Portraits in the Making is a contemporary design exhibition of glass, ceramics, jewellery, textiles, basketry, and wood, by Crafts Council Hothouse award winners, at Pitzhanger Manor House and Gallery in Ealing. Curated by Greg Parsons, seventeen emerging designer/makers from different disciplines will come together to explore  making and process.

PM Gallery & House comprises of the Grade I listed Pitzhanger Manor-House, designed by the architect John Soane in 1800 and PM Gallery, West London’s premier professional contemporary arts venue. Drawing on Sir John Soane’s perception of Pitzhanger Manor House as a ‘sort of portrait’ – a reflection of his own innovative style and a place in which to display his growing collections of art and antiquities, and their own creative self-expression Portraits In The Making will offer a fresh insight into crafts practice today.

Working with the notion of identity through objects they will explore new approaches to Portraiture.  The exhibition will reflect recent discoveries within their own creative journeys.

Public Opening: Wednesday 21 September – Saturday 12 November 2011.

          

The Hothouse programme came to a conclusion on the 9th of February, where all seventeen designer/makers from this years Farnham, and London cohorts, came together to feedback on their progress, including time spent with personal mentors, and buddies, hand selected for each maker and their practice, and what effect this has had on their practice.It was so inspiring to hear all the progress everyone had made, and we are all taking part in a group exhibition at Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing this September, to co-incide with London Design Week. Watch this space for more information.

My own mentor and buddy were Ruth Bridgeman of Ruth Cross Knitwear, and Kirsty Mcdougall of Dashing Tweeds. The conversations with both, have both been invaluable, in terms of in-depth knowledge, and great sector specific business advice.

One of the new developments to come from my conversations with Ruth, was to think about the performance aspects of my accessories, as my products are often worn for outdoor pursuits, such as cycling, hiking, and snowboarding. This lead me to visit ISPO in Munich to reasearch performance yarns.

The main suppliers were situated on the aptly named ‘Wool St’, and has lead to lots of great new contacts, including the UK agent at Woolmark, who have a new free service for designer/makers undertaking production for the first time, to help them oversee the whole process, which is really exciting! I’ve got an appointment with them in March to discuss my collection, and my requirements in terms of yarn suppliers, and UK based production in more detail.

My final piece of news, is that I am starting a new job in March, as a part time teaching fellow in Knitwear at Winchester School of Art. This is where I did my undergraduate degree, and I feel very excited to be returning here as a tutor, working with, and hopefully inspiring, the next generation of knitwear designers.

          

It was an inspiring and packed four days, with wonderful speakers, covering a wide range of topics. Personal favourites included Deirdre Nelson and her fabulous fish auction, Rachael Matthews of Cast-Off knitting club and Prick Your Finger fame, and her hilarious UFO project, for Jerwood Contemporary Makers, and Trevor Pitts‘ brilliant soft bench project.

As you can see it was also a stunning, and evocative place to explore, and one that I would love return to. Perhaps next time staying in a camping bod, or even a lighthouse.

          

The rest of the set can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahelwick/

          

Today I went out for a walk in a couple of miles radius of where I live, just with the loose idea of collecting colours, textures, and patterns that sparked my interest. Here’s a few of my favourites:

          

In partnership with the innovation centre at Central St Martins, and the Palmer Hamilton Partnership, I will be taking part in a programme of focussed, intensive, business skills, complemented with 1:1 mentoring over a three month period.

I can’t wait to start in just a couple of weeks, and meet the other designer/makers in the London cohort.

I have also recently been approached by Cambridge Contemporary Crafts, and will be stocking my work with them from the end of this month.

          

This event is organised to help raise funds for Rye College, an Arts & Enterprise Specialist School. This year they are fundraising for the Ghana Carnival Exchange Project as Rye College is hoping to initiate a yearly exchange visit enabling students to travel to Ghana and participate in some of the spectacular carnival events that take place there.

          

I am currently working on my new collection for Autumn/Winter 2010. Upcoming shows for this year to be announced soon.