Studio Journal

How Hot Weather Affects Creativity and Why Taking a Break Can Help

Has the recent warm weather changed your creative routine? Explore how the seasons affect creativity and why inspiration often appears when we least expect it.

Why Taking a Day Off Can Be the Most Creative Thing You Do

Sometimes the best way to unblock creativity is to step away from the studio. A reflection on how taking a day off, gardening and reconnecting with nature can refresh inspiration for textile art and creative practice.

Piecing Things Back Together

Creative work can leave us vulnerable to self-doubt, criticism, and setbacks,  but creativity also teaches us how to rebuild. A reflective piece on resilience, confidence, and piecing things back together through stitch and making.

The Quiet Power of Slow Stitching

Slow stitching is more than embroidery or hand sewing — it is about slowing down, becoming present in the moment and rediscovering the quiet joy of making with fabric and thread. In our latest blog, we explore why this mindful approach to textiles is becoming increasingly popular and how tutors such as Amanda Clayton use stitch, fabric and texture to create beautifully thoughtful work.

Loved Clothes Last Longer: Why Mending Matters More Than Ever

Learn how mending and altering clothes supports sustainable fashion, reduces waste and refreshes your wardrobe with simple sewing skills.

Taking Time. Finding Thread.
There are moments when stepping away from work feels almost uncomfortable. The to-do list is still there, ideas half-formed, projects waiting. But every now and then, taking that pause—really taking it—becomes exactly what’s needed. Time with family has a way...
Ten Years of Eau Brink Studio – A Weekend Full of Support and Creativity

Eau Brink Studio marks 10 years with a busy open weekend in West Norfolk, celebrating craft workshops, creative community, and the support that’s shaped the studio’s journey so far.

Finding Your Way Through the Creative Process

The creative process isn’t always neat or predictable. In this piece, I explore the quieter side of making—the uncertainty, the layering, and the small decisions that shape a piece long before it’s finished.

Trying Something New

A material, a piece of work, a technique… something that makes you pause and think, I’d quite like to try that.

Creating Work That Feels Like You

Developing your own textile style isn’t about following rules,  it’s about giving yourself space to explore, experiment, and create work that truly feels like yours.

A New Adventure: Norfolk Lavender Farmers Market

Join me at the very first Farmers Market at Norfolk Lavender this Saturday. A relaxed morning of textiles, creativity, and local stalls in a beautiful setting.

Why a Limited Colour Palette Can Transform Your Textile Art

Discover how working with a limited colour palette can transform your textile art. Using black, white and cream fabrics, explore how stitch and texture take centre stage.

Creative Craft Show NEC Recap & A New Chapter for Eau Brink Studio

A reflection on four inspiring days at the Creative Craft Show NEC and why Eau Brink Studio is embracing change, focusing on workshops, textile art, and new creative opportunities.

Preparing for the Creative Craft Show at the NEC – Workshops, Kits and Embroidery Demonstrations

Preparing for the Creative Craft Show at the NEC takes a huge amount of behind-the-scenes work. In the studio I’ve been cutting Lutradur for 64 lantern workshop kits, preparing FuseFX, assembling materials, and packing the equipment needed for teaching. I’ll also be demonstrating my embroidery machine on the stand and bringing a range of handmade textile items to sell. Here’s a glimpse into what it takes to get ready for a major craft show.

The Work Before the Stitching

When I combine multiple images to create one complex composition, the result can be beautifully layered. but technically challenging.

A Day at Printwear & Promotion LIVE — Learning, Laughter, and a Little Too Much Coffee

At Printwear & Promotion LIVE I spent time with Robert Smith and the Wilcom team, gaining clarity on workflows that will shape my digital embroidery practice and teaching at Eau Brink Studio, proving how important it is to keep learning, even if fuelled by one Americano too many.

A Warm Welcome at The Warehouse, Our First Farmers & Craft Market

Once visitors began to drift in, the atmosphere truly came alive. There was a wonderful buzz conversations flowing, laughter carrying across the space, and that unmistakable energy that happens when people gather to browse, discover, and connect. At the Warehouse in Setchey.

Finishing What We Started

If you’re feeling a bit stuck, or overwhelmed by half-finished ideas, consider this your gentle permission slip. You don’t have to start something new. Pick one forgotten project. One neglected fabric. One job that’s been hanging around for far too long

When Chapters Change

Sometimes the change is gradual — almost unnoticeable — and sometimes it arrives as a moment where you realise that what once fitted no longer quite does. This feels like one of those moments.

Watching Confidence Grow

There’s a quiet shift that happens during a workshop, when nervousness gives way to confidence and a new technique begins to feel possible.

Quiet moments in a winter studio

A winter studio, a frozen pond, and a small group of stitched animals quietly finding their way into the world. A reflection on making, stillness, and the little companions that keep us company.