One of the great privileges we have at Inspirations HQ is access to countless projects that are featured on the pages of our publications.

There is always an air of excitement when a new project arrives at our production office. Sometimes we’ve seen a sketch or been privy to work in progress photos as the designer lay stitch after stitch through to its completion. Whilst at other times, we’ve seen or heard nothing of what’s contained within.

Regardless, there’s always an element of surprise when we open the package as we find that no matter how detailed a sketch, description or WIP photo may be, there’s nothing like seeing the finished project in real life.

Most of the time the pieces arrive framed or finished as per the designer’s original idea, but sometimes they reach us ‘raw’ as they wait for us to envisage how they’ll be photographed and then frame or construct them accordingly.

And do you know what we’ve learned? Each hand sees something distinctive and interprets the project differently to each of the other hands that come into contact with it during the project’s time with us.

Firstly, Susan, our Editor-in-Chief, conveys the designer’s story as to the how and why the project was concepted, created and finished, adding her own ‘wonder points’ as to what elements of the project she thinks make it unique.

Then our photographer and stylist decide how it will be propped and photographed, with our team collaborating with them on location for the shoot days.

Lynton, our Graphic Designer, then selects from the countless photos taken as he chooses the images he thinks best represent the project within the pages of the publication within which it will appear.

Then lastly, Donna, who helps with the Visual Merchandising at The Bobbin Tree, imagines how the project will be best displayed in store, not only considering the aesthetic of the store in general, but also how it can be most effectively viewed for those who come to see the projects in person.

Each hand brings with it a slightly different light as to how they see the project, and over time we’ve learned that brings with it an incredible richness as to how each project is photographed, published and displayed.

And now we find ourselves wondering what a similar journey would do for what we create with needle and thread.

Would we frame or finish it differently? Would we display it somewhere we’d never thought, alongside something we’d never considered? As they say, it takes a village, and maybe finding a village, even if our village consists of just one other person, might just help us to see our needlework in a different light and we think it would be all the better for it.