Document

Based in North Wales, Bethan Corin makes from her home studio. She finds importance in the method of makng, the details of things handmade, right down to the practical mechanical aspects of a clasp or a pin. The form, the texture, the feel of a piece is what leads Bethan’s designs. Enjoying the endless opportunities for experimentation available with enamelling, Bethan creates wearable pieces full of contradiction. Enamel, alternating between perfectly smooth glossy finishes, emulating manufactured enamelware, and beautifully matte or textured surfaces. Restricted colour palettes applied in a painterly fashion against forms of a linear nature with strikingly clean lines. Her jewellery aims to achieve the simplicity to be worn effortlessly every day.

Cardiff

Buddug (pronounced bu-th-ig) Humphreys is a designer-maker orginally from Snowdonia area of North Wales but now lives in Cardiff, South Wales. She works from her studio by Whitchurch Road in an old recording studio/hall. Her Welsh upbringing is a large inspiration to her work. The Welsh countryside, welsh literature and culture, feeds into her work. Buddug studied jewellery and silversmithing at London Metropolitan University in 2002. Buddug keeps a sketchbook diary to gather ideas and inspiration; It is filled with interesting words, magazine snippets and drawings of objects from all around, anything I spot that triggers the imagination. Enamelling is the technique Buddug is best known for, a method of melting glass on copper, silver or steel. She layers enamel and draws into these layers in-between firings.

Eirlys and Mark are the partnership behind ‘Ffwligans’. Drawing inspiration from the propaganda posters they saw whilst living in Vietnam, and Russian constructivism of the early 20th century. They combine these influences with a celebration of the Welsh language and culture in their eye-catching revolutionary digital prints.

Folded Forest is a creative partnership founded in 2016 by Ruth Viqueira and Sarah Peel. Together we design and make a range of limited edition prints, stationary and textiles, all screenprinted by hand in our small studio in West Yorkshire. We are inspired by the natural world and our products reflect our love of the life we see around us. We carefully source our materials as we believe natural products complement the organic nature of our designs. Every item we produce is printed using high quality ink on to wood, linen or archival paper. We love to make, and take great pride in the quality and handcrafted nature of our work.

Founded in 2018 by Jeff Shield a designer from North Wales, ‘Full of Stars’ merges design and creativity with science and astronomy. Starting as a personal project whilst ‘Planetary Science with Astronomy’ at Birkbeck University London. The aim of ‘Full of Stars’ has always been to spark a cosmic interest in the night sky, the stars and worlds around us.

Hastings

Gary crafts decorative and functional stoneware ceramics which are strong and durable for everyday use. Each piece is hand-built and finished with unique and textural glazes. The scale of work ranges from tiny pinch pots to large sculptural pieces. His influences are many and varied and are distilled into small edition groups of work. Although functional in form, his pieces also work as stand-alone decorative items.

Greg Meade is a Manchester-based printmaker, designer & photographer, operating from his studio in the heart of post-industrial Ancoats. An architecture obsessive, he produces bold, graphic print work across a broad range of processes under his studio pseudonym Habitats. Habitats express thoughts on gentrification. As city borders creep and expand they sweep up the last remnants of the industrial heritage landscape and with it force the working classes from their homes under the guise of redevelopment.

Jackie Potts is a self-taught jeweller and the founder of Jewellery by Jackie. Jackie designs eco-friendly sterling silver jewellery. Her work is minimalist, with clean and a geometric influence, combined with recognisable symbols to create fun wearable jewellery. Every piece is handcrafted and has the environment at its heart, using 100% recycled or reclaimed silver where possible, and a commitment to a plant tree for each item she sells.

John and Dawn Field have worked together in West Yorkshire since graduating in the late 1980’s. Over the years John and Dawn have developed a number of ranges of jewellery, working both together and individually. They have a shared passion for making things and being creative. Recurring themes in their jewellery are asymmetry, contrasting metals and richly coloured gemstones. For the Asymmetrical range, stencils, designed by John and Dawn, are rolled into silver, then, rather than making matching partners, one earring will have a vividly coloured stone and the other will have some brass decoration.

