"Where flowers bloom, so does hope."
— Lady Bird Johnson

My Story

My name is Andrea but I've always been known as Andy. This is the place where I share my passion for working with fibers and my love of flowers. I started O&Y Studio in late 2016 as a way to sell my self taught, unique flower-inspired fiber arts. The name comes from the phrase people have said to me all my life — "Oh Andy!"

I have been working with fibers for as long as I can remember. Growing up on a merino sheep farm in South Africa, my mom put knitting needles in my hands at age 4. It was an early introduction to my appreciation for wools. I later taught myself to crochet. Having attended culinary school in Cape Town, I worked as a chef until I came to the United States in my 20s’s.

Merging my loves, I combine crochet or knitting with my own interpretation of freehand wool embroidery, often embracing haphazard stitches and elements of imperfection. I enjoy experimenting on non-traditional surfaces, and have embroidered on crocheted wire, a rattan chair, several tennis rackets and a pair of vintage snowshoes.

Since the inception of O&Y Studio, my work has been featured in some wonderful publications. The Press tab of this website has a list. In 2023 I was chosen to be a Cities Program Artist for ArtPop Street Gallery. Over the course of that year, my art was displayed on a vinyl billboard along interstates and highways, on digital billboards in our region and throughout the USA, as well as in New York’s Times Square. Seeing the mega-sized image of my embroidery has been the art high of my life!

In 2024 I was honored to join Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery as a resident artist. I am currently working on a series with a conservation theme.