QEST Magazine Summer 2016

Issue 34 Summer 2016

Bacchus fabric designed by Melissa White for Lewis & Wood. www.melissawhite.co.uk

THE QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOLARSHIP TRUST MAGAZINE

In this issue Private View QEST Scholars Dash + Miller

My QEST

by Trustee Neil Stevenson

QEST Scholar News

QEST Special Editions

NO TRICKS HANDCRAFTED E N G L I S H H E R I TA G E SINCE 1829

T R I C K E R S .C O M 6 7 J E R M Y N S T R E E T, L O N D O N , S W 1 Y 6 N Y

QEST

Chairman’s Letter

Many Hands Make Qest Work Welcome to the Summer 2016 edition of QEST Magazine, my last as Chairman. At the end of this year, I will hand the baton to Nick Crean, fellow Trustee and co-owner of Prestat.

It has been a marvellous four years, and I am left in no doubt as to what makes QEST: our committed Patron, Vice Patrons and Trustees; our generous donors; our talented QEST Scholars and Apprentices and the people who train them. Craft excellence and creativity reign.

QEST Magazine is published with the kind support of our advertisers.

Enjoying The Patron’s Lunch on The Mall

I am hugely proud of QEST’s support of British craftsmanship. Yes, it’s about saving traditional skills from extinction, but also encouraging the people who will breathe new life into them.

The introduction of QEST Apprentices in 2014 is another great boost to the many industries they’ll be working in. This funding scheme is set to expand in the Autumn.

The ambition and achievements of QEST and this craft alumni strike a chord with so many Royal Warrant holding companies, brands, City of London Livery Companies, trusts and individuals, that we are able to create a far-reaching, vibrant network to shine a light on British craft.

All the while, we’re making sure that we can care for the nation’s art and craft treasures

We think it’s important to find and back innovative makers too, enabling their ability and imagination to soar. It is inspiring to see how the vital new generations of craftsmen and women express themselves through their chosen medium - glass, paint, leather, wood, metal, fabric, the list is endless - when financial barriers are removed and a door of opportunity is opened by a QEST Scholarship or Apprenticeship.

All this does not come without significant, constant investment and the QEST team works at full tilt to come up with increasingly varied ways to raise funds and develop the QEST Scholars’ careers. I fully intend to keep up my support of this fabulous charity, and hope you will too.

All the while, we’re making sure that we can care for the nation’s art and craft treasures, old and new, today and in the future, with a stream of highly accomplished conservators.

I sign off with warm thanks to Her Majesty The Queen for agreeing to become Patron of QEST in her 90th birthday year, an occasion that I was delighted to celebrate at The Patron’s Lunch on the Mall with the many other charities and organisations to which Her Majesty has given such loyal service.

QEST has amassed an incredible number of still-active Scholars in its 26 years (you’ll read news from many of them in this issue), from a double bass maker, cheese maturer and hedge layer to stonemasons, woodcarvers and all sorts of smiths.

Nick Farrow QEST Chairman

QEST

Events

Events A Celebration of British Craftsmanship

Sir David Tang

Johnnie Walker cocktails

Graham Ashford, Joanne Salley and Andrea Hamilton

Photographs: Marcus Dawes

Anya Hindmarch and Amelia Crowley-Roth

Viscount Linley

I

n February, QEST Vice Patron Viscount Linley hosted the charity’s inaugural fundraising dinner at the home of design and craftsmanship, the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The evening was a wonderful opportunity for the 250 guests to see the work of many QEST Scholars first hand and to raise funds to support similar talent over the many years it takes to create masters of their craft.

Sol Campbell and Fiona Barratt-Campbell

Moët jeroboams, a dinner party cooked by Royal Chef Mark Flanagan, a private tour of the McLaren Technology Centre and an outing on The Queen’s Rowbarge Gloriana donated by Lord Sterling were among the lots under the

gavel of Christie’s auctioneer Hugh Edmeades.

And a silent auction was anything but as guests bid on the table pieces made and donated

by QEST Scholars, including gauntlets by Graham Ashford (2010), a painted ostrich egg

by QEST Radcliffe Scholar Natasha Mann (2012), knitted vessel by QEST Johnstons of Elgin Scholar Kim Norrie (2014) and a Mia Sarosi (2004) Porcelain Collection.

Craft was the order of the night with the cocktails too, from a Tanqueray Hallmark gin and tonic to the Johnnie Walker Blacksmith and Goldsmith, served alongside Moët & Chandon champagne and wines from Walker & Wodehouse.

Issue 34 Summer 2016

Leather worker Mark Angelo-Gizzi

Wood carving by Amelia Crowley-Roth

Nick Crean, Chair, QEST Development Committee

Photographs: Marcus Dawes

“With thanks to Viscount Linley, V&A Director Martin Roth, Bentley’s Entertainments, the QEST Alumni, and our generous sponsors and guests, the evening raised £43,000. We are delighted that Viscount Linley has also kindly agreed to host an auction of British craft for QEST at Christie’s on 10th October.”

Stone carver Zoe Barnett

Artist Natasha Mann

Whip making by Mary Wing To

Estimate by Joey Richardson

Royal Windsor Horse Show

rwhs.co.uk hmq90.co.uk

Photograph: Kit Houghton/Horsepower

The Royal Warrant Holders Association Pavilion was a festival of craft, with work and demonstrations by 23 QEST Scholars. QEST Carpenters’ Company Scholar and wood turner Joey Richardson (2012) showed her new piece Estimate, made with sycamore from the Sandringham Estate and named after Her Majesty The Queen’s Ascot Gold Cup winner. QEST Saddlers’ Company Scholars Tiffany Parkinson (2012) and Clare Barnett (2013) stitched alongside Mary Wing To (2012) hand making leather riding crops.

Her Majesty’s 90th Birthday Party spectacular each evening brought together 900 horses and more than 1,500 participants in celebration of The Queen’s life, love of horses and dedication to the Commonwealth, the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.

QEST

Private View

PRIVATE VIEW Juliet Bailey and Franki Brewer

Woven Textile Design & Making QEST Scholars 2013

The conversations with QEST alumni getting a glimpse into their workshops and catching up on their progress - continue with Juliet Bailey and Franki Brewer, winners of the QEST Award for Excellence 2016.

In 2009, Juliet and Franki combined their hand-weaving and industrial experience to form Dash + Miller, a studio specialising in the design, development and production of woven fabrics for the fashion and interiors industries.

Having established a market in Europe, they are expanding into the USA, China and Japan.

Where did the name Dash + Miller come from?

It’s a simple, contemporary take on the traditions of haberdashery and fabric milling, the foundations of our trade. Our shelves are stacked with traditional and experimental yarns that we draw on for our designs.

The clack of hand-looms is unmistakeable – how important are they today?

