Jonathan Newey is an award-winning artist with extensive experience in many drawing and painting mediums including coloured pencil. He comes from a long line of artists in the family and studied art and design at the London College of Printing.
He is a City & Guilds qualified teacher and has over 20 years' experience of teaching in adult education. He has many drawings and paintings in collections both nationally and internationally and has demonstrated for most of the top manufacturers in the UK.
Jonathan is an active promoter of the coloured pencil as a serious drawing medium and is a founder member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society.
Tatiana Popova is a Ukrainian embroiderer. She learnt to stitch at an early age and for a time pursued her passion for stitching by studying a huge variety of embroidery styles and techniques, both at school and in her own time.
With a reputation for clear instruction and stylish design, Claire Montgomerie has become one of the most trusted voices in crochet. Her work empowers makers to build skills with confidence while creating pieces they’re proud of.
Yishan Li is a professional manga artist whose work is recognised for its cute, kawaii aesthetic and expressive character designs, bringing warmth and personality to her illustrated titles.
Debbie Shore is a celebrated sewing author and presenter, widely admired for her approachable style and her talent for guiding sewists of all levels through practical, beautiful projects.
Carolyn Forster is a respected quilting author and educator whose work focuses on accessible, enjoyable patchwork techniques designed to help makers develop skills at their own pace.
Sachiyo Ishii is an accomplished textile artist and educator whose creative practice covers knitting, sewing and handcrafted dolls. Her work is characterised by charm, detail and an emphasis on accessible, enjoyable making.
Julia Chiang is a crochet designer known for her playful, character-driven approach and her love of creating charming, story-inspired makes that appeal to beginners and experienced makers alike.
Winner of the 2026 Best New Author for the Creative Book Awards, Olivia Dieterich is a crochet designer and community creator whose work focuses on spreading kindness through making. Her approach combines creativity with a strong sense of connection and wellbeing.
Kylie Moleta is a freelance crochet designer who has designed for both yarn companies and magazine publishers. She has a love of colour and design, and particularly enjoys creating blankets and granny squares. She shares her latest creations and designs on Instagram @stitchedupcraft, where she has over 62k followers. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Sarah Abbondio is a Danish/Swiss designer who has been interested in creating things since she was very little. She trained as a design engineer and has been working as an independent designer and product developer for several Danish brands.
Sam Sabido is a mum of four, collector of all things vintage, and loves to share her enjoyment of crochet with others. Sam was a qualified teacher for 10 years before setting up her own business teaching crochet and designing patterns. Sam quickly developed a large following of regular customers, teaching crochet at yarn shops and fairs, in her own studio and online. She now runs regular crochet clubs, classes and retreats at local venues and online.
Val Pierce's passion for crochet and knitting began when her father taught her to knit at the age of five. Having worked for many major yarn companies and various well-known designers, she decided it was time to branch out and begin making her own designs, and her designs appear regularly in national knitting and crochet magazines. She teaches a range of needlecrafts, to both adults and children.
Lynne Rowe was taught to knit and crochet by her grandmother in her early childhood and has been hooked ever since. She has developed a wide range of specialist skills and loves to pass these on to others through her workshops and classes. She is best known for her whimsical designs which feature regularly in the UK’s most popular craft magazines, along with articles and technical guides. Her practical approach makes her patterns straightforward, easy to read and fun to make. Her aim is to encourage as many people as possible to knit and crochet.
Annette Collinge has had a lifelong interest in embroidery. She is a life member of The Embroiderers’ Guild, and has been a Branch Chairman, Regional Chairman and Trustee of the Guild. She is currently part of a working party organizing exhibitions of the Collection, and is the primary contact for questions about the Collection.
Jane is a UK-based artist and printmaker. After gaining a degree in Textile Design from Central Saint Martins in the 1980s, Jane worked as a freelance textile and graphic designer for almost 20 years, followed by 16 years of teaching art in schools. In 2018 Jane set up her own art/printmaking practice, Inky Dog Studio. Since then, Jane's stunning work has generated a passionate following worldwide, with over 142,000 followers on Instagram alone.
Susan Yeates is an artist, author and TEDx speaker. She has written and self-published four books, and her Search Press titles include Beginner’s Guide to Linocut, published in 2018, Sketchbook Challenge and Sketch-a-Day Card Deck.
Joy-Louise Robinson has been drawing for most of her life. She has almost a decade of experience working in the creative industry, with a background in fine art, graphic design and illustration.
