Thread, tides and what’s next...
- Sam Luxford
- Jul 30
- 5 min read
A very fitting day for a newsletter
Today is World Embroidery Day, which feels like a rather lovely day to be writing to you from NaviStitch.
Embroidery has been part of my work for such a long time now, but I still love the fact that it can take so many different forms: It can be traditional or contemporary. Tiny or ambitious. Decorative, practical, personal, experimental, quiet, bold, neat, messy, planned or entirely improvised.
In my case, it often involves paper, charts, coastlines, thread, a few unexpected locations, and occasionally working out how to stitch something I haven’t tried before.
So today felt like a good moment to share a little embroidery news.
The Embroiderer’s Directory
I’m really pleased to have been included in The Embroiderer’s Directory, a new directory put together by Kelly Fletcher of Fellenn.
It brings together independent hand embroidery designers, teachers, shops and makers from around the world, helping people discover small creative businesses and individuals working with stitch.
The directory launches today, and you can choose to download it for free or pay a little if you’d like to support the work that’s gone into putting it together.
It’s always lovely to be included in something that celebrates embroidery as a living, varied and creative art form.
Still showing: Three Artists and a Potter
Upstairs in the Sail Loft, Three Artists and a Potter continues until this Saturday, 1 August. This exhibition brings together work by:
Julia Lord
Frances Vincent
Billy Hamersley
Rob Norman
There’s watercolour, oil painting and ceramics in the gallery, which gives the exhibition a really nice mix of colour, landscape, texture and form.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed about this show is the way the work changes the pace of the room. Some pieces ask you to look closely at detail and colour. Others bring shape and surface into the space. It’s another good reminder that group exhibitions don’t have to feel like one thing. They can be varied and still sit together beautifully.
If you haven’t seen it yet, you still have a few days.
July into August opening hours
As July comes to a close, a little note about opening hours.
NaviStitch has been open Tuesday to Saturday throughout July, but from August we’ll return to our usual opening hours:
Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-4pm
We’ll still be open this Saturday 1 August, so if you’re in Manningtree for the Regatta, do pop in.
Manningtree Regatta weekend
This weekend is Manningtree Town Regatta, which always brings a lovely buzz to the town and the river.
There’ll be sailing, rowing, activities on the water, fireworks on Saturday evening, mud sports on Sunday morning and plenty happening around the beach and waterfront - here's what's on 👉
Given how much of my work is inspired by the coast, rivers, boats and charts, it feels rather appropriate to have the Regatta happening just as we move from July into August.
If you’re heading into Manningtree on Saturday, NaviStitch will be open 10am-4pm. You can visit the gallery, browse the shop, pick up a card or gift, chat about commissions, or just escape the Regatta crowds for a few minutes of colour, stitch and calm.
Next in the Sail Loft: A Sense of Summer
After Three Artists and a Potter, the Sail Loft changes again for A Sense of Summer.
This exhibition runs from Wednesday 5 August to Saturday 29 August and brings together a handpicked group of talented artists:
Carolyn Hinchliffe
Rik Saggers
Peter Porteous-Butler
Sheldon Chase
Anne Plummer
Chris Harvey
Caroline Rhys-Lewis (Hornbeam Ceramics)
Punkshed Jewellery with bracelets and pendants for the cabinet
I’m really looking forward to giving the gallery a fresh August feel. A Sense of Summer feels like exactly the right exhibition for this point in the year. Something warm, varied and full of different ways of seeing the season.
Autumn Exhibition applications
Applications are still open for the NaviStitch Autumn Exhibition.
If you’re an artist or maker and you’d like your work to be considered for the Sail Loft Gallery, you can find the full terms and application form here
The closing date is 8 August 2026, so there’s still a little time to apply.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes in. The Autumn Exhibition is always a lovely opportunity to bring different artists together, discover new work, and create a show that feels rich, thoughtful and full of seasonal change.
If you have any trouble with the Google form, please let me know.
Workshops, kits and stitching at home
As it’s World Embroidery Day, it feels only right to mention a few ways to get stitching yourself:
My autumn workshop dates are now live, including:
Botanical
Flower Head Collage
Coastal
Coastal Collage
Sew a Boat Taster
On the Shoreline
Embroidered Paper Baubles
Christmas Cards
The bauble workshops have already had a lovely response, with one evening session selling out quickly, so do book early if there’s a particular date you have your eye on.
And if you can’t get to Manningtree for a workshop, books, kits, paper packs, colour packs and tool kits are also available online. That means you can stitch at home, in your own time, with a cup of tea and without needing to climb the Sail Loft stairs!
Although I do rather like it when people climb the Sail Loft stairs.
A note from the workbench
I’ve had a few commissions quietly moving through the workbench recently.
Some can be shared straight away, some have to wait until the gift has been given, and some need a little more of the story before I show them properly. That’s one of the things I love about commission work. There’s usually a reason behind every choice:
A place.
A boat.
A map.
A memory.
A date.
A detail that might look tiny to someone else, but means everything to the recipient. I’ll have more commission stories to share soon. Meantime, see how simple it is to commission a piece of bespoke nautical stitched art.
💌 Thank You
Whether you’ve visited an exhibition, applied for the Autumn show, booked a workshop, bought a card, gift or a kit, commissioned a piece, trusted me with your framing, or simply followed along online, thank you.
It’s a busy time in the Sail Loft at the moment, but in the best possible way.
The gallery is changing.
The workshop programme is growing.
The shop is full of summer visitors.
And there’s always another piece of thread waiting to be stitched.
I hope to see you in Manningtree soon.
Until next time...
Calm waters and plain sailing,
Sam
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