Reigniting Make Works

Image Credit: Eoin Carey for Make Works

You may or not know about our work with Make Works. It’s a global library for local manufacturing, connecting people who want to make with people who do. We aim for free and accessible fabrication for artists, designers and makers. It was launched in 2014, in Scotland, in response to frustrations, difficulties and challenges of finding fabricators to make art and design work. 

In 2018, Make Works moved its HQ to Fab City Research Lab Barcelona at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and is now part of the Creative Europe funded Distributed Design (DD) platform which enables the exchange of ideas and as a networking hub for the European maker movement. 

Kate Armstrong, Communication and Design Lead, Fab Lab Barcelona:

'Welcoming Paved With Gold to the Distributed Design Platform is as gratifying, as it is strategic. Our association with Kaye and Helen will be further concretized through the implementation and facilitation of Make Works as part of the Distributed Design Platform ecosystem. Together, we aim to expand the impact of Make Works from its Scottish roots, across Europe and beyond with particular attention to opportunities already being developed in Iceland and Hungary. Make Works provides benefits for makers, designers and manufacturers with a particular interest in the platform's potential to empower local communities through capacity building, sustainable economic development and meaningful creative practice.'

In October 2020, Make Works contributed to panel discussions at the FAB City Summit ‘From Emergency to Resilience’: ‘Crafting Fab Cities - an eco-systemic view of tools and methods’ and ‘Platforms - sharing tools, resources and knowledge’. This forum marked the beginning of Make Works’ ambition to start conversations with others to see how it can grow as an “open” global library for local manufacturing where anyone can recommend a manufacturer, or become a representative for their own region via adaptations and in response to local needs, agendas and ecosystems.

As well as following up on enthusiastic enquiries about Make Works at the Summit, during the fourth year of Creative Europe funded DD platform, we are exploring how DD members can embrace Make Works to complement their existing and planned activity to support and have continued conversations about sustainable cities, local manufacturing, clusters of creativity, celebrations of making heritage initiatives amongst others. These include:

Jessica Guy, IAAC, Catalonia, Frosti Gislason, Innovation Center Iceland, David Pap, Fab Lab Budapest, Hungary and Gareth Owen Lloyd + Nat Hunter, Other Today, Brighton.

Existing Make Works regions have continued to do brilliant things during this time, an example being Derby and Derbyshire who are continuing to work with students and support them with film-making and learning about the world of local manufacturing within their wider Museum of Making heritage project.

We are excited to begin conversations with Scottish makers and manufacturers for Make Works again and build on Make Works story so far. In addition to working on local and global activity, a new home for Make Works Scotland will actively be sought so get in touch with Kaye and Helen to start conversations.

And finally, we’re also working on a new interface for Make Works so things will begin to look a little bit different. 

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.  Get in touch at: makeworks@fablabbcn.org

We can’t wait to get chatting!

2020 we made it!

Wowee! 2020 has been a year of changes and adaptability and most of all kindness. We have been completely PRIVILEGED to work alongside some fantastic clients this year, each one striving to bring some good to the world, who have been absolute gems to work with as we all navigate trying times.

We started the year by producing a guide to crowdfunding for Newspaper Club and interviewing some of their clients about how they incorporated their newspapers into the rewards they were providing through their Kickstarters.

We’ve been working with the amazing team at Kickstarter since April to promote the platform in the UK, securing them features in National and niche press publications in the UK. At the same time, we began work with the brilliant Apps for Good to support the launch of their virtual awards. We are so excited to be working with both of these teams now and into 2021 helping on all things comms and marketing!

We’re also working on an exciting new Make Works project with Helen Voce and the team at Fab Lab Barcelona - but more details to come on that in the new year.

Alongside these larger more established clients we’ve been working closely with Paper Houses Design and Wild & Kind to support them as they grow their ethical and fair businesses.

We’ve launched three very different crowdfunding campaigns this year; Atypical - beauty products specially designed for your skin, Eyra - utensils for design-conscious older people and Irregular Sleep Pattern - bright bold ethically made gender-neutral pyjamas and bedding. Each creator showed huge resilience in pushing through to get their campaigns launched.

During the first lockdown, we launched two new initiatives Creatives at Home to celebrate the adaptability of creative people and our Donate-What-You-Can advisory service to support anyone who was launching a product or campaign during the lockdown. We also hosted our first-ever online Glasgow Print Fair, we asked a selection of artists across Europe to create new prints based on the theme of nature and sold them throughout July.

Get in touch if you’re planning on launching something exciting in 2021 - we’re excited to hear what you are up to.

Paved With Gold’s indy gift guide - give good!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And what a year!

We wanted to take the opportunity to share about some of the amazing independent brands we’ve worked with in 2020. If you’re looking to give beautiful items that are fairly and sustainably made with care and love, then we can definitely vouch for this excellent bunch.

Paper Houses Design

A cosy collection of homeware and textiles that’ll definitely brighten up anyone’s home. Paper Houses designer (and all round incredible human being), Mhairi, is also delivering kits and workshops so people can get creative at home. Perfect if you want to give something you’ve made or a gift for more crafty friends and relatives.

Wild and Kind

Trudi and Rachel at Wild and Kind are building such a gorgeous business. They are printers first and foremost, specialising in garment printing, embroidery and riso-printing. They’ve just launched a monthly subscription box filled with printed goodies from their favourite artists. All Wild and Kind’s proceeds go towards supporting womxn in the east end of Glasgow.

