In Good Company: Celebrating Independent British Makers

Every piece of Trew & Bold furniture is designed and made by one person. It is a way of working that asks a lot, and the people who understand it best are other makers doing the same. For my latest shoot, I asked some of them to contribute their work and help set the scene.

‘The Aldan’ bespoke sofa by Trew and Bold; ‘The Margot lamp’ by Louisa FK ceramics; ‘Untitled III’ Textile work by Sophie Mason.

The paintings on the walls, the quilts over sofas and the bowls on the table were all lent by independent British makers, set alongside The Aldan Loveseat, The Orwin Table and Benches and two recent commissions. Every piece was made by hand by someone who knows their material inside out. Seeing our work together in one room showed how much we have in common.

The makers

Some are old friends. Others I had followed on Instagram for years before asking to borrow their work.

Sophie Mason is an artist I met at art school in Florence. She makes textile works with natural dyes and materials gathered from the landscape around her.

Flick Skinner of Eelo and Ider stitches every quilt by hand, setting earthy colours against geometric patterns.

Meera Hindocha of Wabi Sabi Pottery throws stoneware in Bristol, often pressing sand into the clay and leaving the surface unglazed.

Louisa Fremlin-Key of Louisa FK Studio hand-builds bright, bold ceramics and lighting in Wiltshire.

Jamie Dunn of Bristol Broom Works was my neighbour at my old workshop. She makes brooms entirely by hand and is a committed champion of Britain's heritage crafts.

From the same ground

Timber, clay, cloth and broomcorn look and feel nothing alike, but they share an origin. Each begins in the natural world: a tree felled and seasoned, clay dug from the earth, plant fibres grown and gathered. Every maker in this shoot starts with a raw, natural material and, through skill and time, turns it into something useful and lasting. The techniques are different; the respect for the material is the same.

That shared origin brings a shared responsibility. When a material has been taken from the natural world, it deserves to become something worth keeping. Each of us makes work intended to last, and treats the thinking and craftsmanship behind a piece as part of what the buyer receives. A Trew & Bold table is never only a table. It carries the design conversations, the timber sourcing and the hours of making that went into it, and the same is true of a hand-stitched quilt or a thrown stoneware bowl.

That is what distinguishes buying from an independent maker. It is not simply a transaction, but a direct relationship with the person whose skill and judgement shaped the object, and a small part in keeping that skill in use.

‘Tall vase with Cornish sand’ By Wabi Sabi Pottery, ‘The Orwin Table’ by Trew and Bold

Keeping heritage skills alive

When people talk about craft collaborations, they usually mean big names: a heritage brand working with a museum archive, or a department store with a famous textile house. Collaboration between small makers rarely makes the headlines, yet it is where much of Britain's craft heritage is actually being kept alive. Few independent makers have an advertising budget. Most of us rely on word of mouth, and do all of our own social media and marketing. Working together introduces each maker to new audiences, and shows buyers how naturally handmade pieces sit together in a home.

It matters beyond business, too. Skills like broom making, hand quilting and furniture making survive only as long as people practise them and others value what they produce. Every maker in this shoot is part of that chain, learning from those who came before and making work that will outlast them. The relationships formed through projects like this one are what turn a group of individuals into a creative community, and that community is how these skills reach the next generation rather than being forgotten.

Recent ‘pippy’ elm dining table commission by Trew and Bold, ‘Hand Broom’ by Bristol Broom works, ‘Bowl with Cornish sand’ by Wabi Sabi Pottery

Coming up...

Over the coming weeks, I'll be publishing a series of profiles of the makers involved, looking more closely at their work, their studios and how they came to their craft. This series is a one-off, but I hope it won't be the last time I work alongside other makers. Trew and Bold is Old English for tree and build: natural materials, skilled hands, and pieces made to be passed on.

‘The Aldan’ Loveseat by Trew and Bold, ‘Linen Love’ quilted throw by Eelo and Ider, ‘Autumnal Log Cabin’ cushion by Eelo and Ider.

Credits

• Photography: Beetle Rhind

• Furniture: Trew & Bold, designed and made in Wick, between Bristol and Bath: The Aldan Loveseat, The Orwin Table, The Orwin Benches, a bespoke Aldan sofa and a bespoke elm dining table

• Art: Sophie Mason

• Quilts: Flick Skinner, Eelo and Ider

• Pottery: Meera Hindocha, Wabi Sabi Pottery

• Ceramics and lighting: Louisa Fremlin-Key, Louisa FK Studio

• Brush: Jamie Dunn, Bristol Broom Works