John lives and works in both in North Wales and Crete where he presently exhibits his artwork. John has over many years developed a deep and sustained interest in visual aspects of the natural sciences, especially geology and arboreal morphology. His work is multifaceted, encompassing oil painting on pieces of native woods, relief collage using Japanese paper and gouache and intaglio printmaking. The recent paintings evolve from interpretations based on the organic abstractions he sees in nature (tree growth and geology). Using oil paint and gold leaf and working on organically shaped pieces of local native wood (wind falls), he builds up these paintings in layers of colour emulating nature’s processes of growth and timelessness. The wood grain, spalting and shapes inspire him to develop these works based on the environment the wood came from.

John is a glassblower and beekeeper living in North Wales, each vessel is infused with the honey gathered from his native Welsh Black bees. To create his honey infused glass John combines the natural synergies that occur in glassblowing and beekeeping. From the flowing movements required of the glassblower and the beekeeper, to the natural flowing movement of the glass and the honey. The resulting reaction of each infusion encapsulates and preserves traces from the bees in patterns of bubbles ensuring, each piece is unique. All the pieces John makes are free formed, some of the forms are taken directly from the hive and others are adapted from these forms and the natural incurring flow of the materials.

Born in Bethesda, Gwynedd, Julian grew up in Reading, England, studied at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff, and since then has worked largely with words: first with Penguin Books, and more latterly with student writers at universities both in the United Kingdom and abroad. Julian works with grey lino as it affords a delicacy akin to engraving and also the opportunity to work at a scale which would be difficult to achieve with wood blocks. He describes his approach to the lino as carving rather than cutting. He is drawn to contrast and inconstancy, to the drama of sea, and mountain, and sky, and works largely with black ink as it accents contrast. As a poet, much of Julian’s work focuses upon transience, the fleeting moment of things. Julian states “I find it somewhat paradoxical to now be working in a visual medium that holds things beyond their moment. It is the making rather than the image that interests me: the possible, the unseen. In producing a print, I work from photos, sketches, and my own writing, and I spend a considerable amount of time on small studies in lino before tackling the larger piece. That said, rarely do I have a complete sense of what I want to achieve before I begin to carve. The gouges talk and I follow them: I like to feel from them what together we will do. That which remains thereafter is a fraction of all that was possible. A beautiful husk.”

Karen Howarth Ceramics Jewellery is a contemporary, colourful collection made from black porcelain casting slip, layered with white decorating slip and finished with a high quality ceramic decal. The jewellery collection comprises necklaces, earrings, brooches and cufflinks in four different designs. Each item is fired to a high temperature and beautifully finished to create a strong yet light and wearable piece of colourful, ceramic art jewellery. The designs for the jewellery are taken from the artists larger wall mounted work and maintain the detail and quality of the original art work. Karen works form her garden studio on the edge of the Yorkshire Pennines, a landscape which is a contrast of vast open moorland, hills and valleys and woodland with meandering rivers. The work is very much inspired by a love of nature and the lines and patterns within the landscape.

Julie Bourner has had a long career in contemporary wedding photography and child portraiture. She now works alongside her husband running their online photographic collage company ‘Life in Squares’, from their home in Llandudno. Upon moving to Llandudno four and a half years ago, it wasn’t long before Julie, with her eye for detail, started photographing the signage and names of the beautiful hotels and buildings in this Victorian seaside town. This has led to the creation of ‘Letters of Llandudno’. The names are photographed either in their entirety or in small chunks – the individual letters are then cropped to square and edited. Cracks, rust and paraphernalia are kept intact lending a true authenticity to the letters. Julie has now generated an eclectic A-Z of beautiful letters in a myriad of fonts, colours, shapes and sizes from which any word can be created. The images are printed onto fine art paper, mounted in deep, acid-free mountboard. Due to renovation and redecoration of certain buildings and hotels a number of letters and names have already disappeared or changed. Julie’s photography is ensuring that these historic letters are preserved forever.