Every design in our portfolio is created on our hand-looms. There is no substitute for the understanding and ideas that come from handling the materials and placing the yarns manually. We combine this with industrial knowledge to create innovative, inspirational and commercial designs for larger scale production.

Mastery of our equipment – salvaged textile machinery to a new digital Jacquard loom – is important to achieve the complexity we strive for. We often modify the looms and develop new techniques to achieve truly original designs. Technology helps us to turn these into production cloth.

Issue 34 Summer 2016

We also use their wool for The Bristol Cloth.

This is a new design from a competition run by the Bristol Textile Quarter and Botanical Inks and won by Falmouth University weave teacher Wendy Kotenko. Tied to Bristol’s European Green Capital status, Wendy’s design is based on the region’s basket weaving heritage and dyed in natural colours using onion skins from the city’s restaurants.

And you’re training a QEST Apprentice?

Textile design graduate Libby Kates joined us last year, and we applied jointly to QEST for

QEST Chairman Nick Farrow, Franki Brewer, Juliet Bailey and RWHA President Daryl Greatrex

In this way, we’ve created fabrics for DAKS, Matthew Williamson, M&S Best of British and Ted Baker, and home furnishings for Habitat and Calvin Klein.

What inspires your designs?

It might be a photograph we’ve taken of a pattern or texture, ceramics, architecture or a new yarn. We then translate our ideas into weave structures, yarn and colour combinations that build into a portfolio of samples with technical information for a mill.

It’s seasonal to some extent, but more like a sourdough starter - it bubbles away, we feed it, take some out, keeping it vital.

We also work with WGSN, the trend authority for fashion, to produce samples for their reports ahead of each retail season.

Why did you apply to QEST? We had two hand-looms and lots of creative ambition. The QEST Scholarships gave us the time and money for research and training in all aspects of UK textile manufacturing.

We visited 19 specialist facilities, spinning, dyeing and weaving our way around the West Country and Welsh mills, up through machinery manufacturers in the North and onto Johnstons of Elgin in the Highlands.

What did you learn?

We were introduced to fleece grading and hand-spinning at Fernhill, an eco-farm on top of the Mendip Hills. Yarn spinner Sue Blacker of The Natural Fibre Co. in Cornwall was very giving with her knowledge of fibre grading and spinning, and our eyes were opened to

the breadth of finishing processes at W.T. Johnson & Sons in Huddersfield.

We’ve designed collections for Stephen Walters & Sons, the oldest surviving silk weavers in Britain, for six years. Since spending time with them in Suffolk we have a greater understanding of their machinery, which has broadened the potential for our designs.

How has this helped to build your business?

Johnstons of Elgin is a vertical mill with everything under one historic roof. Having looked at all the processes individually on other visits, we could really make sense of the information we’d gathered as a whole. We were so taken with the place, we took the rest of the studio up in December.

Before the trips, it hadn’t occurred to us that we could make our own bespoke cloth, but there was a moment at Herbert Parkinson (a mill owned by the John Lewis Partnership) when we saw a woman Franki’s height deftly operating a massive warping machine, and we thought, just maybe…

And you have. Tell us more about The Bristol Weaving Mill?

Last year, having secured investment from the West of England Growth Fund, we took delivery of a Dobby power loom to start our own small-scale production. We’re combining traditional weaving and the latest technologies to make trend-driven, womenswear fabrics.

We’re also working with farmers in the South West of England to create sustainable cloth, starting with Fernhill Farm wool blankets.

the grant. Without the security this provided, we would have been unable to commit to Libby’s training at this stage. We also provide work experience for a stream of textiles students.

Congratulations on the QEST Award for Excellence – what does it mean to you?

If we’d known more when we started, we might not have been so brave, but we’ve succeeded.

QEST has been instrumental in this. We’ve gained an invaluable network and knowledge, and the confidence to develop and diversify our business. Receiving this recognition and the medal made by Fattorini at the RWHA Annual Luncheon in May was magical.

We repay the support at every opportunity, from designing blankets for Johnstons of Elgin’s QEST Collection to demonstrating hand-weaving at QEST events. dashandmiller.com bristolweavingmill.co.uk

QEST

Scholar News

Commissions Collections Farlows has collaborated with milliner and QEST Scholar Lai Symes (2000) as part of its bid to support British makers and bespoke craftsmanship. Fishing Fly, a ladies’ felt hat collection with each design inspired and named after a fishing fly, launches in August with a trunk sale and Lai taking commissions and demonstrating her work at Farlows’ Piccadilly store. laihats.co.uk

farlows.co.uk

QEST Clothworkers’ Company Scholar Emily Juniper (2015) was awarded a distinction in her Illustration & Authorial Practice MA, and an illustrated play text in her final year has become the starting point for a new commission. Emily was asked by The Faction theatre company to work on an adaptation of the Maxim Gorky play Vassa Zheleznova, performed at the Southwark Playhouse this summer. “Writing and researching the play was a real pleasure. It was then particularly satisfying to use my bookbinding craft to create an illustrated script for the theatrical programme. Play scripts are beautiful objects, and I loved using paper and ink to perform the play in my own way.” emilyjuniper.com

thefaction.org.uk

Since James Kirby (2010) completed his Postgraduate Diploma in Historic Carving, he has been elected to the Master Carvers Association and is putting his advanced skills to use on the restoration of Britain’s built environment. He recently completed a tracery window with fellow stonemason Mark Ford for The New Covenant Church in Streatham. They spent three months drawing the setting out by hand to accommodate its eccentricities, carving and building. jk-stonecarving.co.uk

Vassa Zheleznova programme by Emily Juniper

Tracery window by James Kirby

Issue 34 Summer 2016

LONDON CRAFT WEEK The second London Craft Week ran from 3-7 May. QEST Scholars were among the hundreds of makers and artists who popped up in workshops, studios, galleries and stores across the city.

Cai Jia Eng (2008) has built a thriving illustration and design practice specialising in children’s books and educational resources. She is also Head of Art and Photography at St Augustine’s Priory in Ealing. A needlework project, A Stitch in Time, has inspired a troupe of students, teachers, parents and alumni to contribute to the school’s centenary celebration, One Hundred Years of Faith.

The first frame was completed in March and the project has seen chapel kneelers designed and embroidered by pupils. thisismisseng.com

sapriory.com

londoncraftweek.com On Lower Sloane Street, Mia Sabel worked in the window of Bentleys, one of SABEL Saddlery’s bespoke watch strap fitting locations. Customers and passers-by were able to see Mia’s traditional leatherwork skills, such as the hand stitching she uses on her watch straps and on the restoration of Bentleys’ collection of vintage luggage and luxury leather goods. sabelsaddlery.co.uk Holland & Holland invited a QEST Scholar to demonstrate with one of its own craftsmen each day. In the window of the flagship store on Bruton Street, artist-silversmith Elizabeth Auriol Peers (2013) worked alongside a gun checker, letter carver Wayne Hart (2011) next to a gun stock finisher, armourer Graham Ashford (2010) partnered a gun engraver, and wood carver Amelia Crowley-Roth (2015) completed the week.

