Makers Make 2038

"Manchester City Council has committed to becoming a zero-carbon city by 2038"

Makers at Manchester Craft and Design Centre, where I have my studio / shop, were invited to take part in a group exhibition on this theme. Many took up the challenge to create collections that reflected their responses to this brief.

As much as my currently work already recycles old and potentially otherwise discarded found materials, there are many areas my work can grow over the next years with this brief in mind. I do recycle scrap silver, but I could buy already recycled and Fairtrade silver and gold. My packaging is sustainable and I aim to be more aware of my day to day workshop decisions.

The collection I created was based on brass that had lived in a workshop drawer for many years, plus a brass oval I had cut and pierced with holes. They make it out of the drawer on the occasion of designing new work, then returns to the drawer for the next time. So this became my starting point. I also have a drawer stuffed to the max with pieces of ruler I have cut for various pieces of work, then changed my mind for a different shape or scale. So this was an opportunity to work freely with materials and ideas that I have had brewing for a while. Very satisfying!

The concluding Brass + Ruler collection is available to see in the exhibition at Manchester Craft and Design Centre which runs until Christmas eve, along with the work of others from the Craft Centre. In the new year once the exhibition has concluded I will add it all to my online shop.

More information can be found here.