Anglesey

Liz Toole is a printmaker who has a genuine love of birds. Working and traveling in Africa has informed and inspired Liz’s work, this is where she fell in love with nature, mainly birds, following her ceramics degree. Liz uses birds to tell a story which is usually something that has happened in her life, she aims to create a positive story. All of Liz’s screen prints and linocuts are designed and hand printed by her using specialized printmaking papers. Colour plays a huge part in Liz’s work, she has been known to test print 60 different colour combinations for a two colour screenprint, waiting for that eureka moment. Liz’s love of printmaking is because she is continually learning, this keeps it exciting and fresh. Liz also hand prints a range of greeting cards and eco-friendly notebooks.

Llantrisant

Mandy set up her workshop in 1983 after leaving the Royal College of Art, working primarily in non-precious materials, usually anodised aluminium and laser etched laminate; producing one-off and batch production jewellery, creating large, bold pieces which are both wearable and affordable. Her three passions are colour, pattern and technique. Although trained as a jeweller, her work has been heavily influenced by both traditional and contemporary textiles. In 2010, she received an Arts Council of Wales grant to help purchase a laser cutter which has enabled her to develop new work.

Penmorfa

Miriam creates work inspired by her surroundings on a small farm in North Wales which is located a stone throw away from Hell’s Mouth beach. Miriam’s first language is Welsh, and she often incorporates language and poetry into her work through laser etching onto the wood. She is the fourth generation within her family to take up wood-work and the only female. Farming is also an important element which influences Miriam’s work. She takes inspiration from rope work used on the farm. She binds coloured thread and inlays them into the wood on her bowls. Reclaimed timber or off cuts from other projects and later turned into beautiful objects with a purpose and meaning once more. Nothing goes to waste in the process of making. Reclaimed timber or off cuts from other projects are used for her bowls, and wood shavings are reused under the chickens on the farm.

Mizuki is an award winning contemporary jewellery artist, living and working in Worcestershire having graduated from Hereford College of Arts. Practicing in mark-making and playing with paper gives Mizuki simple yet delicate design ideas in her jewellery making. Enamelling is Mizuki’s most recent fascination in her practice; she creates unique mark-making patterns on delicate enamelled copper surfaces using the sgraffito (scratching) technique. Every line she draws is individual and is changed by the firing time in the kiln, giving different results in each project. Oxidised black silver fastenings for each enamelled element are carefully designed and handmade by Mizuki, the black lines cast like shadow lines parallel with the scratched enamel marks. All of Mizuki’s jewellery creations are unique and one-off pieces. Once a piece is made or during its process of making, it feeds her inspiration to get and grow new ideas for the next project.

Monica established her jewellery business in 2011 with the help of The Prince’s Trust. Working from her home studio in Crossgates in Scotland. Monica focuses on designing and hand making beautiful Sterling silver and 9ct gold jewellery using traditional techniques. Monica draws inspiration from nature and the historical sites and landmarks around Scotland. She also takes inspiration from the gemstones she uses, often designing pieces around the stone.

Niki Pilkington is a Welsh illustrator who produces playful yet highly detailed neon, trend inspired, fashion portraits & lifestyle art, which echo her support for Women empowerment, body positivity & mental wellbeing. She returned to the UK in 2020 after 10 years living & working in Paris, New York & Los Angeles. Her work strongly reflects her love of fashion & nature, alongside her respect for Welsh culture & deep love of where she’s from. She’s widely known for combining her love of phrases, idioms & beautiful quotes into her work, (often in her mother tongue – Welsh) telling a multi-layered story through each piece.

Paul, a largely retired Piano Tuner, makes his segmented bowls at his home in Old Colwyn. Always interested in carpentry and woodwork from an early age and making furniture for his own home Paul has also graduated to designing and turning bowls. Segmented bowls are made by cutting and combining different species of wood into segments which are then made into rings which are then glued together to make the “sides” of the bowl. This is then turned on the outside and then inside to create a pleasing shape. After much sanding and polishing the bowls are complete. The bowls are food safe and can be used for a variety of uses including fruit, salad or bread and make a beautiful centre piece on any dining table.