Andrian Melka (2008) brings stone to life. As Head Sculptor with carver Dick Reid he worked on the Jubilee Fountain at Sandringham. He now has his own studio in York. Earlier this year Andrian reunited with landscape architect Charles Stick on a garden project in Connecticut, USA. To create a talking point, he sculpted Three Wise Men, modelled on the faces of the private client and his two close friends. Andrian also carries out restorations, most recently on a 4th-5th century BC statue of Mars, which now stands in an orangery at Sledmere House in East Yorkshire. melkasculpture.co.uk

elizabethauriolpeers.com craftmaker.co.uk/waynehart greenleaf-workshop.co.uk londonwoodcarving.com Skye Gyngell hosted Chef & Ceramicists: A Porcelain Dinner in the Salon of her Spring restaurant at Somerset House.

QEST Scholar Billy Lloyd (2014) was commissioned to provide two plates. He designed a white spRing plate for the vibrant starter of Fern Verrow salad with spinach, fennel, spring leaves and primula, and made a Brick Bread Batt with clay sourced from a traditional brick factory in Kent. billylloyd.co.uk

Watchmakers Struthers London commissioned QEST Scholar Jack Row (2013) to make a fountain pen incorporating traditional English watchmaking cues. Jack styled the design around a watch hand and Struthers’ engraver added traditional acanthus leaf scrolling popular in 18th century watchmaking. The pen will be used by Craig and Rebecca Struthers to complete the entries in their archive leather-bound sales ledger. jackrow.com

Letter carver Wayne Hart

spRing plate by Billy Lloyd

QEST

Scholar News

Exhibitions Jamie Coreth (2012) was announced as the winner of the Young Artist Award at the BP Portrait Award ceremony in June. The competition, which this year attracted 2,557 entries from 80 countries, recognises the very best in contemporary portrait painting. Jamie’s oil on linen Dad Sculpting Me, a painting he made of his father Mark making a sculpture of him, is one of only 53 portraits selected for the exhibition, which runs at the National Portrait Gallery until 4 September 2016. jamiecoreth.com

Ceramicist Julian Stair (2004) installed Quietus Revisited: The vessel, death and the human body at Manchester Cathedral as part of PassionArt : BE STILL (2016), which celebrated the Christian festival of Lent through the mindful reflection of art in six of Manchester’s most iconic venues. Julian’s funerary jars and sarcophagi explore the symbolic language of ceramic vessels and the role they have played in the containment of the human body in death. These tactile, monumental works (some of the firings took up to eight days) also act as metaphor for the body as container of the human spirit. julianstair.com passionart.guide

The Goldsmiths’ Company presented the first major solo exhibition of work by Charlotte De Syllas (1999) this summer. Charlotte De Syllas: Sculpted Gemstones brought together 73 art jewellery pieces created over more than 50 years of her illustrious career, which began in the 1960s when the company purchased her student work. Charlotte’s colour palette comes from gemstones and hardstones and her distinctive carving reveals their natural beauty in organic forms: birds with wings widespread, flowers in bloom, sea creatures, and human heads in contemplation.

The poster piece for the exhibition was Charlotte’s 1989 Magpie Necklace (pictured), made with black Wyoming nephrite jade, white Burmese jadeite, labradorite, silver and silk kumihimo braids. charlottedesyllas.com thegoldsmiths.co.uk

Stone carver Daniel Meek (2009) was granted a QEST Scholarship to fund advanced letter carving training from Teucer Wilson, who he now works for as a full-time assistant. Together they have spent thousands of hours on 40 pieces for TEXTure: carving & lettering exploring light & space, a major exhibition held at Norwich Cathedral Hostry in June.

Slate, limestone, sandstone, rock crystal, glass, resin and metal all featured, from simple sculptural forms and detailed carvings to several large scale works. daniel-meek.co.uk

Issue 34 Summer 2016

Dad Sculpting Me by Jamie Coreth

Since the early 1990s, Tate Britain’s Art Now series has provided a launch platform for emerging artists who have gone on to become established figures in the British and international scene.

Sophie Michael (2015), an artist-filmmaker in the midst of her QEST Glen Dimplex Apprenticeship with Kino Club’s David Leister, has been selected for a solo exhibition that runs until 30 October 2016. Sophie Michael: Trip (the Light Fantastic) examines ideas around nostalgia and innocence through three 16mm film works that will be displayed in their original format in an installation using loopers and a synch system developed by Kino Club.

Photograph: Ben Boswell

sophiemichael.co.uk kinoclub.co.uk tate.org.uk

Monumental Jars by Julian Stair

Magpie Necklace by Charlotte De Syllas

Photograph: Richard Drury

TEXTure: slate, limestone, sandstone, rock crystal, glass, resin and metal all featured

ME-WE carved in Welsh slate by Daniel Meek

QEST

Scholar News

Edward Cheese (2005), Conservator of Manuscripts and Printed Books at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, has completed the conservation of one of the most sumptuous surviving copies of a 1372 translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus’ encyclopaedia De proprietatibus rerum (On the property of things).

The new binding allows the book to be appreciated in full for the first time since the 18th century, when it was rebound poorly. Edward spent 214 hours removing the failing binding and working on the 363 leaves, resewing on linen cords to the original pattern, shaping and lacing on oak boards, and covering with alum-tawed calfskin. The manuscript is the opening exhibit of COLOUR: The Art and Science of Illuminated Manuscripts (until 30 December), which celebrates the Fitzwilliam’s bicentenary. fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

Edward Cheese working on De proprietatibus rerum

Portraits by three QEST Scholars were selected for The Society of Portrait Sculptors Annual Open Exhibition FACE2016, the only forum for contemporary portrait sculpture in the country. Orthodox by Richard Mossman (2011), Ruta by Jessica Wetherly (2015) and Alessandro

by Thomas Merrett (2014) were among around 70 sculptures on display at La Galleria Pall Mall, London. Thomas Merrett’s QEST Scholarship gave him the opportunity to attend a sculpture workshop at the Florence Academy of Art before enrolling on the full year’s programme.

Thomas has just returned to the UK and hopes to set up a studio to undertake commissions as a contemporary realist sculptor. thomasmerrett.com mossmansculpture.co.uk jessicawetherly.com portrait-sculpture.org

Alessandro by Thomas Merrett

Ruta by Jessica Wetherly

instagram.com/lisamcconniffe

Photograph: James Larcombe

Lisa McConniffe (2014) took a lively approach to the Royal College of Art Work in Progress show during her Fashion Womenswear MA final year.

Lisa collaborated with two RCA textile students on photographing and styling a live fashion photo shoot: “I thought of it as an expressive and spontaneous collage using my accessories and the prints I’d developed.”

