A talk with Becky Scott of Witney Antiques - samplers, history, conservation & building a collection 

Nicola, thank you so much for arranging this incredible interview with Becky Scott!!! It was amazing!

Darling Nicola... You are the gift that keeps on giving! Thank you for bringing Witney to those of us who may never have a chance to visit in person!

A huge thank you to two amazing ladies! This presentation was so wonderful I enjoyed it thoroughly. What a bounty of information and the samplers were beautiful. This video will for sure be watched many times.

What a wonderful interview, the information you gave us Becky was lovely. A true inspiration into antique samplers. You have convinced me of the importance of making the sampler my own piece of magic, and putting my name on the items that I stitch. Thank you both for a very informative interview. Hopefully you will be able to do more interviews together.

Nicola! Greetings from Dallas, Texas! What a delightful and educational video! Loved every minute of it and Witney Antiques is now definitely on my radar. Thank you so much for this and being who you are!! ❤️❤️❤️

I enjoyed my visit last October to Whitney Antiques and look forward to returning next year. The Whitney antiques sampler that has made its way back home is both an amazing story and an amazing sampler! I love how these things work out! Is there a name for this situation - when the present coincides with the past! Thank you, Becky and Nicola for sharing your love of needlework with us!

Wonderful conversation just full of great information. I recently completed my first reproduction sampler. Turns out she was a many times great aunt. At the very bottom I squeezed in the genealogical initials leading up to me and the date. Such fun to honor her work this way!

Very interesting, always amazes me how young some of these girls were! Thank you for sharing this with us!

What a wonderful and informative interview! Thank you for bringing it to us😊

Loved this informative video, Nicola! I think you were preaching to me about my sampler collection today!! Becky is a jewel, as are you! ❤️

❤what a lovely video I found this very interesting and can't wait yo visit ❤ so many beautiful samplers 😊

This is my first time watching you and I will be back. ❤️

Thank you so much for sharing this video. Very interesting and informative.

This was full of wonderful information! I've never seen a map sampler before. I'm going to create one of our farm. I love that the names they had for the different areas are stitched on there. That's very relatable, we have names for the different areas and fields too. ❤ Thank you!

Lovely video Nicola, thank you!

Fascinating talk, thank you!

This was wonderful! Thanks very much for such an interesting video. I was especially interested in the conversation process. I definitely have Witney Antiques on my list for the next time I am in the UK.

Thank you Becky and Nicola, I've learnt so much listening to both of you today. Hopefully Nicola you can give us the heads up on the newest catalogue? It covers the period that has really piqued my interest since I rediscovered cross stitch during lockdown thanks to stumbling across your flosstube. I've become addicted since then!

How interesting! Thank you.

Last week you promised to try to have something special for us to watch this weekend. Nicola, you hit it out of the park. I enjoyed every minute and will undoubtedly watch again. ❤

Dear Nicola, thank you for taking us to Whitney Antiques for a beautiful and informative chat with Becky Scott. Such a fabulous treat! Hope you have a great weekend. Sending much love to you from Kentucky.

Thank you both for the wonderful discussion of samplers.

This was such a wonderful conversation about samplers. So much information shared about the young girls and their lives who stitched these beautiful samplers. I truly enjoyed this video.

Fantastic interview with such a knowledgeable curator of needlework! I loved her explanation of conservation techniques ❤. Thank you very much for this wonderful interview ❤

What a wonderful conversation to listen in on. Thank you Nicola!

Thank you for sharing this talk. It is important that Becky and the Whitney team is restoring and conserving these works of art.

Wow. What a wonderful surprise. So lovely to visit with Becky at Whitney Antiques.. I will never be able to visit so it was an absolute joy. Thank you both.❤❤

Thank you both for the wonderful education!! Great discussion.

Thank you for this generous view inside Whitney Antiques and for filming this wonderful and informative interview. There were many high points during the all-too-short hour, but my favorite of all was your discussion about adding ourselves to the needlework we do, even when stitching a faithful reproduction of an antique. My feeling has been along the same lines. I believe that many women make little of their accomplishments thinking it was “just unimportant me”, that some how they are not a part of the story of the work they produce. A huge thank you to both of you for your clear and empowering discussion on the topic of signatures!😊

Thank-you Nicola, and Becky, for this unexpected but very welcome treat. I count myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit Becky's shop last fall during the GBSW event. It was inspiring and somewhat overwhelming to see all the work in person. I would welcome another special episode from Witney. ❣

Oh my word! This was amazing. Thank both of you for sharing your knowledge & expertise with us. I’m dazzled.

What an enchanting and delightful video! Thank you so much Nicola and Becky!

I am so enlightened by this conversation and information! Particularly indicating our date and/or initials-motif on a reproduction we stitch. It so makes sense and, had I not listened to you both, would not realize how important that is as part of the story! Thank you both so much for taking time to educate us! If I ever have the opportunity to visit the UK, meeting Becky and visiting her antique store is top of list!

Wonderful to be able to listen to such a knowledgeable and interesting person. Thank you Nichola and Becky I so enjoyed this.

While I was listening to this fascinating conversation I was stitching on my Hannah Smith Quaker sampler. Imagine my delight to see the original hanging on Becky’s wall❤. Thank you for all your inspiration and education.

Thank you Nicola and Becky for the amazing interview. It was so fascinating and I learned so much. I enjoyed this episode very much!

What a wonderful discussion of antique needlework. Thank you.

Thanks Nicola for this really interesting episode. Most of us will never have the chance to visit Whitney and we appreciate the time you have spent putting together this video

Thank you for sharing such a fascinating conversation. The history of needleworks is so interesting. The sneak peak of the exhibition piece was stunning and the Map Sampler was something I had never seen before, so unique.

Oh my! Thank you both Becky and Nicola for sharing your passion of samplers and needlework. It’s quite late here in Australia but felt I needed to acknowledge your wonderful presentation, so friendly and relaxed, like sitting chatting in your sitting room. I was privileged to visit Whitney Antiques and meet your mum, Becky while on a tour with Helen Bertram a few years ago. I agree you won’t see such a comprehensive collection samplers in one place anywhere! Just a side note, the last few pieces I’ve stitched I’ve added a photo of myself with relevant information and placed inside before the framer has sealed up the back, but also now will make sure I add initials and date somewhere in the design. Maybe one day in 100 or so years from now I might be discovered 😊

Rebecca, just like her mother, a lovely story teller. I have bought a few Scottish samplers in the past at the shop and the information that I was told about them by Joy was just wonderful. So much information in this video, thank you!

Thank you Nicola and Becky I enjoyed listening to your wee chat.

A most engrossing interview!Thank you both!

So cool to see behind the scenes at Witney!! Wow🎉

Such an interesting interview! Thank you Nicola!

Thank you Nicola for introducing us to Whitney Antiques and listening to Becky's back ground to working in this field. Can I please ask - what was the name of the beautiful circled sampler on the wall behind Becky's head?

This was really great, thank you

Wow that sampler coming up is gorgeous, hopefully someone will reproduce it so we can stitch it together

Great information Nicola

Hi Nicola,Becky was so interesting to listen to,I could just listen to her talk all day,Thankyou for sharing 🇳🇿❤️🪡

No lacing is such a great thing!

Nicola, what had the conservationist done to ruin the sampler?

I don't agree with you - for people who collect anything - sometimes it is better to have something which is not in perfect condition than not to have it at all. I heard a well-known antique dealer say this and it made me reconsider my high standards of 'everything has to be as perfect as possible'. I bought and have in my home several things I would never have owned if I'd followed the 'best condition' mantra.