From CHANEL to Queen Camilla: a catch-up with Textile Design graduate Beth Somerville
10 December 2024
Credit: Oliver Holmes
2023 was a big year for Textile Design BA(Hons) graduate Beth Somerville. From being named overall winner of New Designers 2023 for her stunning 3D hand beading and digital embroidery collection, to being selected for the CHANEL and King’s Foundation Métiers’ d’Art Fellowship and embarking on an intensive training course in haute embroidery, it marked an exhilarating start to her career.
2024 has been no different, as we discovered when we caught up with Beth recently. Here, she tells us all about life since graduating.
Life since graduation has been full of highs and lows, but it has been lucky that the highs have been pretty epic. I really hadn’t known what to expect from New Designers, imagining that to be successful with the judges, one’s work had to be more commercial and less experimental. However, I was wrong and having won the New Designer of the Year award, the Wilcom Prize and being recognised as an Embroiderers’ Guild Graduate, I quickly became exposed to a valuable professional network. I made a U-turn on my plans to move to rural France with my partner, realising that the move could be throwing all of that away!
This early success sparked a flurry of interest and exposure that I wasn’t expecting, with features in World of Interiors and the Embroidery Magazine. Then, being one of only six other graduates to be selected for the CHANEL and King’s Foundation Metiers d’Art fellowship was incredibly enriching and eye-opening; the gift of six months to develop my skills but also my design practice was invaluable. This precious time to be able to fully immerse myself in a single project free from financial worries was like being at university again, and it allowed me the time to really consider my design process.
With work that I developed on the fellowship, I applied for the New Brewery Arts young makers residency – a competitive opportunity to have a fully-funded studio space and monthly creative mentoring for a year. I was successful, and this opportunity will allow me to test my business idea without having the financial pressures of paying rent. I anticipate learning a lot about myself and the way I like to work during this residency, but also to really interrogate the type of work I say ‘yes’ to, how I manage my time between commissions, teaching, freelance work and finding time to develop new ideas.
Like many graduates from Falmouth, I strive to align my morals and ideals with the type of work I take on. However, I am already discovering that this is no mean feat within the fashion industry, as we all still need to make the work pay the bills. Since starting the residency in October, I have been working on my first proper commission as a professional embroidery designer and maker.
Without that support (from Falmouth), I don’t think I would have won that New Designer of the Year award that led on to so much more.
This entailed working with fashion designer Fiona Clare to design and produce trim for the dress of Her Majesty the Queen for the Qatari state visit at the beginning of December. This opportunity was an honour to receive and came about following an exhibition of work at the Garrison Chapel in September.
I mentioned there being lows as well as highs, because I want to be very honest. I think it's really important to recognise that being self-employed and working in isolation as a designer/maker isn’t easy: there have definitely been moments when I’ve thought about giving it all up! Navigating the types of work to take on is a constant struggle and learning curve, but I’ve found that setting boundaries from the beginning is extremely valuable.
During my time at Falmouth, I was encouraged by tutors to be fully absorbed by the designing and making of work. I didn’t want to waste a moment of having access to the studio, materials and equipment, knowing that this luxury wouldn’t last forever. And I am extremely grateful that I was able to do so because without that support, I don’t think I would have won that New Designer of the Year award that led on to so much more.
Follow Beth's work on Instagram
Top image credit: Oliver Holmes
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