New Makers’ films + Melbourne here we come!

Read our latest Newsletter with exciting updates:

  • Launch of the next Makers’ Film Festival – the 2023 edition at The Backlot on Thursday 4 May, 6:30pm. Book now. Very limited seats. $55pp includes drinks & light bites! Watch the Trailer.
  • Maker & Smith take the work of three WA jewellers to Melbourne Design Fair!

LINK TO NEWSLETTER

Guess who’s coming to town…

Read our June 2022 Newsletter with information about:

  • our 2022 program of Masterclasses with internationally acclaimed lacemaker Pierre Fouché
  • next screenings of the Makers’ Film Festival – the 2021 edition
  • it’s time to submit your films for the next Makers’ Film Festival – due to screen and tour from 2023.

LINK TO NEWSLETTER

Pierre Fouché – lace artist

Pierre Fouché, Little Binche Peacock and Other Utopian Dreams (installation), Indian Ocean Craft Triennial, John Curtin Gallery, 2021. Photo: Rob Frith

Q&A – maker of the week: Alister Yiap

Meet Alister Yiap, designer, artist and maker.

He’s always busy; working on the minuscule and the magnificent, and activating the design and maker communities. Meet Alister Yiap – a versatile 3D designer and metalsmith with multiple competencies.

What is your craft? How do you like to describe yourself?

My starting point was Jewellery, but I have since expanded my practice to include all forms of design. So I like to call myself a Design Artist!

Your studio – where and what is your studio/workspace like?

I work from home most the time, my carport has magically been transformed into a workshop.

Which of your tools do you love the most and why?

I recently got some new tools, a laser cutter and a resin 3D printer, but a classic favourite is a Barrette file.

Your inspiration – what really pumps your creative heart?

I love learning about new processes and materials, I’m constantly learning. I like to see what certain materials can do or how you can tackle using something differently to see what the outcome can be.

What was the spark that made you choose this particular medium?

I love making with my hands and doing things, so learning new skills helps me master a new medium.

Alister Yiap is a Design Artist based in Perth, who works across different disciplines of design, ranging from jewellery to sculpture.

Alister Yiap is a Design Artist based in Perth, who works across different disciplines of design, ranging from jewellery to sculpture. Alister has won various awards including Western Australian Young Achievers Award for the Arts and Fashion category in 2017 and Fine Details award at the WA Fashion Awards in 2010 and 2013.

Your working style – how do you like to start on a project and then progress it? Do you stick to a working schedule 9-5 or flex around a bit? Do you play loud music? Are your pets welcome in your space?

I’m always on the go, so there isn’t a working style, if anything its always 5 different things on the go. I tend to prioritise things for when they are required. So I guess I’m good to work towards deadlines

What are you working towards right now?

I am making work for Counterpoint, an exhibition WA jewellers and metalsmiths for IOTA21: Indian Ocean Craft Triennial. There are also a few competitions and award exhibitions which I’m planning on entering, if time permits, but otherwise I’ve been playing around with resins of late and moulding; I’d like to come up with some work around this medium in the near future.

If you could land the dream commission/exhibition/project, what would it be?

I’ve always wanted to do a solo show one of these days, but it’s just so much work to arrange, and I don’t always have a large body of work to show. I can keep dreaming though.

[Collected March 2019; updated 2021. This is a standard set of questions that we ask of all our guest presenters and ‘makers of the week’. They are deliberately low-key.]

Read more about Alister Yiap and his work in our Makers’ Directory.

Visit Jewellers & Metalsmiths Group (WA)

Selection Panel + Prize Announced! Makers’ Film Festival.

We are delighted to announce the Selection Panel + a Prize for the 2021 Makers’ Film Festival:

Mary Ellen Cliff and Carola Akindele-Obe, the ‘dynamic duo’ who produce Maker&Smith including the new Makers’ Film Festival, will be joined by two fellas who bring a breadth of knowledge (and connections) in visual story-telling to the table – and we are so pleased to award one film with a Peoples’ Choice Award of $1000, after the screenings in Western Australia.

