I am a textile designer/maker creating capsule collections of luxury scarves, interior accessories and art textile pieces from my studio in Hampshire.

Exploring ways in which I can obtain texture and layered surfaces, I work tonally through a combination of shibori, dye and print processes. I am also drawn to an element of contrast, often depicted through coloured bands and pleats.
The combination of these layered processes often brings surprises; dye and cloth have their own alchemy, which is both controlled and organic, creating beautiful marks and more structured shapes, making each piece totally unique.
Scarves have become the canvas for my chosen mediums. The fabric is a silk and bamboo mix which drapes and folds beautifully and is animated by the wearer, adding another dimension to the cloth.
The variations I have experienced through travelling and in the natural world have a deep influence on my designs. The diverse colours, patterns, cultures and landscapes all find their way into my textiles.

I graduated with a First Class degree in Fashion and Textiles in 2007. After teaching Art and Design in Further Education for a number of years I established my business as a freelance textile designer and maker and now work from my studio in Hampshire, in addition to teaching one to one and group workshops.

http://kathryngreentextiles.co.uk

For Crafted, the guild’s landmark show at the Willis Museum in 2022, member Julie Ayton wrote this profile of Kathryn and her work:

Textile artist Kathryn Green considers the contrasts, contradictions and parallels of life the central inspiration for her work. Her path into full-time making grew from memories of her grandmother’s superb sewing skills, and decades later from her own return to education as a mature student of Fashion and Textiles, graduating with a first in 2007.

Texture and structure; bold colour and subtle pattern; planning or serendipity? These dualities are carefully considered to produce Kathryn’s designs. They are achieved through many techniques including shibori dyeing - an intricate form of tie-dyeing from Japan - and silkscreen printing. Fabrics are often further developed through layering and pleating, creating complex, unique scarves and hangings.

Compositions often reflect observations of nature and her extensive travels, usually captured through a lens rather than a sketchbook. Balancing these disparate elements to produce the imagined final design is always daunting, as in all experimental work. But after the resolution of ideas is achieved is ‘the bit I love the most, the creating, once the agonising is over.’

I have been working full time in my own workshops for nearly thirty years as a self employed furniture maker and have been in my current space in rural Hampshire since 2004. I trained in 3D design at Leicester Polytechnic specialising in furniture where I was inspired both by the Arts and Crafts Movement and the design and spirituality of the Shakers. My work has been a slowly evolving interpretation of English vernacular furniture emerging into a quietly restrained contemporary voice. Work is available to commission and stock designs including rocking chairs and wine tables are usually available to purchase. I have also taught and written about furniture making including my own book Furniture Making Projects and Plans, (GMC Publications).

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In 1979 I moved to the UK from Germany to study ceramics at Bath Academy of Art.
In 1986 I joined the team of potters led by Alan Caiger-Smith at 'The Aldermaston Pottery' in Berkshire to learn about calligraphic brush painting. Apart from a few years in Germany, I stayed there until I moved to my own workshop. I am now at Folly Farm on the Kingsclere Estate near Basingstoke.
My work is mostly wheel-thrown with some shapes made by press-moulding.
Recently I have started to use a mixture of throwing and coiling to make larger bowls.
I use red earthenware clay, which I cover with a white tin glaze. The designs are brush-painted free-hand with mixtures of coloured oxides and stains. Some designs are in the Aldermaston Pottery tradition, but increasingly I have been developing my own designs.
Much of my current work is commissioned lettered pieces to commemorate weddings, christenings and other special occasions.

www.ursulawaechter.com

I trained as an Industrial Designer and apply a minimal approach to my design problems, let form follow function, watch the proportions and let the natural beauty of the wood speak for itself. This shows in my commissions and the multiples that I make for galleries - mirrors, candlesticks, boxes, music stands and stools. Quiet well-made artefacts that are easy on the eye, comfortable in the hand and at peace in most peoples homes. When the tedium of controlled work gets through to me, or when a suitable piece of wood materialises, I turn a bowl, usually from green wood. I enjoy the spontaneity of lathework - chasing my interest in the wood, playing with my whims, adding a little texture or colour as I see fit, creating something unique in a day.

