Stitching Adventures: embroidery, textiles, travels and inspiration!

My first newsletter ever...

Nov 27, 2024

I’m Nadia Albertini, an embroidery designer, lecturer, and author. For over 20 years, I’ve been creating hand embroideries for luxury fashion houses like Chloé, Chanel, Balmain, Jason Wu, Dries van Noten and The Row. I also love designing interiors embroideries, like I did for L’Arpège. My favorite thing about this job has been to travel the globe developing embroideries in France, Italy, India, Madagascar, Vietnam, and beyond. Though based in Paris, you’ll often find me diving into creative collaborations with the world’s finest craftsmen or teaching in places like London, Singapore and Florence.

As much as I’ve enjoyed connecting with you all through Instagram (I have made so many great friends) over the last eight years, I have recently been craving a more complete platform to share more. I love writing—perhaps why I’ve authored two books on embroidery design and fashion history (Rébé and Kitmir). This newsletter is my way to bring you along on my creative journey. Expect a mix of insights into my daily work and Stitching Adventures around the globe, the inspirations behind my designs, tips for sourcing supplies, free patterns every month and a deeper look at embroidery’s rich history and creative processes. Let’s embark on this new adventure together!

Celebrate by stitching: exclusive embroidery class in Paris

Last year, my friend and colleague Sophie Kurkdjian and I published our book Kitmir: The Russian Embroideries of Mademoiselle Chanel, uncovering the captivating story of Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, her brother Dmitri, and Coco Chanel. Their love affair inspired the famous Chanel No. 5 perfume but also exquisite embroidery pieces crafted by Russian aristocracy émigrés for the Rue Cambon collections.

To celebrate the book's first anniversary, we’re hosting an exclusive embroidery workshop for six lucky participants on December 20th in a secret Parisian location. It’s an experience you won’t want to miss!

To join, follow both Sophie’s and my Instagram accounts and become a member of Cultures de Mode (a fantastic group of fashion history researchers that host unique fashion-related activities in Paris). Then, answer these three questions:

Why did Mademoiselle Chanel and Grand Duchess Marie start working together?
Who worked alongside Grand Duchess Marie in her atelier, Kitmir?
What is Kitmir’s most famous embroidery style for Chanel?

Send your answers to: nadia.albertini.embroidery@gmail.com

The winners will be announced early december. Good luck—can’t wait to see you there!

A Stitching Adventure Awaits: India 2025!

Do you love embroidery and textiles? Do you dream of learning while traveling? Then this is for you!

From February 25 to March 6, 2025, I’ll be leading a 10-day Stitching Adventure in India, taking you on an unforgettable journey from Mumbai to Jaipur and Kolkata. Together, we’ll visit incredible embroidery ateliers working for the best fashion brands around the world, museums, galleries, private collections, and some of the best materials suppliers. You’ll marvel at everything from dazzling couture pieces to the serene beauty of Kantha work and dive into hands-on learning sessions with master craftsmen and women.

MORE INFO HERE

This is your chance to experience India’s embroidery heritage in depth while creating memories (and stitches!) that will last a lifetime. For the full itinerary and more details, click here or feel free to email me with any questions.

Stitching Adventures in India: hand embroidery research, design and practice!

Spotlight on Talented Friends

Let me introduce you to my dear friend Beste Bonnard. We met a couple of years ago when I was wokring at Chloé. We were exploring a project involving botanical prints for the collection. Although the project didn’t take off, our friendship blossomed over lunch: mashed potatoes, sausage, and wine at Le Percier.

Beste is a botanical print expert with an incredible story: from being a business lawyer in Turkey to transitioning to the art of eco-printing in France. Today, she crafts stunning printed scarves and garments (perfect for Christmas gifts!) and hosts super inspiring workshops in her garden, La Ferme des 1000 couleurs (the 1000 colors farm). Visit her website here and see her gorgeous work—it’s truly magical.