I was born in The Netherlands into a wonderfully creative home, my mother was a fashion designer who could turn her hand to anything to do with fabric or yarn so our home was always filled with colourful fabric, patterns and wool which always resulted into fabulous creations, both my parents had a great passion for antiques and music and I have lovely memories of my father playing the saxophone whilst my mother was sewing, knitting or crocheting, skills she passed on to me from a very early age ( probably to keep me busy so she could get on with her work) I have fond memories of being given boxes full of scrap fabric, wool, lace, beads and buttons by my mothers colleagues and my doll collection was always fabulously turned out in colourful outfits which I was encouraged to make myself.
I have no formal training except for a huge amount of courses I have attended over the years all over Europe and the UK, but in a way I am grateful for that because I feel that the origin of creation lays with the ability to see the possibilities and finding ways to overcome limitations which I hope I pass on in my classes and workshops, skills can be learned but empowerment and self belief allows for so much more magic to happen
I have always been inspired by the rich heritage of needle craft and the history and origins of practical uses in textile crafts. I love the wonder and thrill of the act of creating by re-using and re-purposing fabrics and textiles so they don’t end up as landfill but become timeless sustainable wearable creations.
As a child of the sixties being brought up in Amsterdam during the flower power era I remember fabulously stitched and embellished fashion and wearable art by designers like Fong Leng which seemed to have endless possibilities for self expression which still Inspires me and is reflected in my work!
Having been a teacher and a Homeopath for many years my classes and workshops aim to give students the confidence and inspiration to go and do ‘their own thing’ and to explore their own ideas rather than copy others.
Mindfulness and meditation is also a big part of our classes as I greatly believe that needle crafts are beneficial for mental well-being especially in the company of likeminded people who often become lifelong friends.
In August 2024 I opened the doors to my new Studio/Classroom, and what an exciting rollercoaster it has been, within weeks we hosted a crochet workshop for 18 people and the place has been buzzing ever since!
We can hold much bigger workshops and classes and now, ( we can seat 20 students comfortably) have room for sewing machines, with a separate room for cutting tables & ironing boards, all opening up opportunities to hold & host a more diverse experience for our students. There is bespoke lighting and lots of sockets for machines, a separate utility area and we now also have a separate area for refreshments and coffee, cake & a chat!
We are very lucky to have several rooms/areas in which we can hold classes, our bright and airy orangery can be used for informal groups of knitters & crocheters, the outside decking areas & garden for balmy days, the green house area for indigo dying sessions and now the Gallery for exhibitions. Our beautiful library/dining room is always set up for lunch during workshops and in the Summer we serve lunch in the garden.
Our aim is for you to have a wonderful learning experience, our focus is on building a friendly environment where you can relax and make new friends, we are conscious of the fact that especially during the winter months the Norfolk Coast can be an isolated and often lonely place, learning a new craft will introduce you to likeminded people and new friends!
We are known for our hospitality, fabulous lunches and afternoon teas and are happy to adjust our menu to your culinary & dietary needs! Once you have booked your workshop we will send you a dietary questionnaire and for bespoke party we will call you to discuss your requirements.
We order our cakes in from Sally Scott in South Creake who is able to produce fabulous specialty cakes for your special occasions!
We are very lucky to have several areas in which we can hold classes, our beautiful library/teaching room for more formal structured lessons, our bright and airy orangery for informal groups of knitters & crocheters, the outside decking area for balmy days, the green house area for indigo dying sessions and the Gallery for exhibitions.
Our aim is for you to have a wonderful learning experience, our focus is on building a friendly environment where people can relax and make new friends, we are conscious of the fact that especially during the winter months the Norfolk Coast can be an isolated and often lonely place, learning a new craft will introduce you to likeminded people and new friends!
We are known for our hospitality, fabulous lunches and afternoon teas and are happy to adjust our menu to your culinary & dietary needs! Once you have booked your workshop we will send you a dietary questionnaire and for bespoke parties we will call you to discuss your requirements.
We order our cakes in from Sally Scott in South Creake who is able to produce fabulous specialty cakes for your special occasions!
The Studio
Outdoor Classroom
Classes at Scuderia
The Dye Garden
The Summer Class Room
The Class Room ready for a weekend workshop lunch
The Teaching Room
The Knitting & Crochet Room
Adinda Zoutman of @adindasworld is a Dutch Crochet designer who creates some wonderfully creative and inspiring pieces of crochet.
Her work is colourful and playful, and each unique piece is fun and exciting to make.
Adinda lives in Friesland, Holland with her lovely husband Gibo, Son Luca and cute dog Toby.
We look forward to Adinda returning to The little school in July 2025 this time to teach two weekend workshops of Happy Crochet.
Sue, at The Mercerie, creates beautiful crochet projects designed to be used and loved, and Sue’s courses seduce the maker into a colourful world of slow making and creativity.
The Mercerie’s unique online crochet courses enable crafters to connect with people all over the world and work playfully, intuitively and mindfully on the creation of something uniquely beautiful.
Sue’s latest online crochet course Tessellation Nation is the most challenging yet. It’s about colour, pattern, and tessellating shapes and it’s also about problem solving, maths, process and curiosity. It’s a crochet project for the brave at heart and the results of the pilot course are amazing!
What inspires Sue most is watching from the side lines as people take these courses as the starting point for their own creative journey. It’s incredible watching hundreds of different interpretations of each design slowly emerge and knowing the pleasure people gain from realising their own creative potential.
Learning with Sue is not just about making a stunning end product – it’s also about colour theory, design and aesthetics, confidence building, mindfulness – and about being part of a dynamic global craft community.
So we’re very excited to be running a one day Colour and Crochet course with Jolanda at The Little School of Needle Craft this summer.
