Let’s Talk. Susie Cowie
We are excited to welcome susie cowie to join our makers community. We have been extremely fond of susie’s work for quite some time and feel privileged to be able to share this Q+A with our readers.
In our eyes your style of work offers a sense of luxury and true beauty. How would you define your style of work and how did it develop?
That’s a lovely compliment, thank you :)
I’m not sure I can describe my style well but I’m mostly aiming for something timeless, that the embroidery really looks at home on whatever it’s applied to. I like to pay attention to the detail, beautiful materials / textures and then colours that feel slightly unexpected (to me anyway).
When did you realise that you wanted to pursue a career in embroidery and was there anything or anyone that influenced you?
Making things is something I’m extremely driven to do, it’s been like that since I was a little girl. Weirdly, I was kind of unaware of it until a teacher at school observed something. So I knew it was working with my hands using colour and fabrics from high school and then almost by process of elimination it became hand embroidery. I like that it can be motif based or textural, it can be built up organically, making decisions and changes as you go. I don’t need bulky equipment so I can easily work anywhere but particularly my favourite place, home.
What are your biggest influences when coming up with ideas?
Ideas usually come from nowhere in particular, but if I’m looking to develop something that’s still a little bit vague I like to look at artists, particularly painters, greats like Matisse or Picasso, with their breadth of work could have something that would help move an idea along. Digital museum archives are an amazing resource for ancient Greek pottery, Roman jewellery, mosaics etc. I like to balance this out with looking at fresh bright colours and modern materials and that could be from product designers or nice things my friends are wearing.
Susie Cowie: Discovered a new favourite Picasso in one of the nicest books 〰️ Pablo Picasso: The Illustrated Books: Catalogue Raisonné.
How do you start your creative process?
My work is in two halves at the moment, with my brand work I usually have something I’m just into personally that I want to find a way to use, so I’ll look for some visual references and start drawing with pen and tracing paper and keep drawing the same thing until I like the shapes. It’s similar for commissioned work but I would start with thinking about the person receiving the piece, what ideas, motifs and colours could resonate with them and go from there.
Development drawings by Susie Cowie.
Do have a special place that inspires you the most?
I find remoteness inspiring, my honeymoon was in the Andaman Islands, it’s so far away! The sounds, trees, landscape and wildlife were next level and then there is this story of an elephant visiting a beach of his own accord everyday. Also a boat trip I went on as a little girl in The Isle of Skye. There was a dramatic deep loch and water smoothing over wide expanses of stone that you could walk around in.
Who is your favourite artist?
It changes all the time, but I always love things made by friends and family. At the moment I’m excited to soon own a huge print by my very talented photographer friend Sophia Aerts <3
Photography by Sophia Aerts. Check out her very beautiful portfolio here.
What has been your highlight in 2020?
Being able to raise my son Theo full time whilst finding a way to evolve designing and making, using his sleep times and the Moomins to my full advantage.
Do you have a dream project?
More of a dream set up than a project. I’d like a team of talented makers, a sustainable production expert and an MD :)
“I like to pay attention to the detail, beautiful materials / textures and then colours that feel slightly unexpected (to me anyway). ”
What is next for Susie Cowie?
I’ve been very excited about designing T-shirts for a long time. Hopefully this will come together soon through upcoming projects, one is with a very unique luxury store in Tokyo called Casimir Pulaskiday and then a collaboration using vintage pieces with the beautifully curated Wolf & Gypsy in Brighton.
You can get in touch with Susie Cowie about commissions and collaborations via enquires@susiecowie.com.
