Category: Hector Maclean

  • Embroidery Photoshoot Winter 2025

    Embroidery Photoshoot Winter 2025

    A photographer was organised by Islington Council to come to the community centre where I work for myself and my embroidery class to be photographed.

    I have an inspiring story, in that I sent three of my girls to Hector Maclean to give them industry experience of working with a fashion designer on a fashion collection for LFW AW 2025. It was an eye opener for them and two of my learners worked on Pretty Queen with the other learner working on the Rosette dress. It was a major learning curve for them as they did not know what to expect with working for a fashion designer, in my classes I create the project that consists of a design, the stitches I want to teach that term and then the actual physical product, also we work a lot with calico as the budget stretches to that.

    It felt right for summer 2025 that I needed to help Hector with his beading for the collection SS’26, it was a great opportunity for my creative juices to flow to increase my own ideas for private work. I was able to work on the “Beaded blood spinal cord” and the “Dragon eye dress”.

    I have created two videos that gives you the chance to experience what it is like as an embroidery designer working on a collection and then being part of the fashion show. Sewing with Samines

  • Front cover of Islington Life

    Front cover of Islington Life

    I was so humbled to be told the photo from the photoshoot for the Threading Community article got onto the front cover of Islington Life!

    We celebrated with orange chocolate biscuits and kit kats.

    Screenshot
  • LFW Sept 2025 Hector Maclean                                 “The Girl Who Ate The Dragon”.

    LFW Sept 2025 Hector Maclean “The Girl Who Ate The Dragon”.

    Hector Maclean

    “I had the absolute honour and pleasure of working with Saminamary and her incredible learners Charlie and Gulsah, the unbelievable talent that they posses is breath taking and helped greatly with this project to become extraordinary. From independent working to illustrating the dragons themselves with amazing skill and with hardly any embroidery thread, they did an incredible amazing job!

    Saminamary was an absolute pleasure in coming in and teaching the beautiful interns about various techniques as well as working on the spinal cord details and as well as embroidering the eye of a dragon for a beautiful dress we were doing. And I can not be more thankful for the skill level and their attention to detail they showed sheer talent.

    I am very, very grateful and thankful to all these incredible embroiderers and artisans who have been involved in making the Girl who ate the Dragon just an amazing collection. Obviously Saminamary classes are teaching people incredible skills, making sure people who are doing work experience know what they are doing with very little interaction or need for help, that they are strong independent workers and that is something wonderful for a designer as I do not have to guide people every second: I felt they were kind, sweet and incredible at their jobs”.

  • Goldwork for Hector Maclean

    Hector Maclean Tatler

    I had a very crazy idea that I acted on, I asked Hector Maclean if he needed help with his collection and that I had potentially one or two embroidery learners who may help him, he said yes!

    This piece that has been worked on is by Tatu, Hector printed his logo on the grey velvet and asked Tatu to crack on with the gold work. I need to say that Tatu has only been with me since September 2024 and although she is a beginner, she is more of an advanced beginner. I would love to teach how to do gold work, but I would not as for a 10cm square piece it costs roughly £20 for the gold threads and considering I have eight or ten learners depending on the numbers and it is a free course it not realistic in the budget. The piece also has beads sewn in around the inside of the circle and Hector used ribbon from his brothers wedding, I love that detail.

    Hector Maclean initials in goldwork
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