Tiny Art, Big Autumn Plans
A little first look for newsletter readers
I’ve been sitting on this for a little while, and I’m very pleased that I can finally share it with you here first: I've bought a vending machine.
Not for crisps.
Not for chocolate.
For tiny art.
Obviously.
It’s a proper little vending machine, and the plan is to use it for limited edition mini prints, tiny paper embroidery kits, and possibly all sorts of other small creative things once I’ve had a proper play with it.
I have quite a few ideas already, which probably won’t surprise anyone.
Tiny limited edition prints
The first proper outing for the machine will be at the Autumn Exhibition Preview Night on Friday 4 September.
For the exhibition, the machine will be filled with ACEOs, which stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals.
They’re small, collectable artworks, the same size as a traditional cigarette card: 3.5 x 2.5 inches.
For the Autumn Exhibition, there’ll be mini prints of works from the show. Each one will be part of a limited edition of 10, numbered and signed by the artist.
Each token will be £1.50, which means anyone visiting the gallery can own a numbered, signed, limited edition print for just £1.50.
There’s also a little pot luck element, which I rather love.
The machine has two columns, with six different prints in each side. You choose a side, pop in your token, and the machine decides which one you get.
They won’t be in edition order either, so anyone could end up with number 1.
I’m still firming up exactly which artists and works will be included, but I think it’s going to be a really lovely way to make the exhibition feel more playful and accessible.
Because yes, original artwork is wonderful.
But so is the chance to take home a tiny signed piece of the exhibition for £1.50.
I was too impatient to wait
I should probably admit that although the artist prints will officially launch in the vending machine at the Autumn Exhibition preview night, I was a bit too impatient to leave it sitting empty until then.
So it’s already in the shop.
For now, it contains tiny Sew a Beach Hut paper embroidery kits, with a pot luck choice of six different colour options. It’s a little experiment, really, but that’s half the fun. I like the idea that someone can come into the shop, buy a token, and leave with a tiny surprise project to stitch at home.
It may move upstairs for the exhibition, but for now you’ll find it downstairs at NaviStitch, quietly waiting for curious people.
One last look at Summer
Upstairs in the Sail Loft, A Sense of Summer is now in its final few days.
The exhibition runs until Saturday 29 August, so if you’ve been meaning to visit, this is the week.
It’s been lovely having the gallery full of artwork, ceramics, jewellery, colour, texture and all the different ways artists and makers have responded to the season.
Some pieces are bright and bold.
Some are quieter.
Some are full of detail.
Some make people lean in.
Some make people stand back.
And, as always, everyone seems to notice something different.
That’s one of my favourite things about a group exhibition. It gives visitors more than one way to connect with the work.
NaviStitch is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-4pm.
You’re invited: Autumn Exhibition Preview Night
After A Sense of Summer closes, the Sail Loft will begin changing again. The 2026 NaviStitch Autumn Exhibition opens with a preview night on
Friday 4 September
5pm-8pm
NaviStitch,
Manningtree High Street
Everyone is welcome.
This year’s Autumn Exhibition features work from over 40 talented artists, including:
framed artwork
unframed artwork
wood turning
ceramics
glass
It’s always exciting seeing the gallery shift into a new season, and the Autumn Exhibition is already beginning to feel rich, varied and full of different textures and ideas.
There’ll also be the new tiny art vending machine upstairs for the preview, with limited edition signed mini prints from the exhibition.
So if you’d like to be among the first to see the show, do come along.
I’d love to see you there.
A first for me: book cover artwork
I’ve also had another little first recently.
I designed a book cover.
My husband Clem has just launched his new novella, Sands of Solace, and one of my coastal beach scenes is now on the front.
The story is mostly set on the Essex coast, with salt marshes, mudflats, big skies, an estuary and a small community of beach huts becoming a place of refuge, friendship and second chances.
So a coastal scene felt rather perfect.
I’m used to seeing my work framed, stitched, hung, wrapped, gifted or taken home from the shop.
Seeing it on a book cover feels very different.
And rather lovely.
The book is now available on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon. Click here for my Amazon affiliate link, as I receive a tiny amount if it’s used. I should also have some copies in the shop soon.
Workshops, kits and small ways to start
I won’t repeat the whole autumn workshop list again this time, but dates are booking now and there are plenty of ways to get stitching over the next few months.
There are full day workshops if you’d like a proper creative day in the Sail Loft.
There are shorter festive sessions if you’d like something a little lighter.
There are books, kits, paper packs, colour packs and tool kits if you’d rather stitch at home.
And now, apparently, there are tiny paper embroidery kits coming out of a vending machine too!
I do like giving people different ways in.
Not everyone wants to start in the same place. Some people want a workshop. Some want a kit. Some want to come in and browse first. Some want to ask lots of questions. Some want to quietly have a go at home with a cup of tea.
All of those are perfectly good ways to begin.
Looking further ahead
After the Autumn Exhibition, we have two familiar names returning to the Sail Loft in October.
Chris Harvey, woodturning artist, will be exhibiting from 7-17 October.
Then Anne Plummer will return from 21-24 October.
Both Chris and Anne are old friends of NaviStitch and previous exhibitors, so it’ll be lovely to welcome them back into the gallery.
I’ll share more about both exhibitions nearer the time.
And yes, before anyone asks, I am already thinking about Christmas.
Not too much.
But enough!
💌 Thank You
Whether you’ve visited A Sense of Summer, applied for the Autumn Exhibition, booked a workshop, bought a card or gift, tried a kit, commissioned a piece, trusted me with your framing, or simply continued reading these newsletters, thank you.
The Sail Loft is about to change again.
The vending machine is ready for its first proper exhibition outing.
There are commissions on the workbench.
Workshops are booking.
And, somehow, another season is already just around the corner.
I hope to see you in Manningtree soon.
Until next time...
Calm waters and plain sailing,
Sam
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