Meet the Maker: Abigail Brown

We chat to Abigail Brown, the artist and illustrator breathing life into sculptural birds

Published: February 21, 2018 at 3:55 pm

Abigail Brown at work
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What’s your background? ‘My grandma was a seamstress, so I spent my earliest days surrounded by sewing machines, fabrics and thread,’ explains Abigail, now a full-time illustrator and artist living in London. ‘While at university I did lots of drawing and printing designs for stationery and interior fabrics,’ she explains, ‘but it was only after I started a job in children’s book publishing that I started to make soft toys and appliqué artworks in my spare time.’

What inspires you the most? ‘I love watching animal documentaries and I have filled my studio with as many plants as I can handle,’ she laughs. ‘I collect illustrated children’s books, folk art and small toys from around the world – they all feed into my work.’ Abigail’s first fabric birds emerged in 2007, although they were loose and creative interpretations and, after a few years, she sought real species that she could recreate. ‘The more I researched, the more colourful and beautiful birds I discovered. Trying to replicate them in fabric has become such an enjoyable task.’

Abigail Brown's studio
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How do you make one of your fabric birds? Abigail’s fabric birds require a time-consuming process, and she begins each design with extensive image research. ‘I make the pattern for the body, which I machine-sew, before inserting the wire for the beak and legs and stuffing.’ The legs require shaping and soldering (so each bird can stand up), and she then begins hand-cutting the feathers. ‘I try to work with fabrics that I have stored up, but sometimes, for a closer colour match, I hit the fabric shops.’ Abigail then glues each one into place. ‘I finish everything off with two tiny hand-stitched details: a beak and an eye.’

Abigail Brown sewing
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How do you display your birds at home? ‘I often have them perched on high pieces of furniture, or displayed in little groups on the mantelpiece. In my studio I have a glass display cabinet filled with birds on little perches.’

* Visit abigail-brown.co.uk to see more of Abigail's feathered creations

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