John Collee, Berlin Film Festival

Screenwriter, Novelist & Storyteller JOHN COLLEE
Prior to becoming a successful screen writer, John Collee worked as a doctor in remote locations including in Madagascar and the Solomon Islands.  He is a founding member of climate change group 360.org and of Hopscotch Features; and is known for feature films including Master & Commander, Happy Feet, Hotel Mumbai, Tanna and Creation.

Ron Bradfield JnrStoryteller, Maker & proud Bardi man RON BRADFIELD JNR
Ron Bradfield Jnr is a saltwater man from Bardi Country, north of Broome. He lives and breathes story-telling; indeed he is known for yarn-ing, and encouraging everyone to share their stories in his workshops and sessions with Yarns R Us.  Ron has also supported artists to develop their craft and stories across country in WA for over 15 years and is also a maker of things.

If your film explores making, skills and materials, the selection panel would like to see it.

The deadline for short film submissions is fast approaching on 30 November 2020. It’s encouraging to see entries coming in and we are really looking forward to more – especially as in recent COVID-19 times, people have been making use of film-making a lot more as part of their presentations for exhibitions, international forums, and fairs. So – please share the call-out widely with your networks (we want to make sure John and Ron have plenty to watch!).

What will the selection panel be looking for?

We are looking for films with a strong creative narrative. And to bring together a collection that illustrates the breadth and wonder of craftspeople’s lives, skills, environments and materials from across cultures in Australia, New Zealand and countries of the Indian Ocean Rim*.

All genres are encouraged, from documentaries, to story-led films to hand-made animation. We are keen to see a range of approaches in both craft and film-making. Maker & Smith encourages submissions from every corner of our community and which celebrate the diversity of life.

Quick Info Reminder
  • Films must have been made since 1 January 2017.
  • Short films only. They can be a few seconds long, and although we’d prefer no longer than 10 minutes, we will accept up to a maximum of 15 minutes including credits.
  • Easy to submit. Just fill out the online form and send us a link.
  • Deadline for submissions: 30 November 2020.
  • Entry Fees and T&Cs apply: $55 (inc GST) per submission.

The Makers’ Film Festival is due to launch in May 2021 in alignment with the program launch for the first Indian Ocean Craft Triennial (aka IOTA21). The intention is that the compilation of films will then travel around Australia, as Real to Reel: The Craft Film Festival has done since 2018, and then traverse the waves for screenings, particularly in countries where films originated.

Read our previous post about the MFF and how its brand came together.

Makers Film Festival information and easy submission form.

*AUSTRALIA, BANGLADESH, COMOROS, INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, KENYA, MADAGASCAR, MALAYSIA, MAURITIUS, MOZAMBIQUE, OMAN, SEYCHELLES, SINGAPORE, SOMALIA, SOUTH AFRICA, SRI LANKA, TANZANIA, THAILAND, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, YEMEN.

Featured image: Luthier in Workshop. Photo by Endri Yana from Pixabay

Q&A – maker of the week: Jonathan Hook

A Potter’s Life.

  If you live in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, or you are visiting there, you must go and see Jonathan Hook at his self-designed and built studio and gallery atop a hill with fabulous views, just outside Denmark.

Jonathan is a prolific potter, a master craftsman.

Read on …

What is your craft? How do you like to describe yourself?

I’m an artist that works with clay producing tableware and sculptural works. I make and exhibit my work in a studio and gallery that I designed and built myself.

Your studio – where and what is your studio/workspace like?

I’ve been on this property for 38 years. I grew out of my old studio, so I decided to put together a project that encompasses a restaurant, gallery and a studio that is 900 square metres. I’ve just built the new 500 square metre studio that I’m in now. I’m still pinching myself about it. It’s a work in progress, the kilns have only recently been moved in and I am still setting up and catching up on production. I’m currently making tableware predominantly.

