INSPIRING PEOPLE
LaurenTurner
An interview with...
With the King’s coronation on the horizon, we caught up with Lauren Turner to find out what’s involved in celebrating royal occasions in stitches
Interview by Lucy Evans
Lauren does some research on paper first.
L auren Turner specialises in sampler designs. With the Queen’s Jubilee, her passing last year and the upcoming coronation of King Charles III, she has been very busy making sure there is a suitable sampler to stitch for each occasion…
What led you to produce a collection of royal designs?
My first foray into royal samplers was the Golden Jubilee of 2002. In those days I sold mainly to the retail trade. I was delighted to receive a large order for this sampler from the Royal Palace Collection. The St Edwards crown is used solely for coronations. It is a bold image, so I adopted it as the perfect basis for the Jubilee celebration. When the Diamond Jubilee came round I decided to revise the crown image in stronger colours, and for the Platinum Jubilee I selected softer muted colours to reflect the maturing years, and introduced sparkling threads in the gemstones. Now, we have the coronation of a King, and I decided to introduce bold regal colours to complete the set of four with the Jubilee samplers. I have enjoyed the evolution of these samplers and their colour palettes, and I love the way the gems glisten and catch the light.