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My work is about touch and play. I like it to invite you to handle the object, to explore the surfaces, interact with it and I want this to be a pleasing experience. It may contain secrets or surprises, should be well made, and is likely to have moving parts. The jewellery may often be worn in different ways and I like it to be comfortable, secure and enjoyable to wear. Nearly all of my work contains balls of some sort, I do not know why!

I trained as a doctor and worked in hospital before moving to General Practice which is both very challenging and satisfying. I became a part time partner in a large practice in 2002 and continue to work as a G.P. particularly enjoying interaction with patients, colleagues, staff as well as the practical aspects of the job.

I am a regular visitor to museums, exhibitions and galleries, and use landscape, architecture and the natural world as a basis for structure and ornamentation as well as a source of inspiration for the objects that I make.

For the Crafted exhibition at Basingstoke’s Willis Museum in 2021, Julie Ayton wrote of Harriet’s work:

Throughout her childhood, Harriet Walford was hooked on finding new ways to make things with whatever materials came to hand, finding ways to join, construct and invent. She took to heart her teacher’s advice not to give up art, and during her medical training and years practicing as a GP she continued to make time for life drawing, which she’s continued ever since.

Alongside her medical career Harriet stayed true to her creative instincts and undertook a BA course and more recently completed her MA at the University for the Creative Arts at Farnham. Her work reflects her fascination with clasps, articulation and the touch and feel of moving parts, and these have become the focus of her jewellery practice.

Her pieces are designed to be playful and interactive. Hidden within a crisply made sphere or a crocheted chain, balls are glimpsed, waiting to be rolled or swivelled. They are conversation starters. While she is finding her way with each new piece she is anticipating that moment of surprise: ‘I love to see someone engaging with my work and smiling.’

Sue has worked with kiln-formed glass since 2000 following her first career as a graphic designer.
Working in different scales in both two and three dimensions, Sue creates large scale wall art, sculptural bowls and jewellery.
Her designs are inspired by the local natural landscapes and more recently textures found in our industrial heritage.
Visits to Isle of Harris and Iceland have inspired collections of sculptural vessels and enamel jewellery.
Sue draws on a wide range of techniques, including fusing, pate-de-verre, casting, slumping, hot glass and printing, incorporating layers of sheet, crushed and powdered glass.
Each piece is fired in a kiln, up to 6 times and painstakingly cold worked to achieve the final result.
Sue undertakes commissions for kitchen splashbacks, wall art and corporate trophies and runs courses for beginners at her Winchester studio.
https://suetinklerartglass.co.uk/
https://artglassawards.co.uk/

Drawing on memories of growing up near the sea on the Isle of Wight and a magpie tendency to collect stones and rocks, my work sits somewhere between sculpture and function.

The use of clay with its basic connection to the earth, pleases me. The process needed to create a work forces me to slow down and take in the small details, providing a rewarding contrast to the fast technological pace of today's world, often with surprising results. I take inspiration from the sea battered coasts of the UK, Brittany and the bleak landscapes of Cumbria, finding fragments that hint at stories lost in the mists of time.

My recent ceramic work is smoke fired, where the clay has no glaze but takes on markings during the process. Each piece is worked by hand to create the form and the finished surface, which is sometimes burnished with a smooth stone repeatedly as it dries. I fire the work to a temperature of around 1000ºC and when cool, surround the pieces with sawdust which burns gradually from above. The smoke leaves carbonised atmospheric patterns making each piece unique, with its own story to tell.

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I work from my studio in the New Forest making jewellery in silver and gold as well as small sculptural pieces in various metals. My work is exhibited throughout Britain and abroad.

It is the possibilities inherent in the material and the making process that interest me.  Avoiding connotations of power and status, I strive to create tactile rhythms using simple articulations and beautiful materials.   The methods are simple, allowing elements of my subconscious, and the response of the viewer, to take hold, to create abstract memories.

I enjoy drama in a piece, but the bond a person develops in the wearing of a piece is even nicer.

http://www.syannvanniftrik.co.uk

"I started to work with enamel in 2018. The initial motivation was wanting to introduce colour to silver jewellery, however I very soon became hooked on the challenges of applying enamel to metal; it's a complex and unpredictable process and as such, completely fascinating.
Most of my work is on silver using transparent enamels and the traditional techniques of champlevé, cloisonné and basse taille. Transparent enamel is enhanced by texturing the silver surface under the enamel so hand engraving has also become an important part of my practice."

