Episodes

In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Tal Fitzpatrick. Tal is a socially engaged artist and craftivist whose quilts and textile projects blend creativity with activism. We talk about her artistic journey from early influences, including her grandmother’s politically charged textile works, through to her PhD in craftivism as DIY citizenship. Tal shares stories of working in disaster recovery communities, how that shaped her understanding of art’s power, and the origins of major projects like the PM Please Quilt and the global Universal Declaration of Human Rights Quilt Project.

In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Melissa English Campbell. Melissa is a textile artist known for her experimental weaving practice that pushes the boundaries of pattern, structure, and meaning. In this second half of our conversation, Melissa shares how her signature style emerged -from weaving mirrored fabrics and incorporating sticks to reflecting on cultural history and appropriation. We also explore her teaching experience, her influences, and how music and podcasts keep her company in the studio.

In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Melissa English Campbell. Melissa is a textile artist whose weaving combines painting, double-layer structures, and found objects to create works that shift between glitch-like distortion and serene beauty. In this first half of our conversation, Melissa talks about her upbringing across Europe and the US, how dyslexia shaped her way of thinking, and how she discovered weaving as a language of memory, disruption, and resilience.

In this episode of NeedleXChange, I interview Claire Voelkel-Sedlmeir. Claire is a textile storyteller whose work transforms scraps of family life - old clothes, baby socks, even diaper cloth - into intimate quilts and stitched offerings. We explore the second phase of her practice: community, upcycling, and the emotional weight textiles can carry. Claire shares how she’s embraced memory quilting, involved her children in the process, and honoured personal history through fabric. We also talk about the online communities that have shaped her artistic journey and the joy of letting go - by giving her stitched offerings away.

In this episode of NeedleXChange, I interview Claire Voelkel-Sedlmeir. Claire is a self-taught textile artist who uses embroidery as a storytelling tool to explore memory, motherhood, and creative discipline. We discuss her two 52-week stitched story projects - how they emerged from a desire to carve out creative space amidst the chaos of parenting, and how small weekly acts of making became a powerful tool for self-discovery. Claire reflects on the freedom found in constraint, the messiness of memory, and what happens when we stitch the ordinary moments of our lives into fabric.

In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Fuzzy Mall. Fuzzy is a visionary textile artist who transforms reclaimed fabrics into playful, large-scale works that break the mould of traditional quilting. We explore how he uses his art to resist digital doomscrolling, experiment with ‘analog AI’ and 3D forms, remix old portraits into new pieces, and why music, reclaimed chaos, and joy fuel his creative process.

In this 100th episode of NeedleXChange I interview Fuzzy Mall. Fuzzy is a self-taught textile artist celebrated for his huge, detail-rich portraits and installations made entirely from reclaimed fabrics. We talk about how he evolved from painting to pushing the boundaries of quilting at an epic scale, the ideas behind his Faces of Hamilton project, and what draws him to go bigger and bigger with his joyful, community-focused work.

In this episode of NeedleXChange, I interview Deborah Simon. Deborah is a Brooklyn-based sculptor and embroiderer whose work brings together faux fur, anatomy and a touch of the otherworldly. In this second half, we dive into how she moved beyond bears to create her transparent rabbits, how she experiments with organ systems, goldwork and reliquaries - and why she pushes herself to follow the ideas that make her most uncomfortable.

In this episode of NeedleXChange, I interview Deborah Simon. Deborah is a Brooklyn-based sculptor and embroiderer known for her hauntingly beautiful bears and rabbits that blend faux fur, taxidermy and anatomy. We talk about her early influences, how she went from painting to sculpture, and why she’s so fascinated by the tension between the cuddly teddy bear and the deadly wild bear - plus how camping trips and natural history books shaped her work.

In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Holly Searle. Holly is a visual artist who transforms vintage tea towels into striking, subversive works of textile art, In this second part of our NeedleXChange, the conversation turns fully to Holly’s Tea Towel Project - a growing collection of over 180 vintage textiles transformed into bold, felt-lettered artworks. Holly discusses the power of protest through domestic materials, how she balances sharp commentary with playfulness, and why she believes textile art can speak volumes about the world we live in.

In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Holly Searle. Holly is a visual artist who transforms vintage tea towels into striking, subversive works of textile art, In the first part of the NeedleXChange, Holly talks about the origins of her creativity - from childhood memories and charity shop treasures to her fascination with nostalgic and domestic objects. Holly shares how personal history, humour, and a love of the overlooked inform her practice, and we begin to explore the foundations of her acclaimed Tea Towel Project.

In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Hattie McGill. Hattie is an embroidery artist and costume specialist whose goldwork has graced screens from Doctor Strange to Bridgerton. In this second part, Hattie talks about pivoting her practice during the pandemic by launching a series of goldwork embroidery kits, balancing studio life with film commissions, and the joys - and realities - of working in the embroidery industry today. She also shares what fuels her creativity, from gothic novels to Manchester’s indie music scene.

In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Hattie McGill. Hattie is an embroidery artist and costume specialist whose goldwork has graced screens from Doctor Strange to Bridgerton. In this first part, we explore Hattie’s training at the Royal School of Needlework, her unexpected leap from furniture restoration into embroidery, and the behind-the-scenes craftsmanship that goes into cinematic costume design. For another artist whose embroidery skills are Royal School of Needlework approved, c...

Niamh Wimperis is an embroidery artist and craft entrepreneur known for blending personal experience with traditional needlework techniques.

Niamh Wimperis is an embroidery artist and craft entrepreneur known for blending personal experience with traditional needlework techniques.

Bren Ahearn is a needlework artist using samplers to unpack masculinity, memory and social conditioning.

Bren Ahearn is a needlework artist using samplers to unpack masculinity, memory and social conditioning.

Owen Kelly is a fifth-generation embroiderer whose vivid, hand-stitched works blend folk art, cultural symbolism, and personal narrative

Owen Kelly is a fifth-generation embroiderer whose vivid, hand-stitched works blend folk art, cultural symbolism, and personal narrative

Stephanie Kelly Clark is an embroidery artist who turns the quiet beauty of life into stitched stories.

Stephanie Kelly Clark is an embroidery artist who turns the quiet beauty of life into stitched stories.

Neil Twist is an academic and emerging needleworker.

Neil Twist is an academic and emerging needleworker.

Sarah Corbett is founder of the Craftivist Collective and an advocate for change via gentle activism.