Inside the Flourish Textile Art Hub

Getting Started with Mixed Media Textile Art

A collaborative workshop featuring Flourish founder Ellie Hipkin and guest tutors Deborah Campbell, Wendy Greaves, and Jenny O’Leary.

FREE sign-up available until Wednesday 29th July, 5pm BST

Are you ready to step inside the world of mixed media textile art?

Whether you’re brand new to textile art or simply curious about the materials behind this expressive medium, this free online workshop will guide you through everything you need to know to get started—clearly, confidently, and creatively.

If you’ve ever looked at painted textiles, stitched layers or textured surfaces and wondered “How do they do that?” — this is your perfect starting point.

Why join this workshop?

Mixed media textiles can feel overwhelming. Fabrics, paints, threads, tools: what do you actually need?

This workshop breaks everything down simply. You will learn exactly which materials work best, why they work, and how to select the right ones for your unique style.

What’s Inside the Workshop 

This is a comprehensive, self-paced masterclass (approx. 2.5 hours of content) designed to take you from curiosity to confidence.

The Core Foundation (Led by Ellie Hipkin)

I will guide you through the essential building blocks of mixed media:

Fabrics: How to choose the right bases for painting, layering, and structure.
Textile Painting: Exploring different paints, alternatives, and how fabrics absorb colour.
Embroidery: Setting up your machine for free-motion embroidery and choosing the perfect threads.
Supporting Materials: Using tulle, stabilisers, papers, and mediums to add depth.
Presentation: Simple, effective ways to frame or mount your finished pieces.

Specialist Deep Dives (Guest Tutors) 

To broaden your perspective, I have invited three incredible artists to share their favourite niche techniques:

Printing Techniques with Deborah Campbell: Explore the world of Gelli and collagraph printing to create unique printed fabrics.
Textural Methods with Wendy Greaves: Discover how to move from printing to creating sculptural embroideries.
Inks and Collage with Jenny O’Leary: Learn how to use specialist inks to add atmosphere and detail to your work.

How it works

Once you sign up, you get immediate, lifetime access to:

9 Teaching Videos: Clear, step-by-step walkthroughs of every material and technique.
A Detailed Materials PDF: A wonderful reference guide to help you use what you already own (no unnecessary shopping required!).
Bonus Guidance: Tips on advanced materials and presentation ideas to help you display your work beautifully.

Free sign-up available until 29th July, 5pm BST

Meet your lead tutor

Ellie Hipkin

Ellie Hipkin is a textile mixed media artist based in Brighton, UK. Her work is inspired by the ever-changing moods of the landscape—weathered skies, shifting seasons, wild plants and quiet woodland spaces. Through painted fabrics, digital prints of her photographs, free-motion embroidery and delicate hand stitching, she creates layered artworks rich in texture, movement and atmosphere.

After 12 years working as a fashion designer, Ellie now works full-time as an artist and teacher. She founded the Flourish Textile Art Hub in 2021, sharing her mixed media techniques alongside a growing community of guest tutors. Her teaching is warm, accessible and rooted in helping artists grow confidence through gentle experimentation.

View her work here.

Guest tutors

Deborah Campbell

Deborah Campbell: Deborah Campbell is a mixed media and textile artist based in Kilmacolm, Scotland. Her work is inspired by the rugged beauty of Scotland’s coastal landscapes and birdlife. Deborah trained in Printed Textiles at Glasgow School of Art and has a wealth of experience in printing, stitching, and working with a wide variety of fabrics. Her approach is painterly and experimental, often combining print, collage, and stitch in unexpected ways. She enjoys working with layered fabrics of different textures and transparencies, then using free-motion embroidery as a drawing tool to create dynamic, organic artworks. Deborah teaches in a relaxed, playful style, encouraging students to experiment and find their own creative voice through textile art.

Wendy Greaves

Wendy Greaves is a textile artist and former fine art textile teacher with over 30 years of teaching experience. After leaving teaching in 2022, she began focusing more deeply on developing her own creative practice and exploring new techniques. Landscape and the natural world are central to her work. Using hand and machine embroidery, appliqué and expressive mark-making, Wendy creates tactile textile pieces that reflect the fragility and beauty of nature. She often works with recycled and locally sourced materials, incorporating processes such as solar dyeing and monoprinting to create layered, atmospheric surfaces.

Jenny O'Leary

Jenny O’Leary is a textile artist and tutor based in Shropshire, inspired by the beautiful landscapes of Shropshire and the Welsh borders. Her work captures the feeling of place rather than a direct representation, using hot wax resist on tissue, paper, and fabric, often combined with machine embroidery to add a drawn element. Jenny teaches workshops across the UK and is known for her relaxed, exploratory teaching style — encouraging students to experiment, enjoy the process, and find their own creative voice through batik and mixed media.

Ready to Begin Your Mixed Media Journey?

Click below to sign up and get instant access to all 9 teaching videos, the materials guide, and your introduction to the beautiful world of mixed media textiles.