pink picnic

For Salford Pride’s Pink Picnic, we were invited to deliver a live tufting experience as part of the day’s celebrations.

We created a custom rug featuring the Pink Picnic logo on-site, while also opening up the process to the public. Attendees could step up and have a go with the tufting gun themselves — becoming part of the piece — or watch a live demonstration to see how the craft works from start to finish.

The aim wasn’t just to make a rug. It was to create a shared moment.

Tufting is tactile, bold and expressive — much like Pride itself. By inviting people to physically contribute to the rug, we turned the making process into something collaborative. It became less about a finished object and more about participation, visibility and collective creativity.

As a queer woman-led organisation, Pride holds real meaning for us. Being part of Pink Picnic wasn’t just a booking — it was a chance to celebrate our community through craft, colour and connection.

Alongside the live making, we were able to introduce new audiences to tufting as an art form, showcase what we do at Manchester Tufting Workshops, and spark conversations about creativity, access and representation.