St Jude’s In The City
We're back in London, at Fournier Street in the heart of Spitalfields, for an event co-curated with The Town House proprietor Fiona Atkins.
The event, part of Shoreditch Design Triangle, sees the launch of the first in a series of wallpapers by Edward Bawden, forming part of our St Jude's Studio Archive range.
Painter-printmaker Mark Hearld launches a new fabric, Bantam Bough, celebrating his tenth anniversary of collaboration with St Jude's. His award winning Harvest Hare wallpaper and fabric also has a new colourway, Provençal Blue, showcased, together with his recent Cirque d'Hiver fabric.
Alongside a selection of our fabrics and wallpapers, we're exhibiting limited edition prints by St Jude's co-founder Angie Lewin, Edward Bawden and Christopher Brown.
From Wednesday 20th September until Sunday 24th September 2017 at The Town House, 5 Fournier Street, E1 6QE Find out more
Opening times:
Wednesday 20th September 11am-6pm
Thursday 21st September 11am-8pm
Friday 22nd September 11am-6pm
Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September 11am-5pm
Edward Bawden's 1927 Seaweed wallpaper, reissued by St Jude's in September
Mark Hearld's Harvest Hare wallpaper in Provençal Blue
Angie Lewin's Nature Study, Late Summer screen print
Working on Mark Hearld's forthcoming Bantam Bough fabric for St Jude's
Christopher Brown's Albion linocut, the starting point for his first wallpaper for St Jude's
Katy Hackney
We're delighted that jeweller Katy Hackney is taking part in our current Editions & Objects exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park which runs until the end of October 2016.
For the exhibition Katy has created a limited edition of ten box wood pendants, each individually decorated and numbered.
Born in Dundee and now based in London, Katy Hackney received a BA at Edinburgh College of Art and a MA at the Royal College of Art, London. Continues below...
Hackney’s practice is driven by the materials she’s excited by. Materials she uses include woods, plastics, precious and non-precious metals, found objects, paint, formica and enamel. Her current influences include vintage toys and folk art.
Her work can be seen in the permanent collections of the London Crafts Council, Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, and the Ulster Museum, National Museum of Northern Ireland.
We took the opportunity to find our a little more about Katy's work and current activities...
Can you tell us how to came to designing wearable works of art?
When I left the RCA I set up in business and designed and made more commercial production silver jewellery which sold well but it was tedious work.
Then I discovered cellulose acetate which spectacle frames are made from, began to experiment with it, and my work became larger and more colourful and I became interested in finding other materials to use, such as wood, Formica, other found plastics… colour! Continues below...
You also teach at Central St Martins; how does this impact on the type of work you create?
I don’t notice that it does, something must seeping in?
It does keep me up to date with what is going on the jewellery world as we have a great programme of lectures.
I enjoy passing on knowledge and working with students from all over the world, and working with an amazing team.
What are your major influences?
Everyday things, I often get an idea from something I see in the street on my journey to college or on holiday or trips abroad.
I use my Instagram account as my visual diary, I often go back to it and print out photos of textures, colour combinations, shapes.
Working on lots of other things also feeds in to my work.
I love old toys and objects with a 'story' showing in their wear and tear - doors, tiles, tools and peeling paint.
What is a typical day for you?
My days are fairly varied. As well as teaching I work with knitwear designer Jo Gordon as colour consultant, helping to design her collections each year.
I also work as a picture researcher for costume in film, a job I started a few years ago and love. It definitely informs my work and I am learning something new all of the time.
Most recently I was the costume researcher on Suffragette and I’m working on other projects that are in production.
What is your preferred material of use?
At the moment it's wood.
You use an incredible array of materials, how do you decide which to use in a project?
I have boxes of bits that I gather along the way from all over and I work in a 'collage' sort of way with lots of pieces on my work table. I’ll move these around and arrange, cut then rearrange until I get something I like.
It gets really messy and I have to have a big clear up then I begin all over again! Continues below...
You work as a colour advisor to Jo Gordon Knitwear; how does this impact on your work?
It definitely does as we do research on different ways and I end up looking at textiles which I didn't really before.
The costume research really influences and helps in both jewellery and design work for Jo. I'm currently researching clothing in 1950 to 60s for a job. The colours and patterns of dresses then were amazing. This will all feed into my brain and re-emerge somehow in my jewellery!
What is your favourite colour?
Yellow
What can you see from your studio today?
Usually it my neighbour’s wall!
But today from my balcony in Barcelona I can see a narrow street filled with little balconies covered in colourful washing, a man delivering a cooker and a tiny barking dog having a pee.
What single tool would you consider essential to your work?
My jeweller’s saw and my camera (usually on my phone).
What are you working on now and what is coming up next?
The staff of St. Martins are having a show COUNTERCURRENT in Arthur Beales, Yacht Chandlers in Shaftesbury Avenue. My response to the shop was to collect, borrow and steal Nautical themed jewellery and fill a little cabinet with it, we installed in amongst the shops stock... I'm also researching for a costume project. Teaching will begin in October and so will working with Jo.
Editions & Objects at Yorkshire Sculpture Park continues until Sunday 30th October 2016. Find out more about the exhibition or take a look at all the available works online including Katy Hackney's box wood pendant.
