Meet Narda Campbell Designs

There’s absolutely no doubt that history nut Narda Campbell is all wrapped up in the fascinating world of textile art. At her cosy home studio surrounded by upcycled art, framed embroidery and her antique spinning wheel—plucked straight from an enchanting fairytale—Narda hopes to show absolute beginners how fulfilling and intuitive textile art can be.

Join Narda at one of her textile classes in Sydney and you’re sure to be inspired by her passion for sharing her fondness for fabrics. Complimented with sweet desserts and a heartwarming homemade mocha, you’ll be right at home stitching, dyeing and crocheting the day away in Narda’s welcoming creative space!

I’ve been crafting since…

“I was a little girl. I used to draw and chalk on the path from the time I was a toddler right through to now. Everything I can lay my hands on. I can’t rollerskate or ride a bike, but anything that requires sitting down and using your hands I can probably do.”

Textile art is the best way to destress because...

“It’s very calming, just like any handcraft it lowers your heart rate and makes you calmer. If I’m tense, my crochet will be really tight, and as I relax it gets looser. I can also do everything I love in one medium. Embroidery, for example, is an extension of painting and drawing. If you can draw with a pencil, you can stitch.”

If I could have dinner with any historical figure it would be…

“May Morris. She was an English artisan and suffragette from the arts and crafts movement during the Victorian era. She ran workshops for women to learn how to embroider and would make these really fabulous wallpapers and interior designs. I’d love to meet her.”

Believe it or not…

“I’ve been known to fall asleep at my spinning wheel because of the combination of the sound and the fibre running through my fingers. It’s just lovely.”

The three things you'll learn in my class are...

“Patience, perseverance and problem-solving. If this doesn’t work, then how am I going to get around that issue? Every time you are redoing or relearning something, you’re creating new neural pathways, so it’s like yoga for your brain. It’s really good for you.”

My favourite part of the workshop is…

“Seeing when the penny drops, when my students realise that they’ve got it and they can actually do it. Then it’s like they’ve learned to fly. I just love that.”

You really should try crochet (yes you!)…

“It’s about self-expression. Doing a handcraft like this you can really create. You can use it anywhere and for anything. You can go to op shops and you can unravel jumpers to upcycle. You can crochet with cut-up sheets, t-shirts all that sort of stuff. You can reuse things that have been used for other things and then turn them into usable things. ”