Putting the tech into textiles: Meet Falmouth graduate Beth Somerville

It’s been a big year for Beth Somerville. Soon after graduating last year from Falmouth’s Textile Design BA, she was named overall winner of New Designers 2023 for her innovative work with hand and digital embroidery, beading, print and weaving. As one of only six students selected for the Chanel and King’s Foundation Métiers’ d’Art Fellowship, she has just embarked upon an intensive training course in the field of embroidery for the haute couture industry.  

Designed to challenge and develop creative practice, with a focus on skill development and refinement, the fully funded residential course comprises 24 weeks of tuition at the Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire and with the ateliers at Le19M in Paris. It’s an extraordinary opportunity for Beth, but where does her interest in embroidery and the inspiration for her award-winning work stem from? 

“The encouragement from the lecturers and technicians at Falmouth and their passion for embroidery made me fall for a subject I hadn’t considered before,” she says. “I chose to study there because I’d grown up in the woods, so the ability to be outside and in nature was very important – both in terms of my lifestyle and finding inspiration for my work. In addition to the location, I was blown away by the studio space and equipment available at Falmouth. That really sealed the deal.”

My advice to students starting at Falmouth would be to throw yourself into it. Be in the studio and make full use of the equipment and the expertise of the staff. If you’re lucky enough to have found a subject you love, this should be easy. 

By graduation, Beth’s love for the environment and new-found textiles expertise came together in Stigma Stamen and Mountain Fold, stunning pieces combining 3D hand beading and digital embroidery to emulate foliage and the lines and colours of mountains at dawn. The collections earned her the title New Designer of the Year 2023 – from a field of 3,000 graduate designers – and the Wilcom individual student’s prize, with accompanying software, which enabled her to push the boundaries of digital embroidery.  

“I then collaborated with second-year fashion student Holly Crockford, using the software to design and make a digitally embroidered bolero jacket,” says Beth. “It was amazing to problem-solve together, to engineer my embroidery to her pattern pieces. Through selection as an Embroiderers’ Guild graduate I was able to exhibit the jacket with Holly at the Knitting and Stitching Show, as part of the Guild’s 30-year Retrospective Showcase, where we could see people’s reactions to our work.  

“The potential to unite traditional craft techniques with contemporary design and technology really excites me,” adds Beth, who interned with Ricorrrobe and the English National Ballet in her second year at Falmouth. “One reason for my interest in embroidery is its ability to repair and embellish at the same time. I have ambitions to use contemporary techniques with traditional hand embellishment to sensitively repair and up-cycle existing high-end garments. The Fellowship with the King’s Foundation will teach me industry-ready tambour embroidery, which will diversify my skill set and add value to my work in digital embroidery.  

“My advice to students starting at Falmouth would be to throw yourself into it,” she says. “Be in the studio and make full use of the equipment and the expertise of the staff. If you’re lucky enough to have found a subject you love, this should be easy.” 

Follow Beth's work on Instagram @beth.som 

Discover where studying Textile Design BA(Hons) with Falmouth University could take you