Tuesday 6 January 2015

1:1 Surgeries bring emerging makers together with craft professionals at Whitworth event

Halima Cassell: conference speaker
Making It : building your craft future
Thursday 5 March 2015
10.30am – 6.30pm followed by Thursday late at the Whitworth

The Great Hall, The Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester,  Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER.

Click here for an overview of the day, speakers, who it's aimed at, and fees

To book your place, click here

1:1 Surgeries: How they will work
Have you ever wished that you were able to get a load of craft professionals in one place and ask them all those pressing questions that you have about your creative business? Well, the North West Craft Network have engineered just such a situation.

Included in the programme for Making It : building your craft future, there will be two 1:1 Surgeries, offering you the opportunity to sign up on the day to ask a question of one of our advisors - all professionals in the craft world with a host of experience at their fingertips.

You'll have 10 minutes per question, and subject to space, there will be the opportunity to sign up to speak to more than one person. So get thinking about what you need to know. Check out the advisor biographies below to see who is most likely to be able to give you the information you need and come prepared with a few questions that could help to take your business forward.

Jane Dzisiewski
Jane Dzisiewski is a studio jeweller. She originally trained at MMU in printed textile design, then went on to run two businesses importing and supplying promotional clothing and merchandise, returning to college to study applied arts after she sold these on. Alongside her craft practice, Jane also works as a digital media, marketing consultant and is frequently invited to deliver artist talks on developing a brand with no budget.

Eve Redmond
Eve Redmond graduated from Central St Martins College of Art & Design in London in 1993. She is based in Manchester Craft & Design Centre where she sells her handmade collections and creates one off pieces for commissions and exhibitions. She has established a reputation for fresh & innovative jewellery. Contemporary but classic, she creates jewellery that embodies simplicity and strength. She divides her time between her studio and teaching at The Manchester College where she is Course Leader in Jewellery.

Nell Smith
Nell Smith is an award winning surface designer, creating fresh, modern work by hand using a variety of techniques. Specialising in screenprint, her bright, eye catching designs adorn a variety of products from organic cotton children’s clothing to contemporary works on paper.

Since graduating from MMU's MA Textiles course in 2008, she has been running her business from a studio at the Manchester Craft and Design Centre. She also teaches and leads workshops and she is always happy to accept commissions and loves to create designs based on customer's favourite animals.

Jo Hartley
Joe Hartley is a designer.  In 2012 he graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in Three Dimensional Design.  He now work from his workshop in Manchester where he uses his hands to produce objects from wood, cloth and clay. The things he makes are the result of an interest in day-to-day tasks.

Beth Hughes
At Lakeland Arts Beth is a curator at both Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal and Blackwell, The Arts & Crafts House in Bowness-on-Windermere. At Blackwell Beth has curated a number of contemporary craft exhibitions including New Glass – Ancient Skill, Contemporary Artform, a partnership exhibition with the Contemporary Glass Society and a major exhibition of ceramics by Danish artist, Bodil Manz.

Sam Rhodes
Same Rhodes is Assistant director of the Bluecoat Display Centre. Situated in the heart of Liverpool, the Bluecoat Display Centre is a haven for enthusiasts of everything exquisite in the field of contemporary craft and design.
The Bluecoat Display Centre is a nationally and internationally recognised contemporary craft and design gallery that has been established since 1959. They sell, exhibit and promote over 350 selected contemporary craftspeople each year working in a broad variety of media.

Clare Knox-Bentham
Clare Knox Bentham creates illustrative installations in bright-coloured plastic using heat-extruded EVA and lacquer. She also creates jewellery which alludes to precious lacquerwork, moulding to the body and blurring the line between liquid and solid. Clare also manages Marketplace Studios in Stockport, an incubator community for new creative businesses of Manchester School of Art graduates. 

Ann Marie Franey
Ann-Marie Franey is co-founder/director of the award winning Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair and its spin off the Little Northern Contemporary Craft Fair.  She set up Great Northern Events with business partner Angela Mann over 8 yrs ago. Since then they have built up the GNCCF into one of the leading shows in the UK and are key players in the North West craft scene.  Not only can Ann-Marie offer advice on setting up in business but she has a wealth of knowledge to share on making a success of your craft enterprise, giving you advice on how to get your work selected for leading events and galleries, marketing your work, building up your PR and profile and of course selling your work to the public.  

Harriet Lawton
Through the exploration of ceramic and textiles, Harriet Lawton’s practice highlights the beauty of objects, in particular china mementoes.  Contemporary interpretations of traditional patterning, her design pieces and objects feature remediated marks, patterns and motifs taken from various cultures and eras. Harriet graduated from Embroidery at Manchester School of Art in 2013, and has since completed commissions for The Whitworth’s Tactile Too archive and Wakefield Museum’s “Artists in the Atrium”.  

Emma Blackburn
Emma creates contemporary interventions with museum collections and their audiences. Recent projects include 3D textile works responding to Helmshore Mills Textile Museum: ‘The War and The Weft’ exhibition, and ‘The Great Peoples Poppy’ for a Mid Pennine Arts event called 'Truce’. Emma is currently seeking Arts Council Funding to support an exciting residency at the Lancashire Conservation Studios, Preston.

Click here for an overview of the day, speakers, who it's aimed at, and fees

To book your place, click here

Organised by the North West Craft Network in partnership with the Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester Craft and Design Centre

The NW Craft Network have a new website!

Katherine Lees, a resident maker at Manchester Craft and Design Centre We're delighted to announce we've updated our website . We...