Which of your tools do you love the most and why?

My tools are my hands. I don’t use a lot of tools. My style of work is very much a turned product, so apart from my hands I’d say my turning tools would be my most favoured tool.

Your inspiration – what really pumps your creative heart?

My inspiration predominantly comes from landscapes. I’m a landscape painter and interpreter. I moved to the Great Southern 40 odd years ago after I studied. This region is a source of amazing inspiration for me.

I have been looking at this landscape for a very long time and previously had a love/hate relationship with it. How does one respond and interpret such a vast and diverse landscape? I want my work to transpose the essence of the landscape into a written, drawn and sculpted work. In a way, I don’t think this has been done in a very intellectual, inspirational way yet.

Jonathan Hook Studio Ceramics

Jonathan Hook Studio Ceramics

What was the spark that made you choose this particular medium?

I had a love of clay from a very early age. Ceramics is a combination of the arts and science. It’s very much a geological process, there’s a lot of chemistry involved.

Your working style – how do you like to start on a project and then progress it? Do you stick to a working schedule 9-5 or flex around a bit? Do you play loud music? Are your pets welcome in your space?

I work on a lot of stuff at the same time because it’s that kind of medium. Nothing happens immediately. It’s a two steps forward, three backward kind of process. Even with tableware it can be a twelve month process developing the style and glazes. I work pretty much 9-5 and I listen to all sorts of stuff on the radio while I’m working from ABC Radio National to Triple J.

What are you working towards right now?

I’m working on finishing building my studio and I’m back to production this week. I’m doing three jobs at the moment but I’m doing my best to get back to my studio and start making.

If you could land the dream commission/exhibition/project, what would it be?

I don’t generally do commission work and I exhibit in my gallery every day. I hope I inspire people that way. I moved away from exhibiting in other people’s galleries early in my career to having my own gallery.

[Collected July 2020. This is a standard set of questions that we ask of all our guest presenters and ‘makers of the week’. They are deliberately low-key.]

Read more about Jonathan Hook in our Directory, where you can find further links to follow Jonathan online.

 jonathanhookceramics Spray booth is up and running...things are moving along nicely.

Spray booth is up and running…things are moving along nicely.
@jonathanhookceramics

Q&A – maker of the week: Susie Vickery

A Stitching Storyteller.

Susie Vickery is a time traveller and globetrotter, armed with needle and thread, on a mission to tell important and intriguing stories. Although now mainly based in Fremantle, Western Australia, she works across three continents, with benches also in London and Mumbai. Since we met Susie a couple of years ago, she has completed some impressive exhibitions and projects; it seems her imagination knows no bounds, and we are always intrigued to see what she is working on next.

Read on …

What is your craft? How do you like to describe yourself?

I am an embroiderer and costume maker who makes embroidered automata and stop motion films. I also make articulated puppets, embroidered portraits and whatever else can be used to tell a story.

Your studio – where and what is your studio/workspace like?

I have a little wooden room upstairs in our house, in Fremantle. I painted the ceiling pale blue and there are a LOT of shelves to house all my threads, fabrics, buttons, books and works in progress. It is my first separate workroom since my costume making days over 20 years ago, so I am expanding my work to fit the space.

In our London flat our main room is divided into dining room, lounge, kitchen and workroom. So I am in the centre of all the action there working on my favourite piece of furniture, an antique tailor’s bench.

Which of your tools do you love the most and why?

My tailor’s thimble without a doubt!

This comes from my theatrical tailoring days and I can no longer stitch without one. A tailor’s thimble differs from a normal thimble in that it has no top, you push the needle with the side of the thimble rather than the top. They are quite hard to buy in a small size (most tailors are men, I suppose). The only place where I know that I can always get one is in a tiny hole in the wall haberdashery shop in the old centre of Kathmandu. So I stock up when there as I have thimbles stashed everywhere; in pockets, pouches, drawers and bags. I fear being without one.

