Reading Lists

MA Design:Craft, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2019-2021

Reading List (Practice 2)

A.R. Wentworth. (n.d.). Home page | A.R. Wentworth online shop. [online] Available at: https://www.wentworth-pewter.com/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020].

Anon, (n.d.). https://hayonstudio.com/. [online] Available at: https://hayonstudio.com/.

Anon, (n.d.). https://www.martinogamper.com/.

Art (2020). Grant Gibson in discussion with Tim Parsons. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eBI44PWW-I [Accessed 14 Jan. 2021].

Ball, R. and Naylor, M. (2005). Form follows idea : an introduction to design poetics. London: Black Dog.

Chatterjee, A. and Alvelos, H. (2020). Re-inscribing the value of craft in times of dictated obsolescence. Craft Research, 11(2), pp.275–294.

Espiner, T., Wearn, R. and Smith, C. (2021). Right to Repair Rules Will Extend Lifespan of products, Government Says. BBC News. [online] 1 Jul. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57665593 [Accessed 1 Jul. 2021].

Ferrious. (n.d.). Ferrious Home Page. [online] Available at: https://ferrious.co.uk/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020].

Festival of Making. (n.d.). Art in Manufacturing Season 3. [online] Available at: https://festivalofmaking.co.uk/projects/art-in-manufacturing-season-3/#:~:text=Art%20in%20Manufacturing%20is%20the [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020].

galleryfumi.com. (n.d.). Gallery FUMI. [online] Available at: https://galleryfumi.com/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020].

Harrabