The winner of the £25,000 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Sanderson Rising Star Craft Award has vowed to use a substantial part of the prize to teach and raise awareness of endangered fibre techniques after winning for her pioneering use of straw for embroidery as a sustainable alternative to metal threads.
Hanny Newton is a specialist embroiderer with a passion to preserve and revitalise this near-extinct craft which dates to the 1700s. She is the first person to commercially pursue the use of straw in lieu of metal threads.
‘I am delighted and incredibly excited to have the honour of winning the QEST Sanderson Rising Star Craft Award! The competition was really tough, with five inspiring and exceptionally talented other finalists. Since being introduced to straw thread two years ago, I have been passionate and driven to champion straw embroidery as an exquisite, sustainable ‘natural gold’, and the honour and significant boost of this award at this formative time in my career allows me to dream big as I innovate with historical craft techniques. This really is a dream come true,’ she says.
‘It will allow me to study rare collections and make important contributions to the scarce knowledge and tools of straw embroidery so they can be carried forward for future generations. I will then build on this period of study by using it as a foundation for pushing my art practice, creating new works for exhibition that innovate with sustainable materials. It is my hope that these new works will stimulate and inform debate around the sustainability and value of materials.’
‘We are delighted to recognise Hanny in an impressive group of outstanding talent presented as finalists. Hanny’s ambition to bring back a precious and ancient artform that reflects our interest in sustainability of materials and literally weaving nature into art, is the unique opportunity that we support and celebrate with this award. We wish Hanny great future success in building the foundations of her business and recognition of her craft,’ says Lisa Montague, Sanderson Design Group ceo.
‘We are delighted that Hanny has won this award. Her work demonstrates an exceptional understanding of the historical use of straw, whilst also taking an innovative and sustainable approach to technique. Hanny’s passion for preserving the art of straw embroidery deeply impressed us, and we hope this recognition will support her on her journey. QEST awarded Hanny with a scholarship in 2023 and we’re proud to see her continuing to flourish. We greatly value our partnership with Sanderson whose commitment to craftsmanship in all its many forms continues to inspire and make a lasting impact,’ says Deborah Pocock, QEST ceo.
