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In the latest “five minutes with” interview, we chatted to Victoria Merness, a textile artist from Mossley.  Find out more about Victoria’s embroidery empire below!

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Tell us about your creative venture…

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My name is Victoria Merness, I am an artist, designer, and teacher and my business is called Little House of Victoria. I set up my small business whilst studying for a Masters degree in Contemporary Fine Art at The University of Salford in 2020.  

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I have an embroidery and textile art studio in Mossley at Woodend Mill One, where I teach workshops and sell my embroidery kits and haberdashery.

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Additionally, I have an ecommerce website www.littlehouseofvictoria.com where you can purchase my embroidery kits.  I love to encourage beginners to try embroidery, and there are free tutorials and embroidery patterns which are free to download and view at the website.

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I am a guest presenter on the Sewing TV channel, Sewing Street, and regularly present live television programmes where I demonstrate and sell my embroidery kits and products.

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I also teach at external venues, and travel as far as Rheged Centre in Penrith in Cumbria to teach art and textile workshops.

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I exhibit at large textile fairs such as The Festival of Quilts, and will be exhibiting this year at The Knitting & Stitching Show at Harrogate.

What do you love about Tameside?

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I love the rolling countryside around the Tameside area. When I drive towards the studio from my home in Manchester, the sight of the green hills in the distance is a very welcome one. I also love the industrial heritage of Tameside, with its many mills echoing the tradition and industrious history of days gone by.

How is Tameside's heritage and culture reflected in your business or venture?

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Whilst studying for my MA, I specialised in embroidery producing a series of autobiographical embroideries by working from old photographs.  The reason that I chose the art of embroidery to work with photographs was not only because of the therapeutic benefits of embroidery, but because it provided a link to my father’s family that lived in Greenfield.  Until recently we had no knowledge of our family, and the only facts that we had of the Minana Merness family was a family photo album that was passed to us on the death of my grandfather.  The album contained photographs of the family that we never knew, and they lived at Dolefield Farm in Greenfield in the 1920’s. The photographs provided a wealth of inspiration from which to work, as they documented the family’s migration from Argentina when they joined my Great Grandmother’s family at the farm in Greenfield.

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My studio at Woodend Mill in Mossley overlooks the hills where my father’s family lived, and seeing the hills from my studio provides a sense of belonging, and a feeling of homecoming.

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Contained in the album there are photographs of my Great Grandmother working at a mill, unfortunately we do not know which mill it was. The concept of taking cotton back to a cotton mill evokes a personal sense of connection and continuity.

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I regularly teach workshops to show people how to embroider onto their family photos, and these have proved to be very popular.  By printing cherished photographs onto fabric, it preserves them for future generations to enjoy. The embroidered elements add focus and celebrate the people within the photographs.

What do you believe would bolster the region’s creative community?

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Opportunities to work together with other creatives and producers would be very beneficial.  In times of economic uncertainty, it is vitally important to work together to boost our income, and to ensure the business survival of creatives. Involvement with The Arts Council and other funding streams will be crucial to help preserve the creative arts and its contribution to the economy.

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What are your 3 favourite venues/ventures and services in your Tameside hometown?

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My favourite service/shop has to be Emmaus in Mossley, I absolutely love the ethos of the whole organisation.  Emmaus brings a much needed benefit to the local community by providing an opportunity for recycling, and to buy goods at an affordable price, as well as the amazing development and benefits that they provide for their colleagues.  Emmaus is such a happy place, and a visit there is guaranteed to uplift the spirits. My studio is furnished mainly with furniture from Emmaus, and it has been a great help in helping me to set up.

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Woodend Mills, Manchester Road, Mossley.  This is the mill where my studio is, and it has to be my next favourite place.  The management team and tenants are putting a great deal of focus on working together to make this a creative hub and venue, and we are fast becoming a destination for all things arty.  We regularly hold Open Studio Weekends where we throw the doors open to our studios with free events to welcome the local community with free events and workshops. The mill provides affordable studio space for creatives, which is difficult to find in the wider geographical area.

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Veg Lord, a greengrocer within the Woodend Mill site provides lovely fruit and veg, and deli produce. I also have to mention Hatch Bakery who are located next to Veg Lord providing gorgeous cakes and coffee.

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‍Check out Victoria's embroidery & textile art website at www.littlehouseofvictoria.com