Carly Owens is a contemporary hand embroidery artist and freelance designer. She has previously studied Jacobean crewelwork and goldwork embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework, couture tambour beading with Hand & Lock and pattern making at the Asheville School for the Apparel Arts in Asheville, North Carolina. Additionally, Carly worked as a couture embroidery intern for the New York City based fashion label, Marchesa. Her current location is Erie, Colorado where she runs her embroidery studio. 

How did you get into embroidery? Are you self taught or did you train somewhere?

While in college, I had the opportunity to study abroad for a summer session at the Royal School of Needlework in the UK. This was my first experience with embroidery and I was immediately hooked, especially to goldwork. Goldwork has a tangibility to it like no other and plus its shiny, and we, as humans, have an innate inclination to like shiny things. It was also incredible to bring the knowledge of this technique back to the States, where goldwork is rarely seen. I also learned a lot about embroidery design and layouts while interning on the couture embroidery team at Marchesa in New York. Since graduating, I’ve started my own embroidery based business and have been continuing to hone my craft on my own.

Do you have a background in design?

Yes, I studied at the College of Design at North Carolina State University. I started out concentrating on fashion design but after my study abroad experience, I chose to focus on hand embroidery and its applications on garments.

What are some of your favourite stitches?

There are so many! I think my favorite stitch is the s-ing stitch in goldwork but I also love chipping, couching passing and the basic chainstitch.

Are there any stitches you’re keen on learning?

I would love to learn the Elizabethan plaited braid stitch! It absolutely boggles my mind!

Where do you get your materials and threads from?

Because goldwork embroidery is very niche, there are only a few places I can go to for supplies. I get the majority of my goldwork supplies from Golden Hinde Goldwork, London Embroidery School and Benton and Johnson.

How do you start a new piece of work, what’s your design process?

New designs usually start with a rough sketch with annotations. From there, I try to visualize which stitches and types of embroidery to utilize. I always end up doing a lot of sampling for each design before finding “the one” that works best. I have a tendency to get fixated on motifs, so I’ll usually explore a design and stitch numerous variations of it until I’m ready to move onto something new. I get a lot of inspiration from looking at historical textiles and artifacts as well as art. In my embroidery, I try to convey imagery that is dream-like and surrealist. My current work, the goldwork eye series, is based upon my obsession with Victorian “Lover’s Eyes”.

Are you overwhelmed with designs and ideas or does it take time to find new embroideries to stitch?

I always have a number of new ideas bouncing around in my head, so I’m always excited to create new work when I get the chance.

Do you embroider for fun or is it a full time job? If not what’s your day job?

I am lucky enough to be running my embroidery business full time. I wish I could just embroider all day and let the business side sort itself out, but I do spend a lot of time running other aspects of my business like accounting, social media management, photography, website development, shipping, customer service, etc. Nevertheless, I am over the moon that this is my job and for me, my business is like my child.

How do you find using Instagram? Do you ever worry your work will be copied?

I try to view Instagram as a tool. At the end of the day, you’re putting your work out there to be seen by a sea of people from around the world, which is amazing and can connect you with audiences you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to reach. On the flip side, I’ve realized that you can’t please everyone and you can’t control how your work is interpreted. I try not to worry about my work being copied because I am constantly trying to improve my designs and get as close to near perfection of my craft as possible. The world is a large place and it doesn’t come as a shock to me if someone is inspired by the same things. For example, eyes have been embroidered for centuries. I’m not the first person to stitch them and won’t be the last but it’s my own design style that is applied to my interpretation of “Lover’s Eyes” that makes them unique.

Do you ever feel nervous or anxious your followers won’t like your work?

I do sometimes! I find myself glued to my phone after posting an image, trying to gauge my followers reaction, which is pretty ridiculous and I have to check myself on that. Ultimately, if I like the piece, that should be good enough and my followers must like my work to some degree in order to follow me. I also have to keep in mind that it’s all run by an algorithm, and what a roller coaster of a ride that is! There is more to me than a number of followers or likes. That being said, Instagram can be a really useful tool for product development and also helps me get over a lot of self criticism I feel towards my own work. I am also incredibly grateful for the network of fellow embroiderers I’ve been able to connect with using this application.

Do you ever feel pressured to post images that you know will get lots of likes instead of simply posting what you like?

I try my best to post content that has some “meat” to it, however an image with emoji captions occasionally sneaks itself in. I have a tendency to overthink EVERYTHING so sometimes imagery works better for me than words. Overall, I post what I like because I want my personality to resonate and to be able to humanize my social media outlets. I think it’s important to remind people that I am not a big brand with an army of employees running my business. It’s just me doing everything.

What do you love about embroidery?

I have always been a slow, meticulous worker. When I discovered embroidery, it was like an ah-ha moment for me because I had finally found a medium to work in that was meant to be done slowly. I love that about embroidery and I love that embroidery is so versatile. It can bedone loosely or precisely, painterly or texturally, flat or dimensional. The possibilities with embroidery are really limitless.

Follow Carly here.