Bryna Pomp chooses her 5 Favourites

3 Weeks Until Craft Festival Cheltenham

Dear Craft Friend,

With 100 makers to meet in Cheltenham, there is so much to look forward to.

On Friday March 11th, Keith Brymer-Jones is opening the Festival and talking to a live audience about this life & new book, Boy in a China Shop. Bring your copy along to get signed. Join the waiting list here

Aardman Ambassador, Jim Parkyn is joining our family activities team with Unit Twelve & Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre. All free for accompanying young people. 

The final workshop places are up for grabs on Sunday, so book here.

Read on for this week's 5 Favourites by Bryna Pomp. Bryna is a world renowned jewellery expert and Curator of MAD About Jewellery at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York.

In this week's The Capital of Craft podcast I chat with Professor in Historical and Cultural Geography, Dr Nicola Thomas from Exeter University Listen Here

A WARM WELCOME TO FAMILIES AT CRAFT FESTIVAL

Like Keith, we are passionate about passing on skills and enthusiasm for craft to the next generations of makers.

Families are very warmly welcomed and we are hugely excited that Aardman Ambassador, Jim Parkyn will be joining us all weekend for free, drop in workshops.

Our Festival competition closes on Sunday at Midnight. CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Best wishes,
Sarah

5 Favourites from Bryna Pomp

Having met Bryna Pomp, virtually, over Lockdown, we were honoured that she agreed to choose 5 favourites from our Digital Festival. 

Bryna is a world renowned jewellery expert and Curator of MAD About Jewellery at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. Here are her 5 Favourites to look out for at Craft Festival Cheltenham.

Liz Willis

I absolutely love the jewellery of maker Liz Willis. A critical part of my championing the field of contemporary jewellery is my profound belief that preciousness and intrinsic value may come just as importantly from non-precious materials that find a well-deserved home within a piece of jewellery. Liz does exactly this so gracefully, incorporating elements such as centuries old handmade nails that she has found when mudlarking along the shores of the Thames. The result is an engaging collage of materials alongside Liz’s signature textural silver and beautiful silk threads.

Anna Baldwin

My favourite parts of the work of Anna Baldwin are her rings and her bangles. Both of these collections within her body of work are among the most wonderful I have seen from any maker. These pieces are the type of jewellery I just want to wear everyday, 24/7! I love the surface texture in Anna’s work and I love how comfortable and comforting they look.

Imaginarium Atelier

I love when a piece of jewellery is so evocative that I feel transported to another time and place. This is how I feel about the work of Sylvaine and Marek, the two makers behind the Imaginarium Atelier collection. In particular I find their pieces with faces, and with elements of the forest to be just absolutely beautifully made, and so striking and suggestive. 

Lauren Bell-Brown

Because I naturally gravitate to large pieces of jewellery my most favourite part of Lauren Bell-Brown’s work are her fantasy rings. What a statement wearing one of those will make! However, all her pieces are so appealing to me with their very realistic, expertly designed branches, vines, and petals.

Holly Suzanna Clifford

I find the work of Holly Suzanna Clifford to be absolutely exuberant and full of joy. There’s such a sense of spontaneity in the wonderful painted brushstrokes that are the defining elements in Holly’s layered eco-resin work. Apparently she and I both share a love for the colours blue and green!