Aria Wei is a digital illustrator and kawaii artist, working under the Instagram handle @riacchie, where she posts her playful, whimsical creatures to her 38k followers.
Olga Kölsch is a Norway-based watercolor artist, instructor, and book author known for her expressive and layered transparent style. Since beginning her artistic journey in 2016, she has developed a distinctive approach to watercolor, focusing on light, fluidity, and contemporary techniques. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in private collections worldwide.
Clarice Gomes is a watercolour artist and designer from Toronto, Canada. Her teaching journey started on YouTube and slowly evolved into in-person classes, retreats and a monthly watercolour membership. Her hope is that people fall in love with watercolour, using it as a creative outlet that is both relaxing and fun. Over her watercolour journey, Clarice has worked with many brands and is currently an ambassador for Princeton Brushes.
Haidee-Jo Summers is an award-winning artist whose work has appeared in exhibitions worldwide. Oils are her preferred medium, though she has taught in many different media, on subjects ranging from gardens to portraits. Hooked on painting and exploring, Haidee-Jo paints anywhere, no matter how busy or crowded the setting, how complex the scene or how difficult the weather.
For Jenny Aitken, teaching painting is an absolute passion her main aim is for students to be encouraged, informed and creatively enthused. She began tutoring and demonstrating ten years ago, and now runs online courses and art holidays around the UK and in Italy and France.
Tom began his artistic journey creating custom artwork on guitars using graffiti pens. But it was the move to a brush and more traditional media that truly opened the door to his world as an artist – and from that point on, there was no turning back.
Emma Tildesley is a botanical artist specializing in coloured pencil. Her work is rooted in careful observation, aiming to reflect the natural world as faithfully as possible.
Billy Showell graduated from St Martins School of Art with a B.A. in fashion design, but was irresistibly drawn to painting and illustration. She is now a renowned botanical fine artist and tutor. Billy works from her studio in Kent and teaches via her online school of botanical art. She also travels to teach throughout the UK, the USA and Australia.
Julie Collins studied Fine Art at the University of Reading and has been an artist, writer and teacher since then. She has written a number of colour mixing guides and artists’ problem solving books and also writes for Leisure Painter & The Artist magazine. She works from her studio in Hampshire, UK, where she explores her passion for painting, drawing and crafts.
Matthew Palmer is a renowned watercolour-painting teacher and best-selling author, with over 160,000 books sold worldwide. He has been painting for over 30 years, and specializes in landscapes, still life and animals.
Rob Wareing was born in South Africa. After finishing his education he travelled extensively, receiving private tuition from various portrait painters in the USA and Europe, as well as studying the techniques of traditional classical painting. He became a professional portrait painter at the age of 23 and his subsequent career spanned more than four decades.
Mia learnt cross stitch from her grandmother at the age of five. She continued her needle journey through school to become a Viking-age reenactment seamstress. In 2016 she started making a full-scale Bayeux Tapestry replica, knowing that it would take at least ten years to complete. What started as a labour of love became a personal challenge of epic proportions!
As a fully qualified teacher and lecturer, Helen Rhiannon set up the All Sewn Up sewing workshops in October 2010, designed to help people learn and develop new skills, and to be creative. She runs sewing workshops regularly, teaching people how to make items such as bags, cushions, toys and garments. Her expert tuition has attracted students from as far afield as Spain and Saudi Arabia.
Hazel Blomkamp has taught embroidery and beadwork in South Africa for over 20 years. She is the author of Crewel Animal Portraits, Crewel Birds, Crewel Twists, Crewel Intentions, Crewel Creatures, Hand Stitched Crazy Patchwork, two stitch guide books Needle Lace Techniques and Needle Weaving Techniques and has collaborated on Freestyle Embroidered Mandalas with Di van Niekerk and Monique Day-Wilde.
The Royal School of Needlework, or RSN, was founded in 1872 with a mission to preserve the art of hand embroidery. To mark the RSN's 150th anniversary, RSN Stitch Bank (rsnstitchbank.org), was launched to continue this mission; digitally conserving and showcasing the wide variety of the world’s embroidery stitches and the ways in which they have been used in different cultures and times.
Jo Lochhead is the founder and creative director of The Crafty Kit Company, an award winning business which produces soft craft kits inspired by the beautiful landscape, flora and fauna of East Lothian, where the business is based.