Irregular Sleep Pattern

Possibly our brightest collaboration this year! Irregular Sleep Pattern have made beautifully clashing bold bedding and pyjama suits to brighten up winter hibernation. We thoroughly recommend the pyjamas for both indoor AND outdoor attire.

FUZL Studio

Furniture that’s craft-engineered to last a lifetime. Embracing sustainability and responsibility, their thoughtful designs run through everything they do. From cleverly designed furniture that require no tools, screws or glue to assemble, through to their packaging made completely from recycled cardboard.

Makers Cabinet

The team at Makers Cabinet make original drawing tools that are built to be cherished and used for lifetimes. They make a perfect gift for artists, designers and stationery lovers.

Happy gift giving!

Gold Nuggets from Hannah Clinch

It’s time for another Gold Nuggets, our opportunity to meet with and talk to other small businesses who we really admire. Hannah Clinch from Tacit-Tacit is another one of those brilliant people. We met Hannah a few years ago now and have left every conversation filled with new ideas. We love Hannah’s real focus on place and heritage. She’s always looking for opportunities for her local community, and when could that be more important than now?

Tell us about yourself and Tacit-Tacit. 

I am a designer and a researcher with a background in social enterprise and community development.

I trained initially as a textile designer, but after a year working in trend prediction, I realised I couldn’t reconcile my environmentalism with the goals of the fashion industry. So, I had to rethink. After a few years of working in cafes, offices and the occasional farm, I managed to get work in community development. I set up a Green Map initiative in Glasgow in 2004 - 2006, working with volunteers from the Glasgow Electron Club and Franki Finch (of Glasgow-based Finch and Fouracre) to pull together data about reuse opportunities across the city, including charity shops and community projects. The map called Dear Green Place: a Glasgow Guide to Reuse was designed, published and distributed across the city, and this project helped me to realise the potential of using design to support community-based enterprise. 

I went on to coordinate various projects, engaging people with the principles of sustainable development and material reuse. Eventually, I took up a post at Glasgow Wood Recycling; a brilliant enterprise committed to social and environmental justice.

I relocated to Dunoon in 2011, with kids. This move curtailed work opportunities, and I started to focus back on design and project management. I returned to study, specifically to research the creative industries and rural economic development at GSA’s Innovation School in 2016. I set up Tacit-Tacit in 2018 as a design and research agency on a mission to nurture positive growth. 

What inspired Tacit-Tacit?

Tacit-Tacit was inspired by my research into creative enterprise support in a rural context. The area I live in is classified as a fragile rural region. Through speaking to multiple people and organisations about their enterprise challenges, I recognised that the current support infrastructure wasn’t working for freelancers and home-based workers or women with care responsibilities trying to develop work opportunities against a backdrop of unstable incomes and social isolation.

I now collaborate with clients and local partners to provide design orientated support for small and social enterprises, whilst developing side hustles informed by my research.

What’s the one thing you wish you knew in your first year of starting out?

How isolating working from home can be. I think more people are probably recognising the benefits of working from home, which is both environmental and financial (to a point), but after 10 years of the home office and no accessible or flexible childcare solutions locally, I have struggled to develop a business at a rate that is investable and I know that I am not alone.

What are your top 3 tips for working in a rural community?

Make people like you: Building a reputation after taking time out for family can be challenging, particularly if you can’t get to networking events because they take place in cities or far off places. If you have care responsibilities and are, are on a low income and can’t take the time out to travel then you are literally not ‘in the room’ for connecting to people and opportunities.

This has started to change because of the COVID effect. I hope more online events that enable remote participants to continue to be offered by national networks. I set up a local network for freelancers and home-based workers which has really helped me to meet peers. It has been a successful tactic. I have met some fantastic individuals in Dunoon and wider Cowal who are working away at a diverse range of business ideas.

Accept help from people: I need to say a big thank you to Paved with Gold, Helen Voce and Jane McDevitt from Maraid design who have generously provided me with desk space in Glasgow. This type of kindness and practical support really makes a difference, as it connects you back into work networks, bringing you into contact with opportunities and training that can be lacking in more remote places. So buddying up with people in different places is something to consider too.

Know your value: Pricing is critical if you are self-employed. Design is a hard thing to price and increasingly visual design tools are accessible to clients in a way that further disrupts the market. What I offer is more than design to clients. It is strategy and support based on years of experience. I know from talking to clients that they appreciate what I do, but it is challenging when you are starting out on a new venture to get this correct and I still don’t always manage it but am trying to improve.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

This isn’t really advice, more an approach to working when you believe environmentally sustainable development is the essential goal of your work - ‘Pessimism of the intellect, optimism in the work’. 

What’s your ambition for Tacit-Tacit?

To grow a company in Dunoon that makes design accessible and is centred around the idea of #positivegrowth.

What song motivates you and why? 

I don’t tend to have music on at my desk if I am writing, but when I am designing I love a bit of Laura Cantrel. If I need a cry and a smile at the same time then John Grant’s GMF; the best funeral tune ever. 

Thank you, Hannah, and exciting news just in! Tacit-Tacit is opening a new design-oriented, collaboration space in Dunoon later in the year. This will be called the POP (People of Place) shop and offer desk and workshop space to freelancers and visitors to this beautiful seaside town. The online POP shop is open now featuring the work of local illustrator Walter Newton and Tacit Tacit.