Your inspiration – what really pumps your creative heart?

I love the act of stitching, so seeing some gorgeous coloured threads always inspires me. But what really excites me is thinking about telling a story in some way with an embroidered object. I love making the puppets and automata, and enjoy the problem solving in getting the shapes and the movements right. I am also really inspired when researching new subjects and putting a whimsical, decorative slant on their stories.

Susie Vickery, Citizen Botanist prepared for a pandemic with loo roll

Susie Vickery, ‘Citizen Botanist prepared for a pandemic’, 2020. Photo: S Vickery.

What was the spark that made you choose this particular medium?

I have been sewing ever since I was a little girl and was so lucky to be able to turn it into a career, making costumes for theatre for many years.

We then went to live in Kathmandu and I started studying embroidery by distance learning, (pre online learning days, it was a case of posting work and waiting for the snail mail response.) In doing this, I discovered a whole world of embroidery with its many many layers, of technique, of history, of materials, and of expression, and a lifetime of joy opened up.

Your working style – how do you like to start on a project and then progress it? Do you stick to a working schedule 9-5 or flex around a bit? Do you play loud music? Are your pets welcome in your space?

The ideas sometimes come fully formed, and then I spend the rest of the time experimenting with technique and materials. If I am working towards an exhibition I will ponder for a while, turning ideas over and over. Often the solution comes to me on first waking. Then I do lots of research. I like projects that have a historical link so I read and read around the topic. Then I start playing with ideas.

With the automata I have an idea of what movement I want to show, but getting to that end involves a lot of experimentation.

I work when I can and as much as I can. I love rainy weather because I can just sit inside and work. And long plane trips are great for uninterrupted stitching.
I listen to the radio when I work, usually Radio National. In London it is BBC Radio 4. But if I am concentrating then no sound at all.  I don’t have pets, but the odd gecko lies in the sun on the window sill.

What are you working towards right now?

I have several projects on the go at the moment. I am making a long panel for a WAFTA exhibition at the Holmes à Court gallery in September (2020). It is an embroidered puppet of a skeleton against a background of an embroidered timeline of quotes about the exploitation of workers through history. Cheery stuff!

I am also working on some embroidered portraits for a competition, teaching several embroidery courses (some with Maker&Smith and some online), and planning my entry for Tied Up With String at the Mundaring Arts Centre. For this exhibition I am going to make some miniature embroidered shoes to go into the box that we are all given.

Then when these projects are done I will start making for the big Indian Ocean Craft Triennial next year. Lots of ideas are churning around and I am looking forward to getting stuck into making them.

If you could land the dream commission/exhibition/project, what would it be?

My dream job would be to work with a puppeteer to make some puppets and their costumes to enact a historical drama or story. I would love to collaborate in this way as I have no skill in manipulating a puppet and would love someone to bring them to life.

I have also discovered, after making Peregrinations of a Citizen Botanist, that I really enjoy making small scale costumes. So the show would have to be historical, which would also fit in with my love of telling these stories. It would be a show aimed at an adult audience as I feel that kids get all the good puppet shows. It’s time that we got to enjoy the medium more.

[Collected 13 June 2020. This is a standard set of questions that we ask of all our guest presenters and ‘makers of the week’. They are deliberately low-key.]

Read more about Susie Vickery’s illustrious career so far and enjoy learning and spending time with Susie at her workshops.

Maker&Smith are delighted to host three workshops with Susie Vickery: Embroidering Stories in August, September and October 2020, at Camelot, a beautiful art deco memorial hall and theatre in Mosman Park, Perth.

Q&A – maker of the week: Bethamy Linton

Hammering away, delightfully.

Immersed in the family business of metalsmithing practically from birth, Bethamy Linton started formally working with her father making silver flatware and restoring antiques from the age of 16. Later she trained formally and also in apprenticeships and mentorships in fine jewellery, art and object design.

