Category: Archive
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Girls on Site: Meet Heather Scott
Whenever I have a moment spare or am in need of something to help me switch off, I like to scroll through my Instagram feed, which I am sure does not make me unique. It is therefore always a pleasure to see the latest works from Heather Scott (@heatherscottdesign) who really is one of my…
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Girls On Site: Getting Started
“It’s like performing an operation in a field. You just have to accept that you’re not in a workshop and be able to think on the spot.” That is how ‘working on site’ was described to me two weeks ago. I had never worked on a job that required me to design and make away…
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Financial Pressures Mount for (Design) Graduates as They Look for Work: Article by Dr Lynn Jones
Would you be surprised to find out that your daughter was working for an escort agency to help her pay for her rent, her food and now her interview expenses? I spoke to a design graduate last week for whom this was the scenario which triggered me to write this article. I have a daughter…
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Craft Abilities, Not Disabilities: Meet Shawanda Corbett
Earlier this year I was introduced to artist, Shawanda Corbett, after we both attended a project called Changing Herstory in Oxford. At that point she was still studying for her MA at the University of Oxford’s Ruskin School of Art, where she used a multi-disciplinary approach to her artistic practice, working between: film, photography, performance,…
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Keeping the Dialogue Going: Article by Dr Lynn Jones
Following her response to the Guardian’s article, which featured four male furniture makers, Dr Lynn Jones has been determined to keep the important discussion of women in furniture at the forefront of all maker’s minds. She shared on her LinkedIn profile (26th February 2018) the following post: “So The Observer didn’t acknowledge my letter last…
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Why the Furniture Industry is just one Piece of the Puzzle: Thoughts from Harriet Poppy Speed
It has been several posts since I have actually sat down to write something myself for the blog, but in light of recent events, I feel it is now necessary to write a personal reflection. The Observer magazine article that Dr Lynn Jones and I responded to, although written by a woman, demonstrates how without…
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The Potential of Design: Meet Beatrix Bray
For me, design is the bridge between personal interpretations of the world and an highly accessible and versatile outcome. Design is where my expressive, explorative and visual foundations found a highly practical application. Although creative, I am a stickler for method and problem solving, and so design provides a happy median between expression and functionality. This too is where…
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Women Are Carpenters Too: Open Letter by Dr Lynn Jones
A response from Dr Lynn Jones to The Observer’s article published on Sunday. “Furniture making, or ‘carpentry’ as some choose to call it, is male dominated for no good reason, so, perpetuating the myth that there are no women doing it for a living, when you had a golden opportunity to change that myth in…
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Seven Items: Meet Kit de Heger
This week I interviewed another of 2017’s New Designers showcase: Kit de Heger, a graduate from Sheffield Hallam’s Product Design: Furniture Mdes course. He spoke to me about his experiences and why he chose to collaborate with two craftswomen as part of his final major project. Kit says, “I knew that I didn’t want to…
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