Embroiderer and Textile Artist
Impact: Preserving the ancient art of hand embroidery and creating new textile works that push the boundaries of the craft
Create hand-embroidered and textile art works for fashion, interior design, heritage conservation, and fine art, combining traditional needlework techniques with contemporary design to create unique textile pieces. Design and execute hand embroidery; create textile art installations; restore historic embroideries; teach embroidery; and sell work through galleries, commissions, and online platforms. Develop expertise in a specific embroidery tradition such as goldwork, crewelwork, or contemporary textile art.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Minimal
- Team vs solo
- 10% Team / 90% Solo
- Client facing
- Sometimes
- Impact visibility
- Moderate
- Travel
- 10-20% travel to exhibitions and teaching
- Schedule flexibility
- Very Flexible
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 30-50 hours/week
- Stress level
- Low
At a glance
- Median salary
- $28,000
- Entry-level
- $15,000 - $25,000
- Senior
- $60,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 4% (heritage craft revival and luxury fashion embroidery growing)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- High
- Salary growth potential
- High -- 100-300% growth from embroiderer to gallery-represented textile artist
- Typical student debt
- $0 - $25,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Hand embroidery techniques (goldwork
- crewelwork
- silk shading
- stumpwork)
- Textile art design
- Heritage embroidery conservation
- Embroidery teaching
- Online craft sales
- Commission management
Soft skills
- Creativity
- Attention to detail
- Patience
- Craftsmanship
- Business development
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Certificate or Vocational Training
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 4-7 years
- Years to senior
- 10-20 years
- Career switching
- Very Hard
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
- Fashion Designer
- Fine Artist
Where you can go from here
- Textile Art Gallery Artist
- Heritage Embroidery Conservator
Typical progression
- Embroidery Student
- Embroiderer
- Textile Artist
- Gallery-represented Artist
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 3% -- hand embroidery is a craft that cannot be automated
- AI disruption risk
- Very Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 9/10
- Meaning
- 9/10
- Work-life balance
- 8.5/10
- Prestige
- 7/10
- Social perception
- High