America’s Tapestry
A Lecture by Stefan Romero
Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 1pm via Zoom
No Registration Required
Join us on Saturday, January 10 to learn more about America’s Tapestry and the prominent role needle art is playing in our nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary. America’s Tapestry founder and director Stefan Romero will discuss the the inspiration and creation of this collaborative community embroidery project. From finding inspiration in the Scottish Borders to grassroots organizing in the United States, Stefan will trace the journey of this historic endeavor from concept to implementation. Stefan will discuss the designs of the New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut panels and the stories of those who are working on bringing these designs to life in needlework across the three states. To learn more about America’s Tapestry or to get involved, please visit americastapestry.com.
Stefan Romero Bio
Stefan Romero is an interdisciplinary costume designer, public historian, and textile artist. Fascinated by the intersection between archival inquiry and sartorial significance, Stefan is committed to telling American stories through textile-based sources. He is the founder and director of America’s Tapestry, a collaborative community embroidery project commemorating America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. This ambitious initiative features thirteen embroidered panels representing each original colony, created in partnership with organizations across the East Coast. The project engages the public in the practice of embroidery while preserving our nation’s shared history through accessible arts programming.
Seeking to understand how garments and textiles can reveal the past and inform the present, Stefan pursued his undergraduate education at Carnegie Mellon University’s unique dual degree program, specializing in historic dress and costume design. As a recipient of a US-UK Fulbright Postgraduate Student Award, Stefan furthered his research at the University of Glasgow. Working internationally across the United Kingdom and United States, Stefan’s costume design work spans period and contemporary productions for both film and theatre.
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For Pleasure & Ornament
A Lecture by Nicola Jarvis
Saturday, November 1, 2025 at 1pm via Zoom
For Pleasure and Ornament is the compelling and colorful story of Nicola’s extensive career in embroidery.
From training as an apprentice at the Royal School of Needlework in 1991, to working as a sample embroiderer in the British fashion industry, and going on to develop her current art practice combining drawing, embroidery and kit design.
Highlights include working on Catherine, the Princess of Wales’ wedding lace, staging popular exhibitions at notable museums and galleries and contributing to the anointing screen for the coronation of King Charles III.
No registration is required. A Zoom link will be emailed to all Region members a few days before the lecture.
Nicola Jarvis Bio
Nicola has designed and taught embroidery for over thirty years, and since her apprenticeship training at the Royal School of Needlework, she has used stitch in a wide range of applications and teaches her craft internationally to people of all ages and backgrounds. Recognition for these skills came in 2018, when she received a Commendation from the prestigious Beryl Dean Award for Excellence in Teaching.
With a First Class Honours degree in Fine Art Printmaking (Manchester Art School), a Masters degree in Fine Art Drawing (Wimbledon College of Art) and a Certificate of Education (University of Greenwich), Nicola was part of the team that wrote, launched and delivered the Foundation Degree and Honours Degree curriculum at the Royal School of Needlework.
Over the last decade Nicola has enjoyed delivering site-specific embroidery courses in stately homes, museums and other venues across the UK, Europe and USA. Projects include collaborations with textile historian Lynn Hulse of Ornamental Embroidery, where they co-delivered object-based learning programs at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. These courses culminated in an exhibition of contemporary raised work caskets entitled ‘The Needle’s Excellency’ at the museum in 2017, and a collaborative exhibition ‘The Needle’s Art’ at the Bodelian Library, Oxford in 2022, showcasing twenty embroidered artworks inspired by the Ashmole 1504 model book/manuscript.
You can learn more about Nicola Jarvis at her website: https://www.nicolajarvisstudio.co.uk/