After leaving HCA, Rosie went onto join the haute couture embroidery programme in Chanel’s ateliers in Paris. She has since had work presented to the King and has featured in Vogue. We reached out to Rosie to find out more about her experiences:
During the summer after graduating, my graduate textile collection was selected for ‘Portal’ graduate exhibition in Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, from which I received a bursary and mentoring from their team. I spent time volunteering at my local gallery as an assistant, to learn more about curation and running creative workshops, alongside developing my own creative practice and applying for opportunities. In January 2024 I was selected for The CHANEL & King's Foundation Métiers d'art Fellowship, where I trained for six months in Haute Couture embroidery between Paris and Highgrove House. Since finishing this Fellowship in June 2024, I have been exhibiting in various locations in the UK, including Selfridges for London Craft Week, Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre and Garrison Chapel. I am now in the process of setting up my own studio in London and developing my first fashion accessory collection, with the aim to continue selling and exhibiting work and getting commissions.
HCA encouraged me to be unapologetically me - to embrace my experimental mixed media approach to textiles and create interesting and unique work. HCA felt like such a caring community that prioritised the students as individuals and makers. I learned an incredible amount of valuable professional advice from visiting lecturers and tutors who had a wealth of experience. The highlight of my time at HCA was receiving The Principal’s Award for Studentship at graduation, which helped me stand out when applying to opportunities after. HCA excels at driving students to be the best makers they can be, through rigorous skill training and cross-disciplinary experimentation. The freedom to use all of the equipment in all of the workshops allowed me to bring my ideas to life, such as handcrafting metal embellishments for knitwear and growing salt crystals on textiles! The dedication of all tutors and tech-dems is unmatched - their advice will stay with me for the rest of my life.
@rosiemerrimanstudio