I am a handweaver working from my home near Fordingbridge, a small town on the borders of Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset. We are lucky enough to have The New Forest National Park on our doorstep, a unique landscape of open heathlands and ancient forests. 
My colour palette is influenced by my surroundings. The colours of the forest change quite radically with the seasons and this is reflected in my work. Recently I have been using the rich earthy hues of the forest enclosures; peaty browns, charcoal greys and burnt orange.
I studied woven textile design at Central St Martins and later studied for an MA in Textiles at UCA Farnham. Since graduating I have continued to develop my practice and at the same time I like to use my practical skills and experience by teaching in schools and running workshops. I gain a lot of satisfaction from sharing my passion and respect for the raw material, particularly wool. I love to roll out a freshly sheared fleece in front of a class of 15 year olds and witness their surprise and awe.
I use all natural fibres including wool, linen and some cotton. Wherever possible I source UK produced materials or 'end of line' yarns. Each piece is designed on a sampling loom where I explore combinations of colour, texture and structure before setting up a warp on the heavy-duty rug loom. My main focus is on quality. I want my pieces to stand the test of time and to be suitable for 'the everyday'. 
My latest rugs are woven with recycled cloth; a traditional technique that has been around for generations. Cloth would have once been a valuable commodity; unlike in today's throw away society, clothing and household textiles were repaired again and again before eventually being cut in to strips and woven in to a useful rug. 

Originally trained on the acclaimed Ceramics course at Farnham, and until 2009 resident potter at Salisbury Arts Centre, I now work from a private studio in the heart of Salisbury.  I make porcelain and stoneware pots for use and display, aiming for a balance between sound craft traditions and a fresh, contemporary appeal.  I enjoy trying new things, and usually work in short series, whether of everyday ware such as mugs and bowls, or showpieces which offer scope to vary pattern or glaze from one piece to the next.  I occasionally stray into figurative work too.

Decorated or simply glazed, all my work reflects my preference for simple, strong form.   Recently pattern has made a reappearance; I enjoy playing with tonal contrasts, perhaps highlighting areas with pattern or drawing attention to the swell of a bowl or the inside of a cup with a splash of eye-catching colour.

For details of courses, please visit my website:

www.julieayton.com

I studied Art and Design at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London followed by a Degree in Three Dimensional Design in glass at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham graduating with a BA First Class in 2014.

I am a member of the Society of Designer Craftsmen and The Contemporary Glass Society.

I work as an independent designer maker undertaking private commissions as well as public work and trophies.  

Glass is my chosen material, I am drawn to the complex process of melting the solid form of glass in the kiln to a new shape; petrifying the glass at just the right moment.  I like to work using glass frits; the sand like qualities appeal to me especially the resultant textures created in the kiln.  I aim to create simple yet carefully considered shapes which respond to my initial inspiration or brief.

For the major 2022 guild exhibition Crafted at the Willis Museum and Gallery in Basingstoke, fellow member Julie Ayton wrote about Sigrun’s work:

Flexible isn’t a word generally associated with glass; we see it in its cold state, rigid and brittle. For Sigi Hill, the first encounter with it as a creative medium revealed its potential for different approaches and moments of intervention. Its versatility fascinated her.

Starting a family had marked a complete life change; the end of her first career in the City and the opportunity to open a new chapter. After a foundation course in 2006 Sigi studied 3D Design at UCA Farnham, graduating with a first.

After exploring a range of forming techniques, ultimately she was drawn to sand casting. Using grains of glass frit and carefully prepared forms moulded in sand she anticipates how the glass will fuse and flow in the kiln. Judging the degree of melt is key; success depends on petrifying the glass at just the right moment, arresting the viscous glass mid-flow. 

In different bodies of work Sigi exploits colour and no colour, frosty and shiny surfaces, rippling textures and those where distinct globules seem to float, holding together in organic arrangements like soap bubbles, capturing a moment in time.

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Di Barraclough

Clay is an innately expressive medium, revealing not just the intent of the maker but their character. Di Barraclough has an intuitive relationship with clay and her work radiates an unmistakeable creative energy as well as her love of the birds, sea and landscapes - especially of Cornwall - that inspire it.

