Our collaboration with illustrator and embroiderer Madeleine Kemsley

We first found Madeleine when Phoebe was looking for an artist to embroider some knickers for a wedding gift which has become a bit of a custom. Timings were too tight but we were determined to find a way to work together as we really admire her work.

We have often had customers say they put their children's Picos in the wrong pile or squabble over whose Picos are whose. This is something we also experienced when living together and there are tales from lockdown of Isobel’s Dad and Alberto her partner having to lay out all their Pico trunks in an attempt to work out whose were whose. Monogrammed Picos seemed the perfect solution.

What drew us to Madeleine’s work is her love of colour and her skill in creating such characterful work that uses both traditional techniques but also has a contemporary feel. She uses a range of media which include lino, screen printing and appliqué but embroidery is her specialism. Her work feels reminiscent of folk art pieces seen during visits to the Tatra mountains in Poland and we feel she has a touch of Maria Prymachenko (an incredible Ukrainian artist whose use of colour is amazing) in her work also. Someone else described Madeleine’s work as playful yet classic - we couldn’t agree more!

Madeleine is based on a Cornish farm - living in a small, self renovated caravan - initially having moved down to Cornwall to attend the well renowned Falmouth University to study art. All Madeleine’s works are created and manufactured in her studio in Cornwall, using sustainable production methods.

Jersey fabric was not something she had worked on before, but she was up for the challenge. It is quite different to woven fabric as it does not have the same tension but Madeleine is doing each piece free hand to overcome this, meaning they are also all completely unique and she has done such a beautiful job in the samples.

Our combined choice of colourway for the organic cotton thread (a rusty red tone) brings back memories of name tagging clothes at school as well as an array of monogrammed antique linen nightshirts we have acquired over the years.

We hope everyone loves their very special embroidered Picos and enjoys exploring Madeleine’s work further.

You can see more of Madeleine’s work here and follow her on instagram - @madeleine_illustration.

Photos by - @goodrest_studios