I Started sewing straight from school at an evening class and I haven’t stopped since! I’ve worked for a fabric supplier of knit and Lycra fabrics and learned all about fabrics and how they behave, that progressed into buying an overlocker to make my boys T shirts and snowballed, moving onto making for friends and eventually I ended up with a small factory making bespoke T-shirts and leggings, employing experienced machinists which gave me a good grounding into some of the industries techniques.
I then met Alison Smith MBE who I have learnt from and worked alongside for many years teaching workshops including shows and sewing retreats. I especially enjoy teaching absolute beginners Sewing techniques and watch them progress over time! I also enjoy sharing ( my guilty pleasure… ) my love for collecting fabric.
I am a textile artist living and working in a quiet hamlet in the Norfolk countryside. With a background in art and design, I completed the City and Guilds Embroidery Diploma in 2007 and spent many years working as an art and textile technician in school. I cannot remember a time when I didn’t have an overwhelming need to create. I love to experience working in all mediums. Using both vintage and new materials I enjoy working with hand embroidery, machine embroidery, felting, printing and natural materials to create my pieces.
Mary studied Textile Design and Fine Art at Camberwell School of Art. On graduating she went to America and discovered American Folk Art – including the art of stencilling.
On her return to the UK in 1972 she pioneered hand-brushed stencilling and quickly gained a reputation amonst interior decorators for fne and accurate design combined with a vibrant colour sense. She has authored three books on various aspects of design and also worked with Emma Bridgewater – creating Bridgewater’s highly successful Rose Pattern spongeware ceramics.
Mary now paints full-time, taking inspiration from her garden and the Norfolk landscape.
Abigail trained in embroidery at Cumbria College of Art & Design in 1990, following a passion for art throughout her childhood. She made things from an early age and was nic-named ’fiddle -fingers’ as she was always creating, keeping busy, and could never sit still! Her father used to come home at weekends with an array of camera tape, the colours of the rainbow, and they were her first materials at her fingertips. The obvious path was for her to follow a creative career where she discovered textiles at art school; a means of incorporating texture, and her big passion, colour.
I was brought up in a household surrounded by textiles. I spent many a happy time with my mother embroidering, sewing and knitting. I love embroidery and feel very passionately about it and have been fortunate to make a career in a variety of textile aspects. My journey into this profession started when I gained a place at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN). At the time they were based in Kensington, London. Later on they moved to their current location in Hampton Court Palace, Surrey. While learning traditional techniques at the RSN I was involved on a variety of restoration projects, from military banners to the tapestries of Blenheim Palace. One of the most exciting areas I worked on was restoring the costumes for the original fashion gallery at the V&A museum, London. The RSN encouraged private enterprise and I, with a group of fellow students, ran a craft business making various gifts and selling them through the RSN shop. This helped me to understand the realities of the commercial world and how it related to textiles.
Born in Perigueux, France in 1993, Juliet Ferry studied Haute Couture Embroidery and Textile Design at Lycée Gilles Jamain in Rochefort. She moved to the UK in 2016 to work as Head Embroiderer for Hand & Lock where she worked for 5 years.
During her education in France, Juliet had the chance to train along a former Maison Lesage embroiderer in Paris. Unusual at such a young age, Juliet became a master embroiderer, she excels in many embroidery techniques such as tambour beading (aka Lunéville embroidery), goldwork, silk shading and monogramming. She had the chance to teach those disciplines in the UK, France and the USA.
Juliet has worked for over 10 years with prestigious clients such as : the Royal Family, Hermès, Ralph & Russo, Victoria Beckham, Edeline Lee, Harrods, Dior, Vivienne Westwood, Disney and many more.
Juliet is a natural embroiderer with a great understanding of textile, fashion and meticulous eye for detail. In June 2021, she decided to become independent and launched Trouble in Paradise LTD. The company is based on highly crafted and sustainable embroidery, as well as fashion embroidery, design consultancy and embroidery tuition.
I live in rural Norfolk where I have been making traditional Passementerie in my studio for over 25 years. I have established a successful business in both making and teaching this endangered craft. Many of the skills were passed down to me by my late father but the nature of working on heritage projects is that I am often asked to recreate something that is completely new to me.
My work includes restoration for clients such as the National Trust, private stately homes, vintage cars and horse drawn carriages as well as bespoke new pieces for high end private clients. I have been consulted for advice by the V&A and Phillips Auction House on items.
I regularly give talks and demonstrations to groups and have lectured at the V&A.
I love to meet other people who have an interest in textiles, whatever their speciality. I really enjoy teaching and sharing my knowledge as much as possible to help keep my craft alive for the future.
My name is Sara and I live in a cottage in a tiny village in Norfolk. I’m originally from East London and still feels it a bit alien here, although, sadly, I don’t think I could manage the bustle of the city anymore. I started making dolls over twenty years ago, although I have always loved making things. My earliest making memory is sitting with my Mum in our caravan learning to knit, while the rain hammered down on the roof. My Mum loved to knit but hated sewing, so it is odd that I like it so much.
I use antique and vintage cloth where I can. Like many textile artists, I enjoy the imperfections of old cloth and the added depth it gives a piece. My love of the beauty of imperfection seems to be getting stronger as I get older – which is handy.
My Dad was a market trader in the East End, and I like to display my work in old market crates and trays. Wooden trays that once held piles of lettuce and cucumbers are now lined with enchanted little characters. I’d like to think my Dad would’ve approved.
I colour the cloth I use with natural dyes. The dolls are often weighted – and they have a backbone. They are usually stuffed with wool and are sewn with silk and metallic threads.
Gallery images coming soon …