Drawn to ceramics originally by David Ballantyne at Bournemouth Art School, Di worked as a production thrower with David Leach in Devon and then Mary Rich, learning the trade from the ground up. She returned to figurative work in the 80’s, often making bespoke tile murals for private clients, by now from her own Berkshire studio, where she still works.

Di has borrowed the totem form from the North American cultures whose reverence for nature she admires. She uses it to great effect in her joyous, painterly use of coloured stains and glazes. Ignoring the early advice she was given to stick to one genre to succeed, Di remains enamoured of clay’s versatility and the scope it gives the potter: “you can slab it coil it dent it squeeze it model it throw it”... and she does.

For more info and to contact Di directly, visit her website here

I design, make and arrange tile pieces, looking at the way shape, colour and texture play together. I look for movement across the tiled surface, leading the eye on a journey.

The decorative technique I use is called 'Maiolica', tin-glazed earthenware and it is spontaneity of brushwork and possibility for colour which first attracted me to ceramics.

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I studied at Southampton and Birmingham Colleges of Art and at Shoreditch College. I design and make a wide variety of decorative and relief carvings and sculpture in wood and stone and have fulfilled commissions for numerous organisations including the Nautical Institute, Lymington and Botley European Twinning Associations and the Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust. Church commissions include carved limewood lecterns for Tyberton Parish Church, Herefordshire and St Mary's Church, Alverstoke, Gosport, a wood carving of Christ for the Parish Church, Purley, Surrey and two carved stone heads for St. Peter's. Bishops Waltham, Hampshire.

My aim at Lasham Furniture workshop is to produce furniture of quality, tailored to the customer's needs. Since this takes much time and skill, it is bound to be expensive, and so the result ought to be a treasured possession, now and in future generations. I think this is best achieved not by trying to be completely original all the time, although I am always looking for new and better ways of doing things, but by always combining beauty and practicality. If an item is functional, well proportioned, simple but elegant and excellently made and finished in carefully selected timber, it cannot fail to please in any age.

Jennie set up her first workshop in Surrey in 1993, then moved to Project Workshops in Hampshire, but has recently moved to Fifield Bavant in the beautiful Chalke Valley west of Salisbury, where she produces an ever-increasing range of tableware together with a selection of Vases, Pitchers, Platters, Lamp bases, Bowls and Bistro Tables in the distinctive Mishima Range.  

"Mishima is the inlaying of a contrasting slip into a pattern that has been impressed, stamped, or carved into the clay” 

All Jennie’s work is fired to 1280’c in a gas kiln and is suitable for everyday use. She sells her work at a few select Craft Fairs and Galleries and it is in private collections both in the U.K. and abroad.

For the major guild exhibition Crafted at the Willis Museum in 2022, fellow member Julie Ayton wrote of Jennie’s work:

We eat first with our eyes - combinations of colour and texture, generous forms - the enduring appeal of food served from handmade dishes prompted a career in making and still lies at the heart of Jennie Gilbert’s practice.

Pulling together influences of both early formal study in Ceramics at Swansea and practical craft apprenticeships in France and England, Jennie combines the demands of functionality and creativity. Her aim is to make mugs, bowls and serving dishes that enhance the food and elevate the daily routines and rituals of preparing and sharing a meal. Through use and familiarity, her pots become part of an enriching domestic backdrop; generous markers of daily living.

While a kiln opening is exciting, it is the practical problem-solving that she finds most compelling, when applied ingenuity can still alter the outcome: “solving the puzzles involved in assembling a piece, for example a slabbed base to a butter dish with a thrown and altered lid.”

Jenny exhibits widely in the UK and runs courses in her workshop in Wiltshire and at Le Mas Sarrat in SW France.

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I studied Illustration, Printmaking and Painting at Southampton College of Art and St. Martin's.

I am a member of the Society of Wood Engravers.

My wood engravings have frequently been selected for the SWE Annual Exhibition and for the Royal Academy of Art's Summer Exhibition.

Commissions have included illustrations for the Folio Society and wood engravings for Hampshire Museum Service and The House of Commons Works of Art Committee.