Paul’s career has always been immersed in the world of furniture design and making, starting with a Masters Degree in Furniture Design. This led to further opportunities to work for larger scale businesses, designing and manufacturing upholstery and cabinet product ranges for the main UK furniture retailers such as Marks and Spencer, John Lewis, Next and key independent stores. Paul’s underlying ambition however, was to eventually return to artisan design and his attendance at a creative green woodworking course in 2018 ignited this desire. Green woodworking is a very rewarding process allowing Paul to hand shape freshly cut timber before gently drying out the moisture. Paul uses a draw knife and spoke shave on a shave horse, often outside in the forest, and leaves the makers marks intact to give texture and character to each piece. Steam bending is an ancient process where timber is held in a steam box in which it softens and becomes pliable. This allows Paul to then create sculptural, flowing forms without the need for glue or laminating. Autumn leaves decoupage is a process unique to Paul products. Inspired by the beauty of autumn leaves, Paul developed a process to press, dry and then apply the leaves to a flat surface such as a table top or clock face. He gently sands back the surface to highlight the vein structures and colours producing a unique pattern on every piece.

Based in Colwinston, South Wales, Clare works predominantly in silver, printed papers and resin, every piece of jewellery is individually hand crafted and therefore unique. Inspiration for her work is drawn from illustrations, lino prints and the many doodles and drawings collected in her sketchbooks. Inspired by fairy tales and storytelling; as a little girl, Clare loved being read bedtime stories and her favourite books were those that had been passed down and read so many times the pages were tatty and worn. Text used in the jewellery is printed onto recycled and textured paper, with mottled and worn paper deliberately chosen to give each piece a slightly aged and vintage feel.

Jewellery designer Sarah Packington creates beautiful, interesting and modern jewellery in her Brighton workshop. Her new range of clear acrylic pieces with delicate coloured edging focuses on playing with light, colour and transparency. Sarah’s inspiration comes from her love of colour and pattern, particularly 1950s textiles which she fuses with the properties of clear acrylic; light, reflection and strong colour. Hand manipulating the surface using etching, sanding, dying and polishing to produce effects that cannot be achieved in a factory on a production line.

Clean jewellery using a mild detergent, warm water and a soft cloth or a specialist silver cleaning cloth. Do not spray with perfume, hairspray or use alcohol based cleaners.

I’ve always loved jewellery, and when I was little I spent a lot of time collecting small bits of treasure; beads, buttons, and shiny paper, and turning them into necklaces or rings. I was given some jewellery tools when I was 17 and learnt jewellery and metalsmithing techniques whilst I was studying design at college. I graduated from University with a BA honours degree in Jewellery and Metalsmithing in 2000. I make most of my jewellery from sterling silver and brass, and all of my designs have some surface texture which I add either by stamping, hammering or embossing into the metal. I’ve never been very good at drawing so most new ideas evolve from experiments with metal scraps until I create something I’m happy with. I still love the challenge of making something new using found objects, and occasionally you’ll see some one-off pieces in the shop made from upcycled metals or using small decorative components that I’ve collected.

Vincent Patterson is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in the North West. Graduate of the University of Chester with an MA in Design. Patterson’s print work explores themes of lost narrative and abstracted fragments of memory. Working across a range of print media including Screenprint, Risograph, Photography, Typography, and illustration his prints are as much a story of the process as the finished print. Utilising found and reappropriated imagery, collaged with rich textures and bold colours, the layering up of inks, collage, pencil, and oils by hand builds the rich surfaces to produce unique screen-printed monoprints. His recent works echo a series of stolen cinematic moments from the French New Wave pumped and twisted on a bad trip with vivid neon colours. A series of papercut stencils hand-pulled through a silkscreen building beds of texture with narrative images overlayed on swirling sensual textures to create a series of interlinked one-off monoprints. The image fragments are distressed and sequenced to form individual frames of the story of the movie you never saw.

Working across different media including print, digital design and motion, this is an eclectic collection of some of the various projects and experiments undertaken in recent years.