Meet the Maker Behind Our
London Craft Week Collaboration
‘Birdsong in Bloom’
Come with us as we step inside artist Lora Avedian's sunny London studio.
This London Craft Week, our Sloane Street store has been transformed into a colourful homage to spring, hosting a series of works by London multidisciplinary artist Lora Avedian
On display until Sunday 22nd May, ’Birdsong in Bloom’ sees Lora use traditional sewing and embroidery techniques to breathe new life into Smythson leather. Come with us as we step inside Lora’s sunny London studio and get a behind-the-scenes look into her creative process.
![](https://prd-cc.smythson.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-smythson-content-global/default/dw77fc7772/images/content-pages/smythson-stories/2022/05/meet-the-maker/l-a-img-1-min.jpg)
![](https://prd-cc.smythson.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-smythson-content-global/default/dw647c0cd9/images/content-pages/smythson-stories/2022/05/meet-the-maker/l-a-img-2-min.jpg)
Can you walk us through how you created your works for Birdsong in Bloom?
I started this project by playing with the leathers and seeing what I could do with it. I thought the material would work well with a hand-cut lace technique. I loved hand cutting the Smythson leather – it’s almost butter-like it’s so soft.
To begin, I made some paper cuttings to plan the piece, and then laid the cut-out leather out to create the composition. I then hand-stitched each piece together using a ‘Faggotting’ stitch – a technique traditionally used to join two hems together on garments – to link the pieces of leather together and make a form of leather lace.
![](https://prd-cc.smythson.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-smythson-content-global/default/dw01c5eaed/images/content-pages/smythson-stories/2022/05/meet-the-maker/l-a-img-3-min.jpg)
Nature seems to be a common theme in all of your work…
I often look directly at nature for inspiration and for a long time I have found plants to be endlessly fascinating. During the project we were coming out of winter into spring, and I think when I was designing the pieces I was imagining that moment when gardens transition to bursting with light and colour.
![](https://prd-cc.smythson.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-smythson-content-global/default/dw1247c06e/images/content-pages/smythson-stories/2022/05/meet-the-maker/l-a-img-4-min.jpg)
![](https://prd-cc.smythson.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-smythson-content-global/default/dw5ed60bf3/images/content-pages/smythson-stories/2022/05/meet-the-maker/l-a-img-5-min.jpg)
When you’re looking for a dose of inspiration, where do you go?
For inspiration, I often go to a museum like the V&A. I also like to go for a walk in nature, this time of year is particularly wonderful, seeing all of the plants start to grow and flowers coming out. I always try to bring a sketchbook with me when I go to an exhibition, and if I don’t, I will take lots of photographs and try to draw from memory when I get home.
London Craft Week 2022 continues from 9–15th May. Explore Lora’s artwork at our Sloane Street store until Sunday 22nd May.
141–142 Sloane Street
London, SW1X 9AY