A quest for sustainable craft
EMBROIDERER HANNY NEWTON AWARDED THE FIRST QEST SANDERSON RISING STAR CRAFT AWARD
We are delighted to announce Hanny Newton as the recipient of the inaugural QEST Sanderson Rising Star Craft Award.
Following months of applications, interviews and deliberations, our longlist of British talent was whittled down to a shortlist of five, presided over by a distinguished panel of judges, to announce specialist embroider, Hanny Newton as the worthy winner.
Hanny is pioneering the use of straw for embroidery as a sustainable alternative to metal threads. Fuelled by a passion to preserve and revitalise this near-extinct craft from the 1700s, Newton was the first person to commercially pursue the use of straw in place of metal threads. In 2023, Newton received the QEST Broderers’ Company Scholarship.
Lisa Montague said, “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 art form that reflects our interest in the sustainability of materials and weaving nature into art is the unique opportunity 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.”
SHORTLISTED TALENT
A shortlist was selected by a distinguished panel of judges, including Interior Designer Benedict Foley, World of Interiors editor Emily Tobin, Crafts Magazine editor Debika Ray, QEST CEO Deborah Pocock, and Sanderson Design Group PLC CEO Lisa Montague.
Newton was chosen as the winner of the award following an interview process with the five other finalists – Barnaby Ash, William Efe-Laborde, Bobby Knight-Mills, Olga Prinku, and Laura Quinn.
Hanny Newton, said, “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!
“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 study period by using it as a foundation for pushing my art practice, creating new works for exhibitions that innovate with sustainable materials. I hope that these new works will stimulate and inform the debate around the sustainability and value of materials.”
Deborah Pocock, CEO of QEST added, “We are delighted that Hanny has won the QEST Sanderson Rising Star Craft Award… 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.”
As the winner of the QEST Sanderson Rising Star Craft Award, Hanny Newton receives a £25,000 cash prize. Newton says this will go towards advancing her practice before creating a body of work that encapsulates her innovative use of the historical straw technique. A significant portion, Newton adds, will also go towards teaching and advocating for culturally endangered fibre techniques.
Over 180 craftspeople were nominated for the award.
posted on 05 Sep 2024 in Interiors
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