Crafty business

The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair opens at Spinningfields today and work by Manchester School of Art students and graduates will go on display to thousands of visitors.

Held over four days – Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd October – the Craft Fair has become a well-loved feature of the autumn events calendar in Manchester.

Work from over 140 hand-picked designer-makers in ceramics, glass, jewellery, interior and fashion textiles, wood and silver will be showcased, providing a fantastic platform for artists.

International success

Four graduates selected from this summer’s Degree Show will show at Great Northern Graduates stand. Embroidery graduate Jodie Edwards’s wall installation of folded aluminium will sit alongside work by Three Dimensional Design graduates ceramicist Jill Shaddock, ceramic jewellery designer Anne Laycock and Kirsty Pearson, who creates fragile yet functional jewellery made from glass and metal.

Clare Knox-Bentham and Catherine Fuga-Carr will be showing their work as part of the ‘One Year On’ area of the Craft Fair, for graduates who have set up business within the last 12 months. Both Clare’s plastic wall and window installations and Cathy’s crocheted and knitted glass vessels have received a huge amount of attention from galleries and buyers alike.

Catherine says of her work: “Everyone says you can’t knit and crochet with glass but you can because I’ve done it. It’s the first time it’s ever been done and it’s really taken off, I’m getting commissions from all over the world.”

Hand blown glass sculptures by Gemma Truman and conceptual jewellery designed by Catherine Chester will also be featured.

Fantastic opportunity

Nine current 3D Design students will exhibit their work on the Manchester School of Art stand in the Craft Fair foyer. Curated by final year student Eva Rabin, attendance at such a high profile and professional event helps undergraduates develop their commercial awareness and confidence.

Kirsteen Aubrey, Senior Lecturer in 3D Design, comments: “The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair is a fantastic event for promoting unique and original handcrafted designs.

“The number of School of Art graduates selected to exhibit highlights the quality of our alumni and the student work sits just as comfortably amongst that of other exhibitors.”

Opening times, directions and ticket information for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair can be found here.