As we head into 2026, we're taking the time to celebrate a few of the highlights of 2025.

From exhibiting stitchers’ and Open The Gate apprentices’ work at world-renowned museums, events and institutions to hosting some great events, 2025 was a very exciting time for Fine Cell Work. We continued to expand our programmes across the UK, both in prison and on our post-release programme, Open The Gate, and have had one of our best years for fundraising and sales to date.

As the charity continues to grow, we are working with more stitchers than ever before, but this is a shared achievement – we could not do this without the generosity of our supporters, fantastic volunteers and amazing customers – thank you!

January

Our Battersea Hub was buzzing with activity at the start of the year, when we welcomed Chelsea Pensioners to the workshop, who worked alongside apprentices and volunteers to unpick the seam of their iconic scarlet coats ready for the production of cushions designed by us for the Chelsea Flower Show.

February

In front of a sold-out audience, we hosted our first event of 2025 – Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in conversation with Cathy Newman. In this incredibly moving event, Nazanin spoke to Cathy about her arrest and incarceration in Iran, and how stitching has helped her, both in prison and post-release. Nazanin and Cathy were later joined on stage by Richard Ratcliffe, Fine Cell Work’s Victoria Gillies, and two Fine Cell Work stitchers, both apprentices on our Open The Gate programme. The conversation between Nazanin and Cathy is now available to watch here.

Fine Cell Work made a splash in the news this month, as the collaboration with the Chelsea Pensioners appeared on the BBC News and in The Times, and our Wandsworth Prison Cushion took pride of place on James Timpson’s sofa in The Times Magazine.

March

Our stitchers had a productive year to date, producing more work than ever before, so we hosted a Studio Sample Sale at our Battersea Hub to find homes for their lovingly crafted pieces. Fine Cell Work supporters, existing and new, enjoyed seeing the stitchers’ handiwork up close, and the sale was a great success. Keep your eyes peeled for a 2026 date…!

To raise support for our work in training of people in prison to be highly skilled artisans, we successfully participated in Arts for Impact, a seven-day online match funding campaign supporting arts and culture charities working to achieve societal impact across the UK, run in partnership with Figurative Philanthropy for Arts & Culture (FPAC).

April

We opened our new workshop in a women’s prison, which has been incredibly productive and enriching for the stitchers involved. Led by Fine Cell Work’s Workshop Supervisor, Sophie, and Workshops Manager, Jordanne, the sessions run twice weekly with a focus on skills-based learning and nurturing the women's own creativity and imagination. Since launching, the women have gone from strength to strength, with limited edition runs of hand-stitched products selling out in record time. Undertaking purposeful activity has given the women a safe space in which to work, with a sense of community and connection to the wider community being felt through participating:

“The best thing, apart from the stitching, is being part of a great group, learning together and being creative.”

“I now wake up looking forward to Mondays because we have Fine Cell Work."

"I find it very therapeutic, and I love seeing finished products."

May

Fine Cell Work stitchers were extremely proud to see their work sitting at the heart of the gold medal-winning London Square Chelsea Pensioners Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, designed by Dave Green. From designing and unpicking the seams of the Chelsea Pensioners’ coats, to constructing and hand-stitching the cushions that formed a focal point for the garden, the stitchers were involved in all steps of the creative process. One of our post-release apprentices who worked on the cushions even assisted the planting team on site during build-up. It was such an honour to have been involved in the creation of this scarlet masterpiece, which has now found its forever home in the grounds of the Royal Hospital.

Fine Cell Work staff enjoyed a magical team away-day to the incredible Knepp Estate in Sussex for a guided safari walk. Lead by our knowledgeable guides Adam and Dave, there were many highlights, but spotting a majestic Grass Snake (Natrix Helvetica) was certainly one of our favourite moments (and yours too, as our Instagram post attracted over 12,000 views!) Our connection with Knepp has deep roots – it was co-founded by Isabella Tree, daughter of Fine Cell Work’s founder Lady Anne Tree, so we were so grateful to spend the day wandering around this incredible landscape.

June

As part of ROSA Magazine’s Craft Week and hosted by Philippa King of Curious House, Fine Cell Work’s Workshops Manager, Jordanne, and psychotherapist and counsellor Miranda Eyre, took part in a thought -provoking conversation about the different ways in which creativity can help emotional and psychological healing.

We hosted an annual lunch at our Battersea Hub for all our amazing volunteers to thank them for the crucial work they do – we simply could not do what we do without our volunteers. Travelling from all corners of the country, everyone enjoyed coming together to meet each other and talk about the work they do in different prison groups.

