Edinburgh Napier University

Biography

Sarah is a design practitioner and researcher with expertise in the area of smart, light-emitting textiles. Since her pioneering research investigating the properties of fibre optics for application within woven textile structures (1995) she has continued to innovate through the use of optical fibre, digital technologies and textile practice.

She has exhibited at national and international venues over the last 25 years including the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Haywood Gallery in London, the National Museum of Scotland and the Museum of Kyoto in Japan. Her work has been shown in major exhibitions including, as a finalist nominee for the 2002 Jerwood Applied Arts Prize: Textiles and during the first touring exhibition of the V&A Dundee, Design in Motion (2015) which showcased award winning design work, Digital Lace (ICWC 2014). Her work is in public collections including the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and the Museum of Scotland, and has featured in prominent design publications including Art Textiles of the World Volume 3, Techno Textiles and two editions of the International Design Year Book.

Sarah has worked in design education for 20 years and as Reader at Heriot-Watt University and University of Brighton (2003 – 2011). She was Depute Research Director at Heriot-Watt with responsibility for coordinating the design submission for the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008 and was a member of the Arts and Humanities Research Peer Review College.

She studied Textile Design at Winchester School of Art including 3 months at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Holland. Her degree work was awarded two prizes acknowledging innovation and creativity within the subject. She gained a Textile Institute Scholarship to undertake a postgraduate diploma in textile design at Heriot-Watt University and was funded by the university to undertake an MPhil research degree.