About

Hand & Lock opens its doors to the public to offer an insight into Britain’s oldest embroidery house and host a goldwork taster class, working with gold metal bullions.

Situated in a former Victorian school built in the 1870s and converted into studios in 1925, Hand & Lock has been producing breathtaking embroideries for luxury fashion houses, the tailors of Savile Row and European royalty since 1767. Fusing ancient embroidery crafts with modern design, the esteemed Royal Warrant holders continue to champion hand embroidery while embracing the emergence of digital machine embroidery.

Visitors to their central London embroidery studio are free to walk around a modern-day working embroidery atelier and witness expert embroiderers working on live client commissions. In the large north-facing studio, embroiderers work at large embroidery frames and Victorian Singer sewing machines. Twice daily, skilled hand embroiderers are giving live demonstrations of popular embroidery techniques such as the fine art of tambour beading and the ancient specialism of goldwork.

Guests are free to talk to their expert staff about the long history of the company and the many famous projects they have worked on for celebrities and the royal family. Visitors can also enjoy examples of ancient and modern embroidery. Rarely seen items from Hand & Lock’s 250-year-old archive are displayed alongside contemporary award-winning embroidered garments and works of art from the 2019 Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery.