QEST Alumni feature in Slow Ways: Our Common Ground   

We’re delighted to see QEST Alumni featured in Slow Ways: Our Common Ground, a month-long exhibition on Britain’s heritage crafts and contemporary design opening today at art’otel London Hoxton. 

Curated by Freddie Armstrong and Joe De Ferranti, the newly formed studio presents work from makers they meet on their 1,300 mile walk across the length of Britain. The exhibition also includes additional QEST and Heritage Crafts makers, showcasing talent from across the UK. 

From tanning, turning and weaving to printing, engraving and stitching, the show presents the spirit of the handmade and the importance of its protection. QEST makers include Rootfull, founded by Zena Holloway, Max Bainbridge, Marchmont Workshop, Studio Amos, Sarah Loughlin, Geoff Hannis, Bonfield Block Printers and Chloe Valorso. 

Read more here. 
art’otel London Hoxton, Shoreditch  
5–30 May 
The project is in support of QEST and Heritage Crafts: Donate Here. 

From Land’s End to John O-Groats 

Slow Ways is a project that was born through a curiosity; to see what could be learned when time is taken and attention is paid. The walk took three months, an adventure following Britain’s footpaths and bridleways, from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Across moorland, wetland, forest and dale; over hill and mountain, through storm and gale, they covered 1,300 miles from the foot to the head of this isle. The aim was to document heritage crafts, to map a constellation of makers across the country, whose practices have an increasingly fragile future. 

Freddie Armstrong shared: “We wanted to learn why keeping these skills alive has value beyond the constant push for ‘progress’; why using our hands to make, anchors us in the muscle and memory of being human. Craft joins an important set of rituals which demonstrate our bond to the living world. Creation by hand works within a timeframe that supports the natural order, and yet has become radical in today’s standards of production.” 

Coinciding with London Craft Week, the programme will include a series of special events throughout the month including The Makers’ Table — an evening of talks discussing the importance of craft on 14 May, 6-10pm. 

• Panel talk hosted by Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip and Sylva, featuring Tim Hellier, Director of Artichoke, Deborah Pocock, CEO of QEST, and Jewellery Maker Chloe Valorso.  
• Short Film and Talk by Mo Fiddian-Green and Joss Stoddart.  
• In Conversation with Andrea Chappell and the Dye, Weave, Pleat Collective 

Book Tickets Here. 

London Craft Week is taking place 11-17 May, celebrating craft and creativity across the city. Many QEST Alumni are taking part in events, exhibitions and workshops. See more here.