Beautiful embroidered brooches of birds by Paulina Bartnik

Barn owls, ravens, chickadees, finches and parrots – each of her jewellery pieces are incredibly lifelike and showcase the breadth of Paulina's talent. Using a needle and thread in a rainbow of colours, Paulina's works can take several days to complete and are not surprisingly sold almost immediately.

In an interview with Frankie magazine, she admits that it's only been recently that she has taken up the craft full-time: "I discovered embroidery by accident as a teenager, when I found a book about Polish folk embroidery. I decided to try and learn it by myself. It came naturally to me because I had a background in various other fields of art, and I really liked it. I decorated some of my clothes in floral patterns. But, because embroidery is very time-consuming, I had to leave it and go back after some years."

Of the process, Paulina says she starts with felt sheets and cuts out the shape of the bird in question. She then sews layers of felt before the begins to outline the bird with thread. It's then a case of marking the direction of the feathers. She likes to start from the centre or a focal point like the bird's eye. And then she builds up each piece, almost like a painting process, but instead of paint and brushes, she uses a needle and thread.

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