LOYAL TO LOCAL
I admire people that are doing things to benefit people that are not here, eco designers, looking at preserving our world for the future. A couple spring to mind Sebastian Cox, a British designer who gives fallen trees a new lease of life by creating furniture and Benchmark and Angleposie that offer a lifetime repair on their pieces. Jay & Co Studio is today based at Maws in Ironbridge, a move you made two years ago. What was it about Maws, Ironbridge and Telford that pulled you here? Love brought me to Telford, initially. I fell in love with someone and Ironbridge in particular gives me a chance to just be me, space to be free and freedom to think and be creative. The workshop at Maws became available and it was the perfect place for me to bury myself away without distractions. I don’t get to go out and explore as much as I like – the Wrekin is definitely on my list to visit more often though.
I live by a statement that is to ‘influence people I’ll never meet’ and that’s what pushes me to create from colours that have been put together naturally through flowers and trees or even accidentally, through rubbish that’s blown into something to create a pattern or unusual match. Sustainability is really important to me so I’ll always try and use end of rolls of fabrics from markets and use small suppliers – Wolverhampton market is a favourite of mine.
Out of the Dark was a charity I ran, that taught young people how to restore and sell old furniture. Government funding started to dry up, so we had to find ways to make the project sustainable. We taught young people to restore furniture and sell it to provide an income, helping to get people ready for work and generating an income. As we were based in High Wycombe – the heart of the English furniture trade – designers like Ercol, Parker Knoll and G-Plan all started out here so there was already a solid base to build on. We were inundated with community members, helping us to learn and then teach the craft of furniture restoration to our youngsters and the community also donated pieces for them to work on. The joy of restoration is not just a piece of furniture it’s the joy of the work and effort that has gone into it and the way it makes that person feel giving
them a sense of belonging. You could say it has grown
organically, but I like to say ‘stupidly’ as I never have any idea about how things will turn out and like to jump in, once your heart is pure I believe things will always work out. What inspires you in your work and who are the people you most admire in the artisan world? Nature is my biggest inspiration, it’s a wonderful template for me. My house which is very beige but it let all the colours really shine.
TOTALLY TELFORD
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