About Emma

Emma is a Yorkshire based artist working from a beautiful old schoolhouse built in 1840, recently opened as Weetwood Studios, a craft and design venue. In her studio space, Emma is surrounded by mid 20thC domestic paraphernalia and imagery, reflecting her love of the treasured and the discarded items of design history. Old Vogue knitting patterns and Ladybird books fill the shelves alongside glossy Art Deco catalogues.

Originally trained as a textile designer, Emma has combined her interests in surface pattern and 20thC collectables to make pieces which encapsulate the aesthetics of the chosen design and the emotional responses attached to it. For example, the comforting familiarity and chunkiness of a well used Cornish Ware mug or the elegant art deco ‘save for best’ Shelley China kept in a glass cabinet in the parlor.

The teacups address the notion of everyday objects being elevated to precious collectables. For example the Homemaker range designed and sold en masse in Woolworths is now as functionless as these fabric teacups if it is kept safely on display and never used.

The Chintz teacups play with the history of the origins of the designs. The floral patterns, transfer printed onto the china tea sets in the 30′s were originally designs for fabric used to make tea dresses. Emma has hand painted the designs, transfer printed them onto fabric and turned the fabric itself into a teacup.

The objects Emma surrounds herself with in her studio and her home provide the inspiration for more pieces to follow. Emma has a first class honours degree in textile design and a post graduate diploma in textile technology. She is married with two young children.