Tilly Rose is a creative textile artist, designer and tutor who works in her studio based in the Cambridgeshire Fens, UK. Her work involves layering, mixed media collage, surface stitching and embellishing. She uses traditional techniques with a modern twist, but always with a vintage flavour.
Khuc Cay (Hoang Thi Ngoc Anh) is a Vietnamese crochet designer and illustrator based in south-west France.
Sarah-Jayne is the creator of Bella Coco Crochet and a well-known crochet designer. She started her blog in 2011, where she shares her passion about teaching people to crochet. Since then, she has created numerous tutorials to help crocheters build their skills.
Anna Nikipirowicz is a crochet and knit designer and tutor. Her patterns are regularly featured in craft magazines such as Inside Crochet and she is the author of Crochet Wreaths for the Home, the Tunisian Crochet Stitch Dictionary, Embroidered Crochet and more.
Sarah-Jane Hicks has always enjoyed crochet and crafting in her spare time. She was taught to crochet as a child by her mum and grandmother. Previously she worked as a tax adviser and is now a freelance crochet designer.
KJA Artists, founded over 42 years ago by Kevin Jones renowned for co-creating the iconic 1989 Batman logo with Anton Furst has grown into one of the world’s leading illustration and animation agencies. Representing a global roster of top talent, KJA plays a major role in the publishing industry, from young children’s books to adult reference and everything in between.
Jo Allsopp set up Sable Studio Gallery in the grounds of Moira Furnace Museum. From her gallery space she sells her watercolour paintings, mosaics, cards, jewellery and giftware. Her spacious studio enables her to teach regular painting and drawing classes plus weekend workshops in a variety of media. She also does illustration work.
Caroline Ross uses wild and ancient materials to make artworks from small illustrations to large murals. She also teaches life drawing and shows people how to make the materials she herself uses. Having spent decades indoors in art and recording studios, Caroline spends as much as possible of her life outdoors, immersing herself in nature as she sources her materials, and makes her work.
For over 40 years, Aardman has entertained and charmed the world, creating much-loved characters and bringing unforgettable stories to life.
has always had a creative career. Having originally trained to be a ballet teacher, she changed her subject to fine art and spent fifteen years managing and subsequently owning a contemporary gallery and arts centre in the south west of the UK.
Prize-winning and inspirational watercolourist Jean Haines is well-known for her love of her chosen medium and her ability to instil enthusiasm and motivation in all around her. Having lived and travelled in many countries, this popular international artist and teacher has developed her skills while under the influence of masters from many countries, including Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
David Bellamy has always been fascinated by the world's wild places and has painted in the Himalayas, the Alps, Andes, the high Arctic, America and many parts of Africa, sometimes taking groups on painting expeditions. Highly regarded as a teacher of art, he has a tremendous following among leisure painters, many of whom have attended his extremely popular courses and workshops both in the UK and overseas.
Isabella is a macramé artist and author who turned her love for knotting into a business after the success of her blog, which followed her journey to learn 12 crafts in 12 months. She is inspired by design, natural materials and textures, and her passions are reflected in her work.
Claire Gelder loves all things hand-made, hand-woven and hand-crafted. She has been crafting for relaxation and fun for over twenty years.
Meng Zi is a freelance illustrator and art teacher, who specializes in character design and development. Renowned in the world of design for gaming and animation, he has contributed to numerous 3D animation projects; his particular eye for combining real-world figures and creatures into convincing fantasy designs mean he is in high demand.
Behind Lulu Compotine is Sandra Muller! Sandra established Lulu Compotine in 2018 after initially learning to knit clothes for her children. She then stumbled upon the wonderful realm of amigurumi – vibrant, crocheted cuddly toys! Consequently, her first charming crochet owl came to life.
Jan Messent qualified as a teacher in the mid-50s and, after teaching Art, History and English, became deeply involved with embroidery as an art form. As a member of the Embroiderers’ Guild, she taught embroidery design to its members, wrote and illustrated design books, and lectured worldwide.
Kimberley Hind grew up around sewing, being the daughter of best-selling sewing author Debbie Shore. After 12 years working as a visual merchandiser, she discovered a real passion for sewing during maternity leave following the birth of her daughter. Since then, she has made it her full-time occupation. Now, Kimberley runs a successful online sewing shop as well as her website which shares tutorials, tips and sewing inspiration. She also designs modern, beginner-friendly sewing patterns through her brand Made on Monday. Kimberley likes to create sewing projects that are simple and easy to follow, providing clear guidance for makers of all levels.
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