We are extremely proud to announce that we are one of the 90 heritage companies to receive a Lifeline grant from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage, which has been put in place to ensure that jobs and access to heritage sites in local communities are protected in the months ahead.
Historic sites, including the buildings that we restore, will also receive help to meet ongoing costs and support to restart activity when it is possible to do so safely.
Find out more here: Historic England
New faience façade for Jacob Kennedy, his latest bar and restaurant on the Regents Canal in Angel, Islington. Website here.
All photos by Howard Sooley.
A brilliant film celebrating the Art in Manufacturing from our wonderful collaboration with artist James Bloomfield for the National Festival of Making.
The wonderful York Art Gallery has been nominated for the highly prestigious European Museum of the Year 2017 Award. The gallery is the only British museum on the list of 46 nominees from 24 countries, so big congratulations!
We absolutely loved being involved in their major redevelopment back in 2015, where we manufactured the unique hexagonal faience facade, designed by architects Simpson and Brown. The building itself has been nominated and awarded for several amazing accolades since it's opening, and has most recently been nominated for the renowned European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture 2017, which is truly amazing!
York Art Gallery is a great place to visit, not only for their amazing collection of art and ceramics, but also for the beauty in the building, both internally and externally... Including their new Artists Garden, where by again we had the great pleasure working with the gallery once more in creating the eye-catching yellow ceramic tree stumps, designed by our good friend at Ordinary Architecture, Charles Holland.
On the glorious evening of the 18th August we attended the opening of the wonderful Artists Garden at York Art Gallery, where the installation we manufactured was to be showcased. This outdoor installation called Foundation Myths is the first artwork to be created especially for York Art Gallery, and is designed by our talented friends at Ordinary Architecture. These ten yellow ceramic tree trunks, which vary in size and are arranged in parallel look truly striking in the garden space and make a great addition to the ceramic focused gallery.
It was a great evening with live music, canapes, and a superb atmosphere. And it was wonderful to meet with an array guests to talk them through the manufacturing process of the faience stumps. The designer Charles Holland was also in attendance and spoke to all guests about the ideas and inspiration behind the new art installation.
This was a brilliant and unique project to be involved in, and it was wonderful to be creating ceramics once again for this inspiring gallery, since manufacturing the glazed tile facade for their major redevelopment.
Laura Turner, curator of art, said:
“Foundation Myths cleverly intertwines the many threads of history which run through the gardens as well as drawing inspiration from the ceramics on show in the Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA).
“In doing so it creates something completely new: a visually stimulating and playful artwork which we think people will enjoy interacting with while learning more about this previously hidden corner of the gardens.”
Charles Holland, of Ordinary Architecture, said:
“Part of the St. Mary’s Abbey precinct, the site for the Artists Garden has a very rich history and has been home to a remarkable number of uses. These include orchards, gardens, a plant nursery, military ‘hutments’ and the Great Hall of the Yorkshire Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition.
“The installation springs from these rich associations and aims to make a striking and beautiful artwork that is critically engaged with its site. In making reference to CoCA and the history of the area, we also hope that it makes a fitting first commission for this important gallery setting.”
An article on our fantastic Hive Business Awards win is featured in the current issue of the wonderful Lancashire Magazine.
Steve Allen - "This win is for the whole team and everyone who helped set up the business. It is a massive thank you to all 25 of our staff and their hard work over the last months so we are really proud."
Judges - "High level skills have been preserved for the business which has risen from the ashes thanks to the dedication of its managers and employees. it has a global reach with high-profile clients, a family business culture and a dedication to the future through apprenticeships and succession programmes. It is a great story."
We are extremely pleased to be manufacturing the very first York Art Gallery outdoor installation Foundation Myths - commissioned by the highly creative Ordinary Architecture.
Last week we attended the Hive Business Awards, which celebrates the very best of business in Blackburn and Darwen, where we were nominated for two wonderful awards. Walking through the doors we were blown away by the beauty of Blackburn Cathedral, which made for the perfect setting for the evening ahead. Dressed up all dapper in black tie, we wined and dined, waiting for the awards to be announced. The first award of the night was The Newcomer Award, and we didn't have to wait long to celebrate, as 'Darwen Terracotta' was instantly declared the winner!
We are so happy with our win, and we couldn't have managed it without the hard work and effort put in by every single talented member of our team.
Thank you to Hive Awards for our incredible award. We had a great night, with fantastic food and an amazing atmosphere, and we hope to be back again next year.
Congratulations to all of the winners!
We are the winner of the wonderful Newcomer Award at this years Hive Business Awards!
It's not been easy, but all our hard work is paying off, and we couldn't be happier.
