After completing the RSN apprenticeship in 1998, Alexandra gained a BA Honours degree in Archaeology and then a PGCE, specialising in textiles. In 2017, Alexandra received a PhD with her thesis ‘Embroidery and its Context in the early medieval British Isles and Ireland (AD 450-1100). Alexandra was, until recently, a research associate at the University of Glasgow and National Museums Scotland, analysing the embroidery and textiles found in the Galloway Hoard. She is now a Third Century Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her publications include the book, The Lost Art of the Anglo-Saxon World: the sacred and secular power of embroidery, and articles and book chapters analysing the technical attributes of embroideries, how they were made and their meaning and use within early medieval societies. Alexandra regularly teaches workshops and gives lectures and talks of different aspects of early medieval embroidery. She also produces kits and disseminates her experimental research, re-creating early medieval embroideries, through her YouTube channel.

Since graduating in 2016, Angela has taught day classes and certificate and diploma modules at Rugby, Hampton Court Palace, Williamsburg and the inaugural C&D Intensive in Brisbane in July 2024. She was one of the tutors who piloted online C&D modules during Covid and now primarily teaches this way for all time zones. Angela filmed the RSN self paced online class for Appliquè 2022.

Her work has been exhibited at venues in the UK and Australia, including the RSN 150th Exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum, and the inaugural exhibition at the Bankside Gallery London for the Worshipful Company of Broderers where she is a Liveryman.

She was also honoured to be a part of the team producing the anointing screen for the Coronation of HM Charles III in 2023.

With an earlier career in event management, Angela has organised and hosted her own embroidery retreats in unique venues around the UK. Her first book ‘Figurework Embroidery’ was published in 2020.

Auburn is an embroidery artist, teacher and author, who has spent the past 10 years learning, practicing and teaching the art of hand embroidery. Her embroidery career started when she gained a place on the Future Tutor Programme at the RSN, where she graduated in 2017 with distinction and a number of awards including a QEST scholarship. On graduating Auburn was employed in the RSN’s commercial studio, and as a tutor, has had the honour to teach on a number of programmes from day classes to the certificate and diploma course. She has also had the opportunity to teach at a number of locations in the UK and abroad as well as online. Auburn has spent the past few years writing a book on Whitework embroidery which was published in 2023 with The Crowood Press. Auburn has mainly been focusing on teaching and writing her book. She now looks forward to developing her embroidery style and specialities further, whilst working towards building on her career as a freelance embroiderer.

After graduating from the RSN FTP with distinction in 2015, teaching the RSN C&D course, as well as on the Day Class programme, Deborah is mainly based at our Bristol Satellite. She also teaches for the RSN across the UK and internationally.

Deborah also teaches freelance for organisations such as holiday companies, private social groups and other education organisations both in the UK and abroad.

In 2021 Deborah was awarded a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust grant to study for an MPhil with the Kings Foundation School of Traditional Arts. The MPhil uses artistic practise as research looking at the influence of geometry in embroidery design. This research has lead to a working knowledge and use of natural dyes materials.

In 2022 Deborah became a livery man of the Worshipful company of Broderers due to her work in the field of technical hand embroidery.

In 2023, Deborah was honoured to be part of the Embroidery Studio team at the Royal School of Needlework who worked on a number of items for the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla, including The Queen’s Robe of Estate, the Anointing Screen, Chairs of State and the Stole Royal.

Elizabeth Elvin has enjoyed a long and varied career teaching hand embroidery. She joined the RSN in 1961 when it was based at Princes Gate, Kensington and where she went on to specialise in the teaching of gold and silk and ecclesiastical embroidery.

She became Principal of the RSN in 1987, her first task overseeing the RSN’s move from Princes Gate to Hampton Court Palace. She re-instated the Apprenticeship and introduced Day Classes and the Certificate Courses. She has now re-established her teaching career and has taught in Australia, San Francisco and other areas of the USA, as well as many parts of the UK, teaching RSN Day Classes.

Elizabeth has taken part in various community projects, teaching silk shading in the slums of Cairo to a wonderful group of young girls, and to a group of underprivileged young girls in Kenya. She also advises Fine Cell Work which teaches needlework to prison inmates in the UK.  She is helping to curate an exhibition on the life of the late Beryl Dean with whom she worked on many ecclesiastical projects from 1970 to the early 1990s.

She is currently an assessor for the Certificate & Diploma course and Moderator for the Future Tutors programme. Liz uses her wealth of experience to assess our students’ work to maintain the high standard of RSN work.

Eve graduated from the Future Tutor programme in 2025. She came to embroidery having worked in several industries including in TV and PR. During the programme, she enjoyed teaching at the Knitting and Stitching Shows, the Hampton Court Artisan Fayre and The Stitch Festival. She was given the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers Award for Excellence in Goldwork and was delighted to exhibit her work in the ‘Handstitched Heritage’ exhibition at the RWA in Bristol. Since graduating, she has also assisted on the RSN International Summer School and on the RSN Certificate Summer Intensives.

She has an interest in themes of place and identity and was pleased to win the Worshipful Company of Broderers Associate Award at the Hand & Lock Prize 2025 for a triptych of embroidered landscapes of Birmingham. Alongside creating embroidered artwork, she has also completed a variety of private commissions, from family portraits to bespoke wedding gifts and personalised samplers.