Lora Avedian’s work sits at the intersection of textile design and art, encompassing everything from large-scale installations at venues like Barbican Centre and the Chelsea Flower Show to exquisite, embroidered linens and soft furnishings that are sought after by the world’s best interior designers. All of Lora’s work is invested with her own deeply-held values: a passion for craft and traditional techniques, a dedication to making in small batches and in the UK, and a wide-ranging imagination and love of nature. All of these values come together to create beautiful ‘modern artefacts’, heirloom pieces that can be loved for generations.

Learning and scholarship is vitally important to Lora: her training has been a journey of exploration through the possibilities of textiles from a BA in embroidery to a Masters in Mixed Media Textiles from the Royal College of Art, with a stint along the way working in set design, which lent a sense of scale and ambition to her projects. Lora’s aesthetic has developed under a wide range of influences, from the fantastical world of Tim Walker and Shona Heath, to her own family heritage in Armenia, via the refined and delicate sensibilities of Edwardian embroiderers.

Collaboration is a crucial element of Lora’s work, whether she is undertaking limited-edition collections for institutions such as Fortnum & Mason, the V&A and the Barbican, or creating intricate bespoke headboards and curtains for interior designers and their clients. Working with other people who share her love of craft and the handmade is one of the most inspiring elements of her work.

Equally important to Lora is the sharing of her knowledge and expertise; having benefited from a scholarship at The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), she is still deeply involved with the trust’s work and current scholars, as well as serving as a visiting lecturer at London College of Fashion on the Embroidery BA. Lora also runs classes and workshops both independently and for organisations such as Royal Academy of Arts, Atelier Clos Mirabel and Selvedge Magazine, whilst her book Stitch in Bloom (Hardie Grant, 2021) offers an insight into the extraordinary world of Lora’s work (and how readers can try some of her techniques at home).