In this short (and sweet) Q&A, Bethamy gives us a snapshot of her making world and how she upholds the mantle of being a fourth generation silversmith and jeweller.

Read on …

What is your craft? How do you like to describe yourself?

I’m a silversmith.

Your studio – where and what is your studio/workspace like?

When I first answered this question in March 2019, I had three! But it was one too many to handle; so now, since early 2020, I have just two (phew)!

I gave up my city pad, where I did small scale hand makes and taught in a shared space with six other artists. Now I can spend more time in my Gidgegannup workshop, as my son is in school five days a week (theoretically). The workshop is housed in what used to be an emu incubator; it is beautiful, surrounded by trees and filled with things I love.

I am also renovating my family’s workshop in Maylands where I make larger scale silverware and need to make a lot of noise and mess. I’m planning to hold classes and workshops there. It’s filled with generations worth of metal, tools, dust, grime and love.

Which of your tools do you love the most and why?

Oh, I don’t know! I have a lot to love. I love my rolling mills because they have facilitated so much for me.

I have a beautiful collection of hammers too, some are new and purchased from Germany with the help of my beloved mentor Hendrik Forster; others are well used and loved by my father (I have an excellent raising hammer that he brought back from England in the 1970s when he went to study at uni’ there) and others that were my grandfather’s, like the chasing hammer that I use to make my icons, which have now become indispensable to me.

I also recently bought a PUK5 welder which is changing my life, one job at a time.

Your inspiration – what really pumps your creative heart?

Most of my visual references begin somewhere in the natural environment; I am mostly diverted by native flora and fauna, especially those with which I have a personal relationship, and then also by history and the passage of time.

I love challenges in my creative work, I like to continually build new skills and I like making work that surprises me.

Bethamy Linton, Heritage collection pendants, Western Australian wildflowers, in the traditional Linton Sterling Silver style

Bethamy Linton, Sterling silver Heritage Collection pendants, Western Australian wildflowers, in the traditional Linton Silver style for Mundaring Arts Centre.

What was the spark that made you choose this particular medium?

It was always there, I grew up surrounded by it; that smell of metal and grease.
(Read more about Bethamy’s ‘immersion’ below.)

Your working style – how do you like to start on a project and then progress it? Do you stick to a working schedule 9-5 or flex around a bit? Do you play loud music? Are your pets welcome in your space?

My process has changed a lot since I had a child; I used to immerse myself in work. I used to sit around and think about it for hours. Now I just have to use the time I have and tear myself away when I need to go back to my family with my whole self.

I try to stick to a schedule, and I try to pace myself so I’m not up until dawn on projects anymore. I love having pets in my space, for 10 years my dog was my constant studio companion, I also had a lamb at foot that I was bottle feeding for a time.

Mostly I like quiet, but sometimes I’ll listen to music or a podcast.

What are you working towards right now?

Balance!!! No really – I’m trying to build my classes as a part of practice that delivers a regular income. I’m also working on finding a way to streamline the production of Linton Silver and separately I have a hollowware commission that is leading and supporting a new body of work (vessels) that I have wanted to lean into for some time… as well as other jewellery commissions and silverware orders.

Update: I’ve been shifting my practice a bit this year [2020]; focusing on higher end jewellery pieces as a product line to better support my commission practice (as I seem to have come across a lot of high end jewellery commissions lately). That’s a whole lotta fun, I’ve also started using ethically sourced Australian gem stones and am thoroughly enjoying the colour and sparkle they’re bringing to my life.

If you could land the dream commission/exhibition/project, what would it be?

I feel like I already have it! It blows my mind that I can do what I love for a crust.

Of course, it would be amazing if I could focus solely on art works… and, if somebody paid me a steady wage to make whatever I felt like dreaming up – y’know, if there were no strings attached, and if everything I made found a forever home.