July

We were very excited to invited to showcase our work at this year’s Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.  It was wonderful to meet so many people from the quilting community - faces old and new - and to tell the story of our work in prisons and beyond. Quilts have always been an important part of what we do at Fine Cell Work, and the event gave us the opportunity to bring many of our most iconic quilts together under one roof, including the ever-popular Cell Quilt, and The Sleep Quilt, commissioned by Fine Cell Work Patron and writer, Tracy Chevalier. The festival also saw the unveiling of The British Wildflowers Quilt – a collaborative piece designed by a group of Fine Cell Work volunteers and stitched across multiple prisons and by stitchers on our post-release programme. After the event, the quilt was auctioned off to raise funds for Fine Cell Work.

Our very own Tech & Sales Lead, Helsio, bravely abseiled down all 88 metres of the the iconic Lloyd’s Building in London to raise funds for Fine Cell Work and The Upholders’ Charity Bob Fowlds Memorial Bursary, raising a whopping £2700! Well done to Helsio, and thanks to everyone who supported Helsio on this precipitous challenge!

August

The iconic department store, Liberty in London, celebrated its 150^th year in 2025, and Fine Cell Work are incredibly proud to have been part of the Liberty Patchwork Collective Project, which opened in May, but continued to draw people in and was extended up until the end of August. Open The Gate programme apprentices, volunteers and staff members submitted handcrafted patchwork squares to the project, some of which were selected and woven together into a breathtakingly beautiful super-sized patchwork house.

Our Online Sample Sale in August gave our post-release apprentices a great opportunity to practice and hone in their machining skills in the creation of one-off samples, which were happily snapped up by our amazing customers. We were bowled over by all of your orders, so thank you!

September

The Brother’s Trust (TBT) hosted their third Posh Pub Quiz, where they auctioned off Swallows in Flight – an incredible piece of textile art stitched by 19 Fine Cell Work stitchers across 14 prisons, with the actor Tom Holland included in this workforce – raising an incredible £30,000 for Fine Cell Work. Established by Nikki and Dominic Holland, parents of  Tom Holland and his three brothers, TBT’s mission is to shine a light on and to help charities who struggle to be heard in the noisy not-for-profit sector – their support and awareness they have raised for Fine Cell Work has been incredible, and our stitchers loved being involved in the creation of this piece, which explores the powerful theme of hope.

We were excited to introduce the latest additions to our ever-popular design collaboration with The William Morris Society with two new hand-stitched cushions and a glasses case. It was a delight to take inspiration from original archival watercolours and line drawings by William Morris and his daughter May Morris, and our customer have loved adding these new designs to their collections.

October

We hosted a sale at Godmersham Park, home of Edward Knight, the brother of novelist Jane Austen. It was wonderful to meet so many people in this majestic setting, and our Austen Bag, released to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, was revealed to the public for the first time.

October also saw the launch of the newest additions to our Blithfield and Co. collection, which was celebrated with a pop-up shop kindly hosted by Blithfield’s shop in Kensington.

Fine Cell Work’s 2025 limited edition Christmas decoration, Stocking Bear, was released into the wild. Sales this year were unprecedented -  you snapped up 350 hand-stitched bears before we could blink!

Our Cell Quilt travelled widely throughout 2025, culminating at The British Library, featuring in the Secret Maps exhibition (on until 18th January 2025).

November

It was great to approach the end of the year with a new design collaboration with sculptor and painter, Margit Wittig. Seeing textiles and sculpting as intertwined practices, the organic forms found in Margit’s sculptural works informed the designs of two new cushions, exquisitely hand-stitched in prison.

November was another month for record in-person sales at the Christmas Cotswold Fair, hosted by a valuable supporter, and the jewel in our festive crown – our annual Christmas Fair at St Peter’s in Notting Hill. It was a joy to return to such a beautiful setting, with wonderful music from harpist Fiona – thank you, Fiona!

December

We finished the year on a high note – with thanks for our wonderful supporters and customers, we reached our sales target and our year-end Big Give Christmas appeal was an absolute success, raising much-needed funds for our work in prison. We experienced great relief and jubilation as we met - and crossed - our fundraising goal of £70,000.

We concluded the year with our annual Apprentice and Graduate Christmas Party. This is a very special occasion that brings everyone together to catch-up, share food and conversation and play games. The event means so much to everyone - apprentices, recent graduates, Hub volunteers and staff – it’s a real coming together of the Fine Cell Work community.

Finally, December saw the unveiling of the ‘Make a Wish’ display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Working in collaboration with the V&A’s Creative Resident for Ceramics, Ciara Neufeldt, Fine Cell Work apprentices made the tiles cladding the fountain through workshops inspired by a series of artists’ talks throughout the year. This incredible work is on display until November 1^st 2026, so go along and make a wish!  

Photo credit: Victoria and Albert Museum

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