Photographs taken on the day by Marko Matysik - London-based stylist, editor, artist and fashion designer - were featured in Vogue Japan.

Orthodox by Richard Mossman

Photograph: Richard Valencia

Silver Speaks is a year long programme of exhibitions, events and conversations that celebrates the exceptional level of creativity and skill in British silversmithing today. Form at the Goldsmiths’ Centre until 23rd September is a fringe exhibition of Silver Speaks: Idea to Object at the V&A, featuring work by talented members of Contemporary British Silversmiths, including QEST Scholar Rod Kelly (2000). Rod hand raised a beaker from a flat circle of gold. The Four Elements depicts earth, air, fire and water chased in low relief using chasing punches and a chasing hammer. rodkellysilver.co.uk silverspeaks.co.uk goldsmiths-centre.org The Four Elements by Rod Kelly

Work in Progress show by Lisa McConniffe

Issue 34 Summer 2016

QEST

My QEST

MY QEST Neil Stevenson QEST Trustee Managing Director, N.E.J. Stevenson

And one that has captured your imagination?

Arts at the Old Fire Station in Oxford and architectural practice Space Program recently created a full-size shed in the gallery to celebrate the role of the humble garden shed in the creative industries past and present.

Katherine Pogson (2011) was one of seven makers in residence at Shed Space.

Katherine, a leather accessories designer-maker, worked live on her new pieces inspired by the beauty of moths and reconnecting with nature through the objects we carry. She also ran workshops on classic leather-working techniques: how to cut, stamp, plait and polish. Workshop, sanctuary, studio – the idea of having his and hers sheds at home fills me with joy.

Whose apprentice would you like to be?

I love the automata and mechanical art objects created by Clare Pattinson (2015). We’re hands on with wood every day in the N.E.J. Stevenson workshops, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who would enjoy learning how Clare couples her carpentry skills and bright imagination in such a playful way. I’m delighted her Kickstarter campaign last year generated 37 commissions from around the world. An illustrator backed Clare to create Chocks Away!, which she based on her client’s cartoon style – great fun as you can see in the picture, but there’s no substitute for turning the handle and seeing one of her pieces moving and creaking into life.

Which Royal Warrant holding company are you Grantee for?

I established N.E.J. Stevenson, designers and makers of fine furniture and bespoke architectural joinery, in 1984. We were proud to be granted the Royal Warrant as Cabinet Makers By Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen in 2003 following a decade of commissions.

I love the automata and mechanical art objects created by Clare Pattinson

We are committed to sustainable growth, both environmentally (we’re members of The Prince’s Mayday Network, created as a call to action for businesses to tackle climate change), and in the development and promotion of skilled crafts. This not only creates fantastic products, but also provides rewarding and stimulating careers. And that is the thrill of QEST too: every successful interview, every grant develops a new talent and makes a positive difference to someone’s life.

Which recent work by a QEST Scholar or Apprentice has caught your eye?

In 2011 I visited the Sandringham Estate with Johnnie Walker master cooper David Taylor to select the oak that would become the whisky marrying casks and cabinets for Diamond Jubilee by John Walker & Sons. This special edition celebrated the occasion with craft from QEST and fellow Royal Warrant holders, including bookbinding and calligraphy, glassblowing and engraving, and the whisky itself. It also resulted in a £1m donation to QEST. It is heartening to see the oak reappear as a beautifully simple wooden quaich made by QEST Johnnie Walker Scholar Daniel Durnin (2014).

Hamilton & Inches, another partner in the original project, has engraved a disc of copper from Royal Lochnagar distillery for Daniel to set into a presentation box of Sandringham oak and Caledonian pine from Balmoral; a fitting gift for Her Majesty in recognition of becoming QEST Patron this year.

Any other QEST Scholars you’ve noticed using crowdfunding to good effect?

Carréducker, run by master shoemakers Deborah Carré (1997) and James Ducker, has a bespoke service that goes from strength to strength at Gieves & Hawkes on Savile Row. They are also creating a bigger British shoemaking story, working with family-run, artisanal manufacturers to produce short runs of ready-to-wear shoes and boots under a new Carréducker London label. Each style is being launched on Kickstarter, and they aim to build a steady flow of orders via carreducker.com to help break the peaks and troughs of seasonal ordering and support the local, skilled workforces throughout the year. The latest to launch, the Barkan Desert Boot, is made in rural Suffolk, with names to match. I’ve got my eye on The Rendlesham in classic cognac veg, tanned leather or the purple nubuck Aldeburgh.

Which QEST Scholar would you most like to commission?

Goldsmith and Silversmith Wayne Meeten (2014) – his pieces have a wonderfully fluid style. Stillness in Flight, his Japanese hammer chased silver vessel, was selected last year by The Goldsmiths’ Company for its contemporary Buffet Plate, the first to be created in 700 years. And a visit to Silver Speaks: Idea to Object at the V&A has given me an appreciation of how a work in silver is created. Curator Corinne Julius has traced 18 objects from British silversmiths, including QEST Scholar Hazel Thorn (2011), from inspiration through sketches, models, material experimentation and construction, to final piece – fascinating. It’s a free display, drop in until 2 July 2017.

Issue 34 Summer 2016

Photograph: Claudine Quinn

Barkan Desert Boots by CarrĂŠducker

The making of Wrapped Birch by Hazel Thorn

Photograph: Sim Canetty-Clarke

Chocks Away! by Clare Pattinson

Quaich by Daniel Durnin

Stillness in Flight by Wayne Meeten

QEST

Special Editions

HALCYON DAYS

Famed for its signature hand painted enamel boxes,

Halcyon Days has set one of its most treasured commemorative designs, Vivat Regina onto a navy enamel, gold mounted box. It opens to reveal the inscription “In celebration of the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 21st April 2016”. £175

halcyondays.co.uk

HAND & LOCK

Hand & Lock has been producing the world’s finest hand embroidery since 1767. Work has begun at its London atelier on The Embellished Handbag: a Celebration of 250 years of Fashion

Money

and Embroidery, which will be exhibited in Sydney and Chicago before an auction in London for QEST and the Hand & Lock prize for Embroidery in 2017.

Makers

handembroidery.com

QEST works with Royal Warrant holding companies

and supporters of British craft to create special edition products, which raise money for the charity through

a one-off donation or percentage of proceeds. Here are the latest, including a selection to mark QEST Patron Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday: tea and shortbread, small enamel box to extra-deep suitcase, and a thoroughly modern, thoroughbred rocking horse.