But then, I occasionally receive amazing commissions like the aforementioned hollowware commission which essentially does all that! Maybe I need to think bigger. 🤨

[Collected 19 March 2019. Updated 11 June 2020.]

Read more about Bethamy Linton and view some of her work in our Directory – use the links to connect with Bethamy and to commission a unique piece of jewellery, ware or art.

This is a standard set of questions that we ask of all our guest presenters and ‘makers of the week’. They are deliberately low-key.

Post Script from M&S

It’s amazing how in our lifetimes the tradition of the ‘family silver’ has faded. Thankfully Bethamy is able to keep the traditions alive, even if families are not purchasing large sets they are perhaps gifting pairs of serving spoons or platters, which Bethamy designs and makes by putting a contemporary twist on the traditional Linton Silver designs. We look forward to observing how her practice develops over the years and to the opening of her workshops in Maylands.

The Linton workshop was established in 1908 by Bethamy’s great grandfather James Walter Robert Linton, a British trained painter and teacher of art. He was joined in his studio by Mr Arthur Cross, a master jeweller and together they produced commissioned pieces of silverware and jewellery. His son and later his son, Bethamy’s father, also trained and followed in the family business. Linton Silver is held in several major institutional collections, as well as in the homes of royal families and many suburban homes too. It is recognisable for its ‘arts and crafts’ style incorporating Western Australian flora.

On another note and to explain..

Maker&Smith owe the pleasure of highlighting a number of metalsmiths via our platform, thanks to the work we did, producing and facilitating the Adorn program, for the City of Joondalup. It was a delight and a fulsome learning experience to meet and to engage with members of the Western Australian chapter of the Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia* and other interested makers.

* The Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia, WA (JMGA WA Inc.) is a membership based organisation which represents jewellery and object practitioners throughout Western Australia. As a volunteer non-profit organisation they provide a forum to promote, support and develop the field of contemporary jewellery.

Heirloom of the Day: Darning Mushroom.

The Craft of Carnival.

Elaborate Costumes Send a Message of Breaking Free from Slavery and Racism with Optimism and Hope.

It all began in the summer of 1958 in West London when racial tensions grew in the Afro-Caribbean community. Riots went on for three days with over 100 people getting arrested over the bank holiday weekend.

In 1959, the human rights activist, Claudia Jones who was also a Trinidadian journalist, decided to organise an indoor Caribbean carnival to bring all the communities together. That’s when the ‘concept’ of the Notting Hill Carnival came about.

Fifty-four years later, it is the second largest street festival in the world attracting up to 2 million visitors from all over the globe and contributing around £93 million to the UK’s economy, annually (but not this year, as the Carnival is cancelled in 2020).

Every year, around 15,000 costumes are handmade for the carnival parade. Taking over a million hours to create, the main message behind these elaborate costumes is breaking free from slavery and racism, while the music represents the life left behind by the Caribbean community after the emancipation of the freed African slaves from the Caribbean.

This short film The Craft of Carnival, commissioned by the Crafts Council (UK), goes behind the scenes with Mahogany Carnival to discover the craft that helps make it a success each year.

(Photo: @mahoganycarnival ; Text derived from and courtesy of thelondonnottinghillcarnival.com )

The Craft of the Carnival was featured in the 2017 edition of Reel to Real: The Craft Film Festival.

Submit your short film for the Makers’ Film Festival 2021 – and tell your community’s story. Calling now for submissions from all countries of the Indian Ocean, Australia and New Zealand.

Q&A – maker of the week: Megan Stewart

Extremely loud and incredibly motivated.

Megan Stewart describes herself as ‘extremely loud’, and she’s entitled to be, as one of a few young makers in Australia, indeed internationally, who specialises in the unique genre of custom eye ware. A metalsmith by training, Megan makes bespoke frames for your glasses, mainly hand made out of aluminium and titanium with unique ingenious hinges.

