The early months of this year gave us the chance to offer supported opportunities to makers once again. Made possible by two new sponsors, we’re expanded the range of specialist disciplines practised by Cockpit makers ever wider.
Our Glass Sellers’ Bursary is sponsored by The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers and our first award recipient is Lulu Harrison. Lulu is an experimental glass artist who focuses on working with locally sourced and waste materials. She explains: “My work is unique because it is re-imaging an alternative glass future, which also takes inspiration from our past. I am interested in reusing and repurposing waste materials such as the quagga mussel shells found in the River Thames and creating a circular system by introducing them into a new industry. The narrative around my work is just as important as the final piece itself and showing how we can make a positive impact through combining design, craft and science.”
Lulu has a clear focus for her next steps and tells us “I would like to develop my practice into a viable business model, and to create a final collection of physical pieces which tell the story of the materials used. I want to continue testing and developing recipes, and to collaborate with glass artists, business mentors and technicians to take this to the next level.”
The Tin and Wire Bursary was created to support a craftsperson in the early stages of their career doing interesting things with either plate metal and/or non-precious wire. We’re pleased to welcome Jackie Oliver as this year’s awardee, and she’s now based at our studios in Bloomsbury. Jacky utilises a range of metal techniques and processes to create small hand held objects through to large-scale architectural pieces, for exhibitions, commissions and residencies.
We asked Jacky what this bursary means to her: “The bursary gives me the opportunity to work in a create community. I am at a point in my career where mentoring, business and peer to peer support will help me take my practice up to the next level. Receiving the bursary from The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers (alias: The Wire Workers), is an amazing recognition of the potential of my craftsmanship.”
2022 is the third year of Cockpit’s Make It. This is our two-year programme designed to give London-based makers aged 26 and under everything they need to start building their own craft-based business. Rebecca George and Yolande Mutale have recently set up their studios in Deptford.
Rebecca George specialises in bespoke tailoring and graduated from London College of Fashion in 2018. She’s been building her business steadily with sales of her hats and wallets but has bigger ambitions for her brand, Offcutt. “My vision is for Offcutt to be a luxury alternative accessories brand with a variety of unique pieces ranging from wallets, hats, bags and boots” Rebecca tell us.
Balancing work and home life can be a struggle in the early stages for any independent maker, and Rebecca voices a strong determination to make it work for her: “ I’ve always had the desire to work for myself and to build a successful business. Since having had my first child. I have even more of a drive to make this happen. The Make It programme will not only help with the development of my business, but with my own confidence knowing I’ll have the support and tools towards successfully maintaining my business. Being a mum and working from home has its own challenges so having a dedicated time and space to work would allow for a lot more productivity.”
Yolande Mutale graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2019 where she studied graphic communication design. She explains: “ During my time at university, I experimented with many different mediums. However, working with textiles and silkscreen was what I gravitated towards the most. My first piece of textiles work was created as a response to the refugee crisis in 2018.”
Yolande’s textile artworks and quilts combine bold colours and humorous drawings to communicate a more serious message. “I wanted to go beyond the usual placard and create work that really spoke to the situation. My work explores the intricacies of the social dynamics surrounding my mixed cultural and racial identity. I often use my cross-cultural experiences as material for my work.”
The transition from working full time and creating her pieces at home to one where Yolande’s business becomes her priority, is one she’s ready to take and, with her place on Cockpit’s Make It programme, this can now start to become reality. As well as establishing her own voice within the world of textiles, she’s determined to overcome the challenges: “Craft, quilting, and the creative world, in general, is a very white middle-class space. My dream is to be able to feel like I am making a difference and actively try to dismantle the barriers faced by people from underrepresented communities. I would love to get involved in making, in a more community-centred way.”
Follow these four new makers through the links above and through their Instagram accounts:
@lulu_h___ @jackyolivermetalwork @_offcutt_ @yolandemutale
Information about current and upcoming opportunities through our Awards & Bursaries can be found here.
Photos from top: Yolande Mutale, Lulu Harrison, Rebecca George, Yolande Mutale.