TWININGS

Twinings’ master blenders have created a commemorative blend of the finest quality black teas from three Commonwealth countries - full-bodied Assam from India, refreshing Kenyan tea and a rich and smooth

Sri Lankan variety – presented in a limited edition tin. £6

twinings.co.uk

LOCK & CO

The QEST Panamas – a limited edition of 40 hand-woven, Ecuadorian trilbies – are marked inside with a cigar stamp that confirms they’ve been woven in Ecuador and finished to the highest quality. Lock & Co worked with fellow Royal Warrant holder Toye Kenning & Spencer to produce the tri-tone,

British-spun ribbons in the QEST colours. £250

lockhatters.co.uk

Issue 34 Summer 2016

GLOBE-TROTTER

The QEST Collection - jewellery box, three trolley cases and a suitcase – is handcrafted in Hertfordshire. The glossy, claret finish is inspired by the livery of Her Majesty’s Range Rover and helicopter, and the Suffolkmade Gainsborough silk lining is the same design as the upholstery in the Scottish State Coach. £1,580 - £2,965

globe-trotter.com

ZONE CREATIONS

The Rocking Horse by bespoke acrylic furniture maker Zone combines English oak and Perspex, traditional craft skills and cutting-edge technology. It is a limited edition of five, made to order, with the option to engrave a name or message.

£4,750

WALKERS SHORTBREAD

zone-creations.co.uk

Happy & Glorious, the limited edition tin for Her Majesty’s 90th Birthday, contains two

dozen pure butter shortbread Union Jacks from the Walkers Shortbread bakery in the Scottish Highlands. £8

walkersshortbread.com

SLEEPEEZEE

Four premium quality beds - handmade by Sleepeezee in Britain with natural fillings and a deep, tufted finish - have been selected to feature the QEST logo on the flag-stitched mattress handles and ticking. Each comes in a choice of colours and specifications and with a ‘white glove’ delivery service.

Mattresses from £324 sleepeezee.co.uk

THE CAMBRIDGE SATCHEL COMPANY

The five-piece QEST Collection, handmade in oxblood and navy saddle leather at The Cambridge Satchel Company factory in Leicester, includes its classic satchel and a bag inspired by traditional binocular cases and Her Majesty’s love of horse racing.

Each bag is embossed with the QEST logo in gold foil. £225 - £285

cambridgesatchel.com

If your company would like to support QEST through its products or services, contact QEST Development Manager Alanna Fisher at Alanna.Fisher@qest.org.uk or call 020 7798 1533.

QEST

About QEST

QEST

Supporting Excellence In British Craftsmanship

“We believe strongly in promoting the value of British craftsmanship and traditional skills practiced by local tradespeople. We employ over 250 apprentices and support apprentice joiners through a bursary scheme, and are proud to fund QEST Scholars and Apprentices.”

QEST is the Royal Warrant Holders Association’s charity, established in 1990 to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother and the 150th anniversary of the Association.

It is committed to funding the education of talented craftspeople in the UK to help them reach their career potential. Over the last 26 years, almost £2.8 million has been awarded to 407 QEST Scholars and Apprentices in over 130 skill sectors, from rural to cutting-edge craft and conservation.

Testament to the rigorous selection process and support, 93% are still working in their craft today.

Matthew Ingle, Howdens Joinery QEST Howdens Scholar Daniel Harrison

QEST SCHOLARSHIPS (Spring) Scholarships of up to £18,000 are awarded for study, training and practical experience for those who want to improve skills that will contribute to the excellence of traditional and modern British crafts. The Trustees look for well thought out proposals that demonstrate continued commitment to a career in craft and financial need.

QEST APPRENTICESHIPS (Autumn) Up to £18,000 is available towards apprenticeships, learning from a master or training in a small craft business. The individual must show passion for their craft and a commitment to making it their career. The prospective employer must apply with the apprentice, outlining a full training programme that is assessed by the Trustees.

To find out more or to apply online, visit qest.org.uk

Bell caster David Snoo Wilson

Patron

President

Vice Patrons

Daryl Greatrex Secretary Richard Peck

Viscount Linley Marquess of Salisbury KCVO PC DL Chairman & Trustee Nick Farrow, Farrows Honorary Treasurer & Trustee Nick Crean, Prestat Trustees Christina Abbott, Burberry Mark Henderson, Gieves & Hawkes

Registered Charity No.1152032

Royal Warrant Holders Association

Her Majesty The Queen

Steve Macleod, Metro Imaging Alec McQuin, Rokill Fiona Rae, Goldsmith and Enameller Neil Stevenson, N.E.J. Stevenson Ambassadors Julie Deane, OBE Sir Bryan Nicholson, GBE Scott Simpson

QEST Office Development Manager Alanna Fisher Applications & Events Co-ordinator Kerry Whitehead-Dymond Development Officer Natalia Douglas Office Administrator Guineviere Nicholas

Design and print Farrows, farrows.co.uk Media Enquiries Momiji Matsuura Ideas Network +44 (0)20 7351 4719 momiji@ideasnetwork.co.uk Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust 1 Buckingham Place, London SW1E 6HR +44 (0)20 7798 1535 info@qest.org.uk www.qest.org.uk

QEST Magazine

@QESTcraft

Editor Karen Bennett Keysmith kb@keysmith.co.uk

queenelizabethscholarshiptrust qests_craftspeople

Issue 34 Summer 2016

QEST

Training in craft is underfunded, despite the industry being worth over £3bn annually.

This makes the work of QEST invaluable, not only in transforming the lives of full-time makers, but to the British cultural identity and economy. And yet QEST is currently only able to support 10% of applicants.

There are many ways you can make a difference.

DONATIONS General donations of any amount are welcomed.

The full funding of a grant will be recognised by the naming of the Scholarship or Apprenticeship.

SPECIAL EDITIONS Become one of QEST’s ‘money makers’ - pledge a percentage of proceeds or donation from the sales of an existing product or specially created item, perhaps working with a QEST Scholar.

QEST Donors Thank you to the Royal Warrant holders, livery companies, trusts, foundations, brands and individuals who have generously supported QEST in 2016.

Adam Connolly Memorial Fund Caroline Armstrong-Jones Allchurches Trust Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Associated Livery Companies Barnard & Westwood Bendicks Bentley’s Entertainments David Blackburn Beyond Bespoke Bremont Brian Mercer Charitable Trust Burberry The Cambridge Satchel Company The Carpenters’ Company

EVENTS Find out more about QEST’s When Craft Meets Art auction at Christie’s on 10th October or join QEST for its Celebration of British Craft fundraising dinner in March 2017 – tickets, tables and sponsorship opportunities available and auction lots gratefully received.

A GOOD READ Take an advert for your company in the QEST Magazine to help spread the word.

LEGACY Remembering QEST when making a will means that vital craft skills can be handed down to successive generations.

Contact QEST on 020 7798 1535 or info@qest.org.uk Holt’s, one of the world’s leading auction houses for antique and fine modern guns, has organised a clay pigeon shoot (sponsored

by William Evans) in aid of QEST on the Sandringham Estate on Friday 5th August.

