Embroidery houses on Madeira successfully continue practice their traditional hand embroidery skills in an age of mechanized industries. The embroidery skills currently in use on Madeira are largely lost in Europe and reflect historical styles from the 18th and 19th centuries.

While filming I was able to begin to understand the importance of embroidery’s cultural place within society with embroiderers still visible stitching in the street. As in the historical images, women still gather to stitch, sing and talk sharing an age-old tradition of gathering in peoples’ homes. This way more embroidery gets done and time goes quicker.

Embroiderers working at home:

Maria Gouveia de Abreu

Maria Santos

Agostinha Pestana

Deolinda Abreu

Hotel workshop:

Tima Franco

Leanne Walker

Janette Walker

Rita Zuzarto Reis Melo Figueinedo

Jody Oberfelder

Ana Rita Azevedo Rocha