Portrait photography by Jenny Lewis.
Local Heroes
If you're visiting Edinburgh during August and are flying in or out of the airport, do look out for the Local Heroes pop-up exhibition and shop.
Curated by Dr Stacey Hunter, the project's nine designers were asked to ‘reimagine the souvenir’ and produce a unique travel-themed design object. Running from 1–31 August 2016 in partnership with Creative Edinburgh and Creative Dundee it celebrates Scotland’s contemporary designers who embrace colour, pattern and innovative techniques and materials.
The designers involved in the project include our friends Karen Mabon and Tom Pigeon (Karen is also taking part in our current Editions & Objects exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park).
Speaking ahead of the opening of the exhibition curator and Local Heroes Director Dr Stacey Hunter said:
“For many passengers Local Heroes will be their first impression of Scotland and will also form part of a fond farewell. Design is one of the most accessible expressions of 21st century creativity and I’m so excited that we can present a snapshot of Scotland’s colourful and confident design scene at such a unique location. We are surrounded by designers working on the most amazing projects - they trade, collaborate and work internationally. So where is it? Why can’t we see it?! I wanted to produce an ambitious project that showed Scottish design through the lens I looked through. It was also important to me to show Scottish designers that they are noticed and appreciated - and that’s where the name Local Heroes came from.”
Find out more about the Local Heroes project via their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Local Heroes pop-up exhibition and shop at Edinburgh Airport (photo: Ross Fraser McLean / StudioRoRo)
Designer Karen Mabon (photo: Future Positive Studio)
Karen Mabon's umbrella/sunshade (photo: Stuart McClay Photography)
Karen Mabon working in the studio (photo: Future Positive Studio)
Tom Pigeon's neckpiece (photo: Stuart McClay Photography)
Tom Pigeon's studio (photo: Future Positive Studio)
Gabriella Marcella's Tropical beach towels
Gabriella Marcella in the studio (photo: Future Positive Studio)
The Local Heroes pop-up exhibition and shop at Edinburgh Airport (photo: Ross Fraser McLean / StudioRoRo)
Katy Hackney
We're delighted that jeweller Katy Hackney is exhibiting as part of our current Editions & Objects exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park which runs until the end of October.
Working with the theme of editions and multiples, many of the contributing artists have created new works specifically for the exhibition.
Katy has produced ten of these 'Splash' hand painted boxwood pendants for the exhibition, each individually numbered and boxed.
Born in Dundee and now based in London, Katy Hackney received a BA at Edinburgh College of Art and a MA at the Royal College of Art, London. Her work can be seen in the permanent collections of the London Crafts Council, Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, and the Ulster Museum, National Museum of Northern Ireland.
Find out more about this limited edition pendant via the YSP website.
Many thanks to YSP's Marie for modelling one of Katy's pendants. All photographs copyright Jonty Wilde.
Mark Hearld at Tinsmiths
From 19th March until 23rd April 2016 our good friends at Tinsmiths in Ledbury will be presenting Spring Life, an exhibition of work by painter/printmaker Mark Hearld and ceramicist Paul Young.
You'll be able to get a sneak preview of two new designs we'll be launching soon - the fabric version of Mark's popular Squirrel and Sunflower wallpaper and a new design, Cirque D'Hiver, inspired by time spent in Paris.
Mark has also been collaborating with Ledbury based letterpress printer Martin Tilley on a series of new linocut prints, featured in the film above.
Spring Life runs from 19th March until 23rd April 2016 at Tinsmiths, Tinsmiths Alley, 8A High Street, Ledbury, Herefordshire. HR8 1DS. Visit their website for opening times.
We'll be adding details of Mark's new fabrics to our website soon, in the meantime you can view Mark's existing fabrics and wallpaper for St Jude's.
Mark Hearld's forthcoming Cirque D'Hiver fabric for St Jude's
The fabric version of Mark Hearld's Squirrel and Sunflower wallpaper for St Jude's
Country Living
I was delighted to be asked by Country Living magazine to create a mug to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
This limited edition mug has been handmade and hand decorated by Burleigh at Middleport Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent.
The mug features on the cover of the magazine's April 2015 issue and inside you'll find a feature on our home and studio in the Scottish Highlands, photographed by Cristian Barnett who I've had the pleasure of working with before on two short films, including this one looking at the making of my Nature Table wallpaper.
You can find out more about the Country Living mug from their General Store.
Makkum Tichelaar Crockery
Our friends at Dick's Edinburgh opened their doors shortly after we'd relocated to Scotland and we've been regulars ever since.
Uli Schade and Andrew Dick stock a carefully edited selection of menswear, accessories and homewares, supporting small, independent manufacturers, old and new.
We've been slowly but surely adding to our collection of these beautiful, functional ceramic vessels, designed by Atelier NL and manufactured by Royal Tichelaar Makkum.
Atelier NL's Lonny van Ryswyck and Nadine Sterk started by digging up, shaping and baking clay from different locations through the Netherlands, creating a series of plates and bowls in different colors and structures, stamped to identify the area where the clay was sourced.
Dick's Edinburgh have a great selection of these pieces - cups, bowls and platters available from their shop at 3 North West Circus Place, Edinburgh EH3 6ST or via their online store.