To register as an individual or team, contact Nicola Hughes on 01485 542822 or nicola@holtsauctioneers.com

The Charlotte Bonham-Carter Charitable Trust CHK Charities The Clothworkers’ Company Coleman Douglas Pearls DAKS Daylesford Organic Dengie Crops Donald Russell The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust The Drapers’ Company Hugh Edmeades Ernest Cook Trust Ettinger Fattorini The Finnis Scott Foundation Mark Flanagan, MVO Fortnum & Mason The Gift Atelier Globe-Trotter The Goring Halcyon Days Hare & Humphreys The Hedley Foundation Anya Hindmarch, MBE Kate Hobhouse Holland & Holland Holt’s Howdens Joinery

Photograph: Emma Wood

Supporting

Sweet chestnut tray by Annemarie O’Sullivan

The Iliffe Family Charitable Trust J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust John Lyon’s Charity John Smedley Johnnie Walker Johnstons of Elgin The Kirby Laing Foundation The Leathersellers’ Company Charitable Fund LINLEY Lock & Co McLaren Johnny Messum Moët & Chandon Mulberry Mustard Catering NADFAS Pamela de Tristan Scholarship Partridges The Pennies Foundation Philip Treacy The Pilgrim Trust Pimm’s Prestat The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation Purdey The Radcliffe Trust The Robertson Trust

John Robinson Roja Dove Rokill Rosewood London David Ross The Rumi Foundation Steve Sampson Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement Sleepeezee South Kensington Club Michael Spencer Lord Sterling, GCVO CBE Sir David Tang Tanqueray Gordon & Co Tom Ford Trickers Twinings Lord Verjee V&A Walkers Shortbread Walker & Wodehouse Wines Robin Wodehouse The Worshipful Company of Pewterers The Worshipful Company of Turners The Wren Press Zein Kurdi Zone Creations

QEST

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Issue 34 Summer 2016

QEST SCHOLARS 2016

2016 QEST Scholars at the RWHA Annual Luncheon

We had a lively three days interviewing this year’s potential QEST Scholars, shortlisted from hundreds of applications by our skills advisors.

Bells were rung, recorders played, tailored jackets tried on. The committee table overflowed with textiles, enamelling, woven baskets, silver bowls, clocks, embroidery and books. And on the easel, decorative trompe l’oeils, fine art portraits and panels of stained glass. We talked MAs and PhDs, diplomas and professional courses, masterclasses and mentorship.

Excellence in British craft and design shone throughout.

This was on display for all to see at the Royal Warrant Holders Association Annual Luncheon at the London Hilton on Park Lane in May. In the foyer of the Grand Ballroom, QEST Chairman Nick Farrow and RWHA National President Daryl Greatrex presented certificates to the 23 new QEST Scholars and introduced everyone to guest speaker and Clerk to The Goldsmiths’ Company, Sir David Reddaway.

It was a joy to see both the 2016 QEST Scholars and latest QEST Apprentices engaged in conversations over their work with members of the Royal Household, Royal Warrant holding companies and their guests, and hear afterwards that our excitement about their crafts is shared and how encouraging everyone had been.

Once again it has been a privilege for the QEST Trustees to discover fresh talent in a wide range of traditional and modern crafts, and through the hard work of our fundraisers and generosity of our donors, be able to help advance their continued education and skills development.

Here’s to our masters in the making.

Christina Abbott QEST Trustee

QEST

Scholars

DAVID SNOO WILSON QEST SCHOLAR BELL CASTING

In 2012, David Snoo Wilson started Bristol-based travelling foundry Ore + Ingot, sharing and teaching metal casting and taking commissions.

In keeping with his aim to preserve traditional arts in contemporary practice, David will use his QEST Scholarship to question the folklore of bell founding, researching how different alloys and casting techniques affect harmonics.

“I’ll create an archetypal pattern with the UK’s leading bell designer. Bell bronze has been assumed best for the last three centuries, but there are many more alloys to try.

And variables in the casting process, from fuel type to cooling rate. Gathering this knowledge will further my bell foundry work hugely.”

oreandingot.com

CORALIE CHUNG QEST LEATHERSELLERS’ COMPANY SCHOLAR SADDLERY Coralie Chung first qualified in saddlery 25 years ago at Cordwainers’ College. She returned to the craft three years ago, drawn by the rising popularity of side saddle riding.

Coralie will take five courses at The Saddlery Training Centre in Salisbury, where she will be taught by Richard Godden to sympathetically restore, conserve, repair and make new side saddles.

AURORA PETTINARI YORK QEST JAN BERRY SCHOLAR

“The generosity of QEST and the Leathersellers’ Company is very timely – I will savour every moment with Mr. Godden, one of two remaining side saddle masters from the heyday of production.

I’ll focus on the original British materials, but it will be fabulous to try new materials and techniques for the modern horse and rider.”

facebook.com/coraliesidesaddle

Earlier this year, Aurora Pettinari York completed the Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN), the international centre of excellence for the art of hand embroidery.

HAND EMBROIDERY During her course Aurora began to specialise in bespoke embroidery for interiors, and now plans to develop a number of embroidered products for the home. QEST will fund a series of Post Diploma Technical Mentoring Sessions run by the RSN for Aurora to get support and feedback on her new project.

“These sessions will be invaluable, guiding me as I create my first range and helping me to approach commissions with confidence in this initial stage of my career as an embroiderer.”

aurorapettinariyork.com

Issue 34 Summer 2016

Basket maker Annemarie O’Sullivan has a successful workshop practice and is lead willow tutor for City Lit Basketry, the only certified courses in the UK.

ANNEMARIE O’SULLIVAN QEST D’OYLY CARTE SCHOLAR

Annemarie feels a responsibility to ensure her knowledge is accurate and the skills she passes on are true to British traditions. She has arranged to visit workshops in the UK and France to develop advanced skills including scalloming and fitching, and learn two baskets - Cyntell and Périgord - to an excellent standard.

Photo Credit: Alun Callender

BASKETMAKING

Auburn Claire Lucas is at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) on the Future Tutors Programme, well on her way to becoming a professional embroiderer and teacher (her own RSN lessons include appliqué and Jacobean crewelwork).

“I spend one month a year harvesting willow and am busy with orders to maintain my business. The QEST D’Oyly Carte Scholarship will give me much-needed time to learn new techniques from some of the best makers in Europe.”

annemarieosullivan.co.uk

AUBURN CLAIRE LUCAS QEST SCHOLAR TRADITIONAL HAND EMBROIDERY

Alongside practical assignments, Auburn researches the history of each technique - a vast range from silk shading to goldwork – looking at how they were used and developed in historical fashions. This goes hand in hand with her work in the conservation and restoration of embroidery.