According to Megan’s research, 57% of young people wear spectacle frames compared to the 12% that wear contact lenses, and she certainly has a point, that most Australians would prefer to buy local. However, currently 90% of the frames we buy are mass produced off shore. Also, the majority of these are made of plastic with an average life-span of one year, whereas well crafted metal frames designed to your personal taste and style can last for up to 10 years.

If you wear spectacles, you want to know about Smec Eyeware, Megan Stewart’s brand. We encourage you to take up her cause and buy better – custom made frames by Australian young designer makers.

In this short, sweet Q&A, Megan shares a glimpse into her creative life – we know you’ll be able to discern the dedication to her chosen craft.

Read on…

What is your craft? How do you like to describe yourself?

My craft is designing and fabricating spectacle frames. I would describe myself as someone who’s extremely loud; appears small but, has a big personality and even bigger ideas.

Your studio – where and what is your studio/workspace like?

Since I moved back home, my studio space is in my parents’ garage. I have a jeweller’s bench with a shelf above, that my Dad made for me. Even though it’s not a typical studio space, I love that when the garage door is open I can see the sunset and hear the birds. When I’m there, I’m in my happy place.

Which of your tools do you love the most and why?

I love my tiny screwdriver. When I use it, I adore the feeling that I’m building something. All the aspects of my work come together with one simple tool.

Your inspiration – what really pumps your creative heart?

I’m really inspired by people’s reaction to my frames. Sometimes I am stopped in public for my frames – people smile when I say that they’re my own. It makes me realise that people like things that aren’t considered the ‘norm’. This drives me to keep going, to experiment, to push myself and my designs. To show that anything is possible with design as long as you keep going, it can take you anywhere and hopefully encourage others to pursue what they love.

What was the spark that made you choose this particular medium?

After completing a jewellery design diploma and a Gold & Silversmithing degree, metal became a part of my life. It’s incredible to see the contrast between the raw material and what it can transform into. To me, metal is an unusual medium to pursue, but with so many types out there with varying temperaments, it’s hard not to go down the rabbit hole and fall in love with it.

Your working style – how do you like to start on a project and then progress it? Do you stick to a working schedule 9-5 or flex around a bit? Do you play loud music? Are your pets welcome in your space?

My working schedule is quite flexible as I go from CAD modelling to the bench. For both, my concentration has to be in the right place, if a frame isn’t assembling as expected, I have to stop and take a step back. I have a small BlueTooth speaker above my shelf and play a variety of music. Now and again I listen to podcasts but I can get a bit distracted by them! My cat BamBam is always welcome in my space. If I have the door open, she’ll meow her arrival and wander around the garage and disappear for a time. It’s almost a respite when she comes over and I give her a stroke after I’ve been sanding for hours on end. That’s really therapeutic, plus she’s company if I’m on my own.

What are you working towards right now?

I’m in the development stages of the new, 9-piece range which is called the Botanica Collection, which is based on the flora and fauna I’ve grown up with – from living in England to moving to Australia. To accompany the frames, I’m also working on a new Smec Case which will be made from a combination of felt and leather. I’m hoping the collection will be released later this year! I’m also developing a new hinge mechanism that will be universal across the new range.

If you could land the dream commission/exhibition/project, what would it be?

My dream project would be to have my frames sold nationally and internationally, be a freelance accessories designer and a speaker to encourage those studying, or who are considering studying in the art and design field.

Anything you’d like to add?

During COVID-19 lock down I decided to make more use of my time and up my design skills with an online Graphic Design course. I’m just over half way through and it’s definitely getting more intense but I’m really enjoying learning new skills.

[Collected 14 March 2019. Updated 15 June 2020.]

See more of Megan Stewart’s work and her brand ‘Smec Eyeware’ in our Directory – with links to more.

This is a standard set of questions that we ask of all our guest presenters and ‘makers of the week’. They are deliberately low-key.