Alison Cole was born in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1970. Educated and married in Ballarat, Alison moved to Melton in January 2003 with her husband Stephen and two children.

Alison has been embroidering for over 25 years, but had always been around embroidery as a child, as her mother was a professional seamstress. She has fond memories of sorting her mother’s threads into colourways.

Alison furthered her studies in embroidery, gaining an Intermediate Certificate through the Embroiderers’ Guild in Melbourne and completing numerous other courses including Train the Trainer Adult Education Course and Art for the Stitch – a design and colour course for embroidery artists.

She has also been the recipient of a local Embroiderers’ Guild Branch Scholarship and the prestigious Ethel Oates Scholarship, of which she used part to research the history of metal thread embroidery.

Alison has also been the recipient of the Florence Monod Award for Excellence – to top prize awarded at the Royal Melbourne Show – judged over 150 categories.

Alison is a regular contributor to Embroidery and Cross Stitch and Australian Country Craft Magazines with projects also appearing in Handmade Magazine and UK Publication Stitch with the Embroiderers’ Guild. Her first book ‘All That Glitters’, featuring Goldwork and Stumpwork embroidery, was released in August, 2006.

Achievements in 2005 included receiving a Commendation for Stitching Excellence from the Embroiderers’ Guild United Kingdom for their ‘Picture This’ competition and the People’s Choice Award at the Embroiderers’ Guild Victoria Annual Exhibition for the piece Jacobean Elegance. Alison also created a three dimensional floral arrangement of Goldwork Liliums for display at the Johnston Collection’s exhibition ‘Taking Tea with English Bodies’ and is also represented in their collection of decorative arts.

During 2006, Alison was a featured artist at the Craft and Quilt Fairs, touring Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide, exhibiting, teaching and promoting the art of Goldwork.

2007 has seen Alison participating as Artist in Residence for a project with the South Western Branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild of Victoria as well as being commissioned to embroider a piece of Goldwork for the front cover of the UK magazine ‘Stitch with the Embroiderers’ Guild’ for their 50th issue.

2008 saw the release of The Midas Touch - Alison’s second book featuring Goldwork and Stumpwork projects. It also saw her win the Viewer’s Choice Award at the Victorian Embroiderers’ Guild Annual Exhibition for the second time - for the piece ‘Gloriosa Lily’. 2008 also saw Alison’s work represented in the book ‘Christmas at the Johnston Collection’.

In May 2009, Alison was one of the three judges at the Australian Cotton Fibre Expo - a showcase of cotton with competitors vying for the major acquisitive prize from sections such as Hand Embroidery, Machine Embroidery, Contemporary Quilting and Patchwork and Wearable Art.

During August, 2009 Alison travelled to the UK to further her studies in Stumpwork and Goldwork. Museums visited included Fenton House, The Burrell Collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum amongst others.