I work mailnly as an independent maker of wood engravings and lino-cuts.The designs are developed from my original drawings.

Wood engraving is a method of relief printmaking whereby a design is incised into the finely prepared end grain surface of a close grained hardwood, such as box. A roller is used to apply oil based ink to the block. Pressure is then applied and prints taken.

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Following an MA in Modern History at St Andrews, I trained and worked as a restorer of antique furniture, culminating in a post at Buckingham Palace. In 1998 I became self-employed, drawing on this schooling in line, proportion, and sound construction technique to make my own work.

My work is driven by a fascination with the structure and architecture of organic morphology.  Each piece is conceived as much as an object of sculpture as it is a functional item of furniture. The intention is to intrigue, to humour, perhaps to unsettle, but always to delight. These themes are explored further in my narrative-led mixed media work.  

My work can be seen at various galleries and select fairs, but I am always happy to consider commissions.  My love of antique furniture means that I still undertake limited restoration work.

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After training at the Winchester School of Art and at Middlesex University, I set up my studio in 2002 specialising in anodised aluminium jewellery.

Drawing inspiration from 'collecting memories', I create playful jewellery which might explore a fleeting moment, a chance encounter or a material souvenir. Often referencing shape, form, and printed pattern.

I work predominantly with sheet anodised aluminium, a material traditionally used within the sign-making industry, which provides the perfect canvas for screen-printed colour and pattern. The colourful aluminium is paired with oxidised silver to produce pieces which have a soft industrial aesthetic, with a hint of modern nostalgia. Occasionally semi-precious stones or polymer clay will feature within designs, adding another pop of colour. Using low-tech hand processes and traditional metalwork techniques, I am able to make pieces which have a familiarity with one another, whilst maintaining a uniqueness.

I have produced collections for the V&A Museum Shop and Tate Modern Shop, and I am a member of Contemporary Applied Arts. I teach workshops and I am the author of ‘Coloured Aluminium Jewellery: Design & Make’.

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I make functional and sculptural ceramics including garden pottery in a variety of clays. Exhibition work is thematic with an idea or technique explored and developed often with distilled imagery and subtle symbolism. Commissions have included work for Associated British Ports, Hampshire County Council and Ian Hamilton Finlay, the Scottish artist/poet.

I have written a text book, 'Pottery and Ceramics' published by Macmillan. I was educated at Stafford School of Art, Madeley College and The Open University.

For the Guild’s major 2022 exhibition, Crafted at the Willis Museum and Gallery in Basingstoke, Julie Ayton wrote about Roger’s work:

An appetite for problem solving has characterised Roger Bunn’s work throughout his career. From his original training in Art Education springs a readiness to take risks and explore new directions rather than turn first to tried and tested techniques.

From early career days, dividing his time between lecturing and making, Roger has enjoyed and responded eagerly to the technical challenges posed by client commissions. Ceramics is a broad field; sometimes he found solutions by varying raw materials or learning about new techniques, which led to a broader range of possible outcomes.

In turn, adding new skills to his repertoire has provided inspiration for fresh departures and bodies of work. While always finding great satisfaction in the familiar demands and processes of making wheel-thrown pots for gardens, these have shared his time and attention with his sculptural and slipcast ceramics.

Amongst others, Roger has been commissioned by Hampshire County Council and Associated British Ports and is the author of Pottery and Ceramics, published by Macmillan.

After gaining a BA (Hons) in Fine Art (Sculpture) at West Surrey College of Art and Design, Ruta Brown also studied silversmithing before setting up an independent jewellery studio.

Directly manipulating precious metals using hand tools and heat, Ruta Brown has developed a comprehensive personal vocabulary of form and texture. This supports the creation of a distinctive visual language that is expressed in a range of jewellery and small objects.

Drawn to the textural possibilities that can be achieved, Ruta Brown has specialized in the technique of reticulation. Directional heat is applied to forged, folded forms, each piece individually fabricated, in exploration of the structural limits of the metal, mainly sterling silver with 18 carat gold as added decoration. The results are a variety of intricate forms, often also incorporating stones and pearls, details evoking weathered fragments of flotsam, or other marine elements from the shoreline.

Ruta Brown has exhibited widely in Britain and also in America, Japan, Egypt and Switzerland.

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