always, for coming in, buying work, booking workshops, applying to exhibit, recommending NaviStitch to other people, reading these newsletters and generally enabling all of this creative chaos.
Until next time...
Calm waters and plain sailing,
Sam
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