Craft Britain & Bespoke for a Book
A beautiful, new, lavishly illustrated craft book by Helen Chislett and David Linley is launched with Bespoke for a Book exhibition.
Craft Britain : Why Making Matters is written by craft writer, curator and gallerist Claire Chislett and furniture maker David Linley, Lord Snowdon.
We are delighted to have two pieces featured in the book: Memorial Bench and Forth Bench. The book is being launched alongside the “Bespoke for a Book” exhibition of thirty-two unique boxes or book covers made by makers featured in Craft Britain, using the materials and skills of their craft. Each box contains a single signed copy of the book and all proceeds will go to The Prince’s Foundation.
Rather than make a box Angus designed and made a book-stand called “A Sense of Enclosure” (above). Interlaced arcs of split and steam-bent Scottish ash are jointed to create a light framework, allowing the book to stand, be viewed and appreciated. The book-stand will be shown alongside our Prism Stool with hand-twisted rush seat.
The exhibition is at Garrison Chapel, Chelsea Barracks London, SW1W 8BG and will run from Wednesday 7th to Friday 16th December 2022 (Press day is Wed 7th from 10am - 12pm).
The Garrison Chapel will be open 11AM - 4PM each week-day but will be closed during weekend 10th - 11th December.
Garrison Chapel is not a commercial gallery space but a space to highlight the work of students and graduates of The Prince’s Foundation.
If you are interested in purchasing Angus’s bespoke book stand called A Sense of Enclosure please get in touch. (All proceeds to The Prince’s Foundation).
The Prince’s Foundation is a charity that works to champion and preserve traditional arts and heritage craft skills and delivers training programmes including furniture courses at The Snowdon School of Furniture on the Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire. David Linley, Lord Snowdon curated Create a three month residential course for graduate furniture students to enable them time to explore the value of wood as “a sustainable and beautiful material for the production of design-led furniture”. The Prince’s Foundation provides scholarships to cover tuition fees and cost of materials.
“The Create programme is rooted in the belief that timber is a sustainable material for buildings and furniture. We believe that if furniture makers understand the growing, harvesting, sawing and drying of timber, and its craft and production processes, then they can more effectively design and build furniture that is beautiful, functional and long-lasting. Our aim is to initiate a change in thinking as we educate designers, makers, landowners, councils and the public, to think holistically about how we value and use wood.” Create.
This is closely aligned with what we have been doing for many years.
Angus Ross was visiting lecturer on the first Create Course in November 2021.
Author Helen Chislett nominated many of the British makers selected for the Michelangelo Foundation Homo Faber Guide. We are delighted to have been featured in the guide since it launched in 2020. The Michaelangelo Foundation generously supported the Bespoke for a Book exhibition.