“With QEST funding my final year, I’ll have the freedom to study extra-curricular specialisms and take on work experience that will advance my learning, future career, and hope of inspiring others to keep the craft thriving and evolving.”

instagram.com/auburnclaire1

DANIEL HARRISON QEST HOWDENS SCHOLAR FURNITURE DESIGN & MAKING Daniel Harrison found his vocation working with wood through training in bench joinery as a staircase maker, and his voice in the medium on a furniture design and make course at the Rycotewood Furniture Centre, Oxford.

The funding from QEST and Howdens will support Daniel on the ‘journeyman’ stage of his career, working with master craftsmen to produce pieces of furniture that demonstrate a range of techniques and develop his personal style. He will also work at Philip Koomen Furniture to improve his hand and

production skills, and understanding of how to run a successful craft business.

“This is an exciting opportunity to create a new body of work inspired by the natural and human world that I hope to exhibit at events in the UK next year.”

danielharrisonfurniture.com

IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

3 3 Br u t o n Street, L ondon, W 1 J 6 HH + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 7 4 9 9 4 41 1 | www. hollandandholland. com

Issue 34 Summer 2016

AMY COLLINS QEST SCHOLAR PRINTED TEXTILE DESIGN Her ambition to work for a leading couture house, and one day have her own range of textiles, has lead Amy Collins from a BA in Textile Design at Central Saint Martins to the MA course at the Royal College of Art’s School of Material.

The QEST Scholarship is helping Amy to propel her work to the next level at the RCA, where she is learning strategies to cultivate her signature style, born from a love of drawing and nature.

“Most fashion houses currently draw textile designs from old botanical sketches; I am learning to stretch and challenge my ideas so I can interpret botanical themes with a more contemporary aesthetic, graphic lines and unusual colour schemes.”

HAYLEY GIBBS QEST KIRBY LAING SCHOLAR STONE CARVING Since studying fine art sculpture, Hayley Gibbs has created work for clients including the British Museum, Royal Opera House and Louis Vuitton.

Hayley is continuing her training at the City & Guilds of London Art School, which has an unbroken tradition of teaching stone carving since it was founded in 1879. She will be supported by QEST for the final year of the Architectural Stone Carving Diploma, honing artistic and manual skills,

getting exposure to live commissions and building a professional network.

“In the third year, every day counts and I am grateful to QEST and The Kirby Laing Foundation that I will be able to dedicate all of my time to classes, project work and life drawing.”

hayleygibbs.co.uk

POPPY FIELD QEST FINNIS SCOTT FOUNDATION SCHOLAR SCULPTURE Sculptor Poppy Field’s aspiration is to continue Britain’s tradition of monuments and memorials.

Having completed a BA History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, she is set to return to the Florence Academy of Art, where she spent a year training before her degree. Poppy will complete the three-year sculpture programme to develop technical skills in drawing, armature and mould making, modelling, plaster and bronze casting.

“With the support of QEST and The Finnis Scott Foundation, I look forward to furthering my ability and gaining the confidence to be selfcritical regarding composition, gesture, form, anatomy and proportion.

These technical skills will complement my knowledge of inscription, medium, interaction and purpose - all vital for memorialising.”

QEST

Scholars

JENNIE ADAMSON QEST JOHNNIE WALKER SCHOLAR BESPOKE TAILORING

Bespoke tailor Jennie Adamson has her own studio in Holborn and has worked on Savile Row since 2008 (currently at Royal Warrant holder Gieves & Hawkes).

Twice a finalist in the Golden Shears competition for tailors of the future, Jennie has enrolled on the Innovative Pattern Cutting for Graduates and Professionals course at Central Saint Martins to develop her creativity further.

“My specialty is jackets and, thanks to QEST and Johnnie Walker, I’m going to learn new pattern cutting techniques through workshop sessions, studio critiques and masterclasses that will be brilliant for unlocking the potential of my ideas.”

cockpitarts.com/designer-makers/jennie-adamson

KAYO SAITO QEST SCHOLAR JEWELLERY DESIGN & MAKING Kayo Saito’s exquisite jewellery is for the most part made of precious metals, occasionally combined with ready cut stones and pearls. The delicacy and vital energy of nature - shells to swaying plants form her inspiration.

Now Kayo wants to work with the natural form of the stones themselves. She will use her QEST Scholarship to learn how to cut, carve and polish

LORA AVEDIAN QEST JOHN SMEDLEY SCHOLAR EMBROIDERY AND TEXTILE DESIGN

precious and non-precious stones so they become integral to the structure of her designs.

“It will be a wonderful experience having individual tutorials with QEST Scholar Charlotte De Syllas (1999) and John Donald to explore the natural beauty and creative potential of gemstones, minerals and crystals, and learn new skills so I can make each stone flow into the piece I’m creating.”

kayosaito.com

Embroidery graduate Lora Avedian worked as a prop maker and set designer for six years before resuming her studies on a Mixed Media Textiles MA at the Royal College of Art. After the challenge of continuing freelance work in her first year, the award from QEST and John Smedley will enable Lora to concentrate on her final year as she develops her use of innovative materials and processes in the making of sustainable, beautiful textiles.

“As a prop maker I focused on creating delicate paper flowers, which I’m translating into my textile work at the RCA. Ultimately, I aim to combine traditional millinery skills and embroidery with new materials to create one-of-a-kind flowers.”

loraavedian.com

Issue 34 Summer 2016

Artist Nick Hobbs specialises in hand painted murals and trompe l’oeils, working closely with architects, designers and private clients to create original designs that complement any decorative scheme.

NICK HOBBS QEST BENDICKS SCHOLAR TROMPE L’OEIL AND MURAL ARTIST

Through his QEST Bendicks Scholarship, Nick will receive a period of intense, advanced tutelage from Graham Rust, author of The Painted House, concentrating on landscapes, fresco and working in flashe, a water-based gouache that has the appearance of old tempera paint.

“The is a golden opportunity to study one-to-one with an internationally acclaimed artist at a level of teaching not available in academic institutions. Beyond this, I plan to reflect back my experience by setting up a foundation for mural and tromp l’oeil painting for up-and-coming artists.”

nick-hobbs-murals.co.uk

An interest in unusual timepieces inspired the development of Louise Parry’s work from simple jewellery to the complicated clocks – currently antique mechanisms adapted into modern and original designs - that form the basis of her portfolio.

LOUISE PARRY QEST SCHOLAR SILVERSMITHING, JEWELLERY & TIMEPIECE MAKING

She recently started working with a British horologist who hand makes bespoke mechanisms for Louise to incorporate into her silver and gold clocks, which she often insets with diamonds and stones. Louise’s QEST Scholarship will fund a two-week residential course on Shetland with QEST Scholar Rod Kelly (2000) to increase her silversmithing skills.

“Working on my project under Rod’s instruction will enable me to complete the more ambitious designs for silver and gold clock casings in my sketchbook into actual pieces.”

louiseparry.co.uk

SABINA WEISS QEST CAMBRIDGE SATCHEL COMPANY SCHOLAR PRODUCT & FURNITURE MAKING Sabina Weiss is a designer-maker intent on marrying beauty with function in her practice, which combines inclusive product and furniture design with traditional craft skills.

The QEST Cambridge Satchel Company Scholarship will enable Sabina to focus full-time on the Innovation Design Engineering (IDE) programme, an intensive, two-year, double Masters run by the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London.

“They talk about the cutting-edge IDE programme changing your life, and also potentially thousands of others. QEST’s support will allow me to work with top quality materials and processes to develop products that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and levels of physical ability for real social impact.”

cargocollective.com/sabinaweiss

QEST

Scholars

MANASI RAVATIA-DEPALA QEST SCHOLAR JEWELLERY & SILVERSMITHING

Manasi Ravatia-Depala is a contemporary jeweller and silversmith based in Leicester. She makes beautifully articulating silver and precious gemstone jewellery, and more recently, larger pieces of silverware.

Following a postgraduate course at Bishopsland Educational Trust, Manasi visited Rod Kelly’s South House Silver Workshop on Shetland for a chasing project. Rod has agreed to give Manasi further professional training in chasing and repoussé, which has been made possible by her QEST Scholarship.

“Developing my skills with one of the best chasers in the country means I’ll be able to use this wonderful decorative technique to make pieces I’ve designed, inspired by architectural forms and the eastern and western cultural styles of my upbringing, with more accuracy and confidence.”

manasiravatia.com

MARIO SIERRA QEST ROKILL SCHOLAR HAND LOOM WEAVING For the last four years Mario Sierra has worked to bring his family’s hand loom weaving workshop in County Down’s Mourne Mountains back into production and train a new generation of weavers.

Mario’s grandmother and mother have guided him on their incredible looms and he has a firm grasp of workshop management. With growing interest from the fashion and interiors market, QEST is backing Mario’s specialist training in yarn spinning and development from Joan Johnston and

NAOMI NEVILL QEST DENGIE CROPS SCHOLAR ENAMELLING, GOLDSMITHING & JEWELLERY DESIGN

Mark Lightowlers, and Hattersley loom tuning, weaving and maintenance.

“The QEST Rokill Scholarship is fantastic news; it will strengthen my ability through improving yarns and expanding our product range to create a bright future for Mourne Textiles.”

mournetextiles.com

Award-winning jeweller Naomi Nevill designs and hand makes striking creations in vivid colours using metal forming and vitreous enamelling.

Through the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards and Getting Started exhibition, she has been offered tuition from top enamellers. Over a series of visits, Phil Barnes will pass on his specialist champlevé engraving skills and advanced techniques such as overlaying and grading, and a masterclass with Fred Rich will include his specialty, cloisonné wiring.

“I have invested in kilns, a work bench, polishing motor, enamels and many tools and books, but this first hand experience made possible by QEST will ensure that fundamental tasks become second nature and increase my making versatility and quality.”

nnjewellery.com

Issue 34 Summer 2016

ROWAN MCONEGAL QEST SCHOLAR STAINED GLASS & PRINTMAKING

Rowan McOnegal is a contemporary stained glass artist. She trained originally in fine art painting and printmaking, has also worked with textiles and photography, and considers it vital to explore new techniques to enhance her artistic vocabulary.

Rowan’s QEST Scholarship will take her to Japan for a five-week course at the Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory. This artist-in-residence programme will provide extensive learning in the art of Mokuhanga (water-based woodblock printmaking) and making use of the tools and materials.

“The Japanese tradition of working closely with nature is a large part of my attraction to this course.

Back at my workshop in Ledbury, alongside my stained glass commissions, I plan to create woodcut prints using botanic pigments I’ve made myself.”

rowanmconegal.co.uk

AMY GOODWIN QEST SCHOLAR TRADITIONAL SIGNPAINTING Amy Goodwin grew up with a travelling fairground, immersed in the visual language of traditional signpainting. This is reflected in her practice, blended with illustrative storytelling and bookbinding.

Amy is about to unearth the rich history of fairground people and their art through her PhD, working to construct a complex archive that creates identities and tells their stories through authentic, crafted signs.

“Undertaking a PhD is both a privilege and a serious commitment - knowing that QEST is funding the first year of my study is a real gift, and I cannot wait to get started on tracing and bringing to life the stories of generations of unsung show-women.”

a-goodwin.com

QEST

Scholars

BENJAMIN SMITH QEST SIEGMUND WARBURG SCHOLAR PORTRAIT PAINTER Benjamin Smith’s early career was in law before he decided to follow his passion, and grandfather Robert Ball’s footsteps, into professional art.

Intent on becoming a successful oil painter specialising in portraiture, Ben began training at the London Atelier of Representational Art where he has studied classical drawing, focusing on proportion, line, gesture, form, light and colour.

“To be awarded the QEST Siegmund Warburg Scholarship for the final year of my Diploma in Fine Art is life-changing. Top quality classical art education is hard to come by, and expensive. I’m now able to complete my studies at one of the best schools in Britain, and am looking forward to communicating my own ideas in the rich language of realist art.”

benjaminsmithfineart.com

FRANCESCA LEVEY QEST J PAUL GETTY JNR CHARITABLE TRUST SCHOLAR METAL CONSERVATION

Francesca Levey is working towards a Graduate Diploma in Conservation of Metalwork at West Dean College. Committed to a career in the field, she will follow straight on to the Postgraduate Diploma, the only programme of its kind.

The QEST Scholarship will support Francesca’s progress onto the MA Conservation Studies for her to gain theoretical and contextual knowledge and extensive practical experience on high quality objects.

“That QEST and the J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust have invested in my craftsmanship is an incredible boost, and not just financially. The family aspect is so special – the network of talented people who share their time and experience, and inspiration from what other QEST Scholars have gone on to achieve.”

JACK DARACH QEST COMPANY OF TURNERS SCHOLAR WOODWIND INSTRUMENT MAKING

internationally recognised recorder makers, Tim Cranmore and Tom Prescott.

Largely self-taught, Jack Darach set up his workshop in Brighton two years ago to develop a range of instruments, mostly recorders, based on extant historical models and his own designs.

“Under their guidance I’ll be working on the challenge of ‘voicing’, the making of fine adjustments that make crucial differences to the quality of the instruments. This will help me develop a distinctive sound for my recorders, and be able to respond better to the preferences of performers.”

Despite long traditions of playing and making recorders there are no courses in the UK, and so Jack’s QEST Company of Turners Scholarship will provide the chance for him to spend time with two

jackdarach.com

SCHOLARS

Stumpwork Eros with a Horn by Aurora Pettinari York

Issue 34 Summer 2016

QEST supports the education and training of talented craftspeople to ensure the sustainability of traditional craftsmanship in Britain.