My Space: Heidi Robinson

Never get into a Secret Santa battle with biological sciences PhD candidate Heidi Robinson.

A couple of years ago she picked up her lab’s challenge to create a Christmas gift for their boss, Professor Rod Dunbar, where the tradition is to give him a fun gift bearing his image.

But rather than giving him a coffee cup or a key ring, the keen crafter created a portrait of the professor that she’d meticulously rendered in cross-stitch. The result, which took more than 500 hours to complete, was so superlative that the ‘Rod Dunbar’ Christmas challenge has since ceased: it was an effort no one else could ever top.

Heidi, who began a PhD in immuno-oncology this year, specifically looking at ovarian cancer and endometriosis, brings her love of craft and colour into her workspace. She shares some of the stories behind her science-inspired crafty creations.

Where does your love of crafting come from?

My family is very crafty. I learned how to knit and hand sew before I was ten from my grandmas on both sides, as well as my aunties and my mum.

I also taught myself how to crochet a couple of years ago, and I’ve since delved into that. It was the same with cross-stitch – I just picked it up. There are craft kits you can buy, and a lot is self-taught. You can learn a lot from the internet.

I pretty much always have a craft in my hand. I find it very meditative and it’s good for stress relief. I also find that if I’m struggling with a science problem, I’ll sit with something I’m making, and it gives me a break and an opportunity to think about the problem in a different way.

How have you fused your love of science with your crafting?

Some of it started with our lab Christmas party. A few years ago, I was trying to figure out what to bring for Secret Santa and I decided to cross stitch an immune cell tree, with a little citation underneath, because we’re an immunology lab. I made up the pattern myself and just thought it would be a fun little gift. Everybody loved it.

We have this funny Christmas tradition in the lab where people give our lab head, Professor Rod Dunbar, a gift with his face on it. So after I made that first cross-stitch people joked and asked ‘are you going to do a cross-stitch of Rod next?’ And I was like, ‘you know what? I could. And why not?’ It ended up being at least 500 hours of work; it was quite a big project.

This past year, I toned it down a little, but it was still fun and science themed. Everyone looks forward to my Secret Santas now!

What are you currently crafting?

I’m in my crochet phase, where I’ve created things like a plushy microscope. I do a lot of microscopy, so the lenses are true to size.

I’m currently making a crochet tank top, which is not quite finished, but I love the green color. And then I’ve got a jumper I’m knitting. It’s a nice soft, blue, metallic yarn, which I thought was so delicious I just had to make something with it.

And, of course, I’ve got my next Secret Santa project on the go. I’m working on a crochet creation this year.

Caitlin Sykes