THE PANEL

Chair: Elizabeth Metcalfe, Features Editor House & Garden

Daniel Carpenter, Executive Director Heritage Crafts

Nicola Dewar, Director of Programme, Learning & Skills Crafts Council

Simon Hasan, Head of Product Design & Development Cox London

Ottalie Stride, Creative Director Albion Nord

Following an evening full of ideas and insights, Ottalie shares her musings on Why Craft Matters below.

WHY DOES CRAFT MATTER?

Having given this topic a lot of thought over the past weeks, it has slowly dawned on me that craft really is at the epicentre of all that we do as interior designers. So much of our job involves researching, curating and collaborating with craftspeople. Without craft, our industry would lack soul, character or individuality.

CRAFT AT EVERY STAGE OF THE PROJECT

I think it is interesting to take the lifecycle of a project and break it apart into phases; construction, decoration and dressing. In construction you might be building a new home or restoring a period property. Nevertheless, in that process you will likely need stonemasons, bricklayers, you might need thatchers or tilers. When the house is built you need to decorate it and on your walls you might have a specialist plaster or paint finish, a mural or hand blocked wallpaper. Your sofas or cushions might be upholstered in a fabric which has been screen printed by hand. Then you design a light with Cox London that emulates the flora in your clients garden; you throw in a handful of antiques and commission a beautiful oak dining table for the kitchen. Then you layer the space with art, ceramics, glassware and suddenly you realise there is very little that doesn’t rely on craft.

CRAFT AND A SENSE OF PLACE

The use of craft is also an important way to establish a sense of place in a project.  It could be a cottage in the countryside or a large hotel in London but both need to feel appropriate in their surroundings. Craft is a fantastic way to instil those sensibilities in a space – the local use of materiality and method, paired with a local maker all build a narrative and ground the space in time and place.

THE HUMAN TOUCH

The power of a handmade thing is not to be underestimated. The human touch is a beautiful thing and there are always going to be undulations and imperfections; fingerprints or the trace of a movement captured in the object or material forever. In that way, there is a sense of magic about craft which is often hard to put a finger on. It makes you feel but its not always clear why. I often think that it is the connection to the maker – a human connection which cannot be replicated by machinery.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO KEEP CRAFT ALIVE?

Craft is a means of preserving our cultural identity. Tools and methods are inextricably linked with heritage and without crafts we lose a sense of who we are.

We live in a wonderfully historically rich country with fabulous culture and the existence of that is thanks to the craftspeople that built it.

A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP

We are fortunate enough to work on a number of historic homes with our clients and really, when you think about it, without the craftsmen that originally built these houses, there would be no rich fabric to enjoy and live amongst today.

The craftsmen to thank in these instances are rarely in the spotlight but they have maintained and restored these buildings for centuries. There is a lovely symbiotic relationship between these historic homes and the craftsmen – a cyclical notion that without the craftsmen there would be no historic homes and without the historic homes, the craftsmen lose their survival path.

THE DIGITAL DILEMMA

We live in an increasingly digital world and for all the opportunities that presents for craft, there is a see saw of negativity and risk at stake.

On one hand the internet has enabled craft to become direct accessible to anyone who seeks it; the likes of Instagram, 1st dibs and Etsy allow you to peruse crafts all over the world and purchase as you please. On the other hand, however, globalisation poses an enormous threat to minorities and poses a great risk of flattening craft meaning we would live in a world of homogonised, inauthentic and replicated design.

Craft has come to represent the endangered and unusual skills and its rarity only seems to increase desire and value both culturally and emotionally. Craft brings to design depth, authenticity and south, without it we risk design becoming flat, lifeless and disconnected from time and place.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR CRAFT?

Without a crystal ball I think it is difficult to fully know but what I can say is that craft is an ever-evolving thing and it morphs to suit demand and stay relevant.

My brother who is a cabinet maker and furniture designer, Stride & Co, learned his trade with the son of a boat builder. The father had passed on his skills to Ed and despite the demand for boats being built had somewhat dwindled, the skills were transferrable and found relevance in the furniture space.  I think craft is crafty and where possible, it will always find a way to survive – it just needs relevance.

A CULTURAL RENAISSANCE

Craft is having a renaissance! All you need to do is walk down the high-street or go to the supermarket to realise that craft is being celebrated by our culture once more.

There had been a moment in time where craft had a rather fusty connotation; it was all knitting needles and doilies but the tides were turned by a handful of artists such as Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry who began to blur the boundaries between arts and crafts and changed opinion about craft. Today, we have craft beers, craft chocolate, artisan bread – the smaller the producer and the more niche the process, the more we seem to get behind it so I do feel optimistic about the future of craft.

RESPONSIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

There is a sense of rebellion against the global giants who seem to dominate every industry and people are starting to protect those who fight the good fight and keep making even though it becomes increasingly hard to survive.

On that same vein I think from a product perspective, as an industry, we as designers have a responsibility to ensure that our makers are providing transparency on where the goods are coming from, how they are sourced and the conditions in which they are made.

Increasingly, we are finding that we work with those who can celebrate the makers, the minorities and the positive environments that the goods are coming from. Pelican House Rugs is a great example of using women, empowering women and ensuring that all of the makers have an identity.

CRAFT AND OUR SHOP

It seems appropriate to shine a spotlight on our own collection for craft is at the epicentre of that, too. Collaboration with craftspeople is not only essential for ensuring that craft stays alive, celebrated and relevant but also a means of ensuring that our products contain the character and soul that we, as humans, resonate with.

As designers, we have the privilege of making a difference and are in a position that we can promote and protect such a vast array of different crafts. The Made by Albion Nord collection aims to do just that.

CELEBRATING COLLABORATION

Collaboration with these craftspeople is a process of beauty and once our creative seeds for designs have been planted, their input on the product is often what brings about added success, charisma and soul.

Our limited edition of fine porcelain ‘nibbles’ bowls’ have been made by Sussex-based ceramicist, Sally Marian who is a dear friend and unrivalled talent. We have collaborated on a number of collections previously and there is more on the horizon so please watch this space.

TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES REIMAGINED

Our Penrose sconce & Alderley Lamp use the ancient method of lost wax casting which originated over 5,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. It is a process where a wax model is coated with a material to create a mold; the wax is then melted out and replaced with molten metal, allowing for the creation of highly detailed shapes with excellent surface finish which makes it ideal for fine fittings like our lights.

Our Wellington Desk and Barracks Bench were both a result of a collaboration with my brother Rory of Stride and Co.

The materials were meticulously sourced from sawmills to ensure that the Oak had the perfect level of ‘pippiness’. The timber was then fumed using ammonia. This is a traditional wood-finishing technique, most commonly used with oak, where the wood is exposed to ammonia fumes to darken its colour naturally without the use of stains or dyes. The process involves placing the wood in a sealed chamber with an open container of strong ammonia. The ammonia reacts with the tannins naturally present in the wood, especially in high-tannin species like white oak, causing a chemical change that deepens the wood’s tone. The finish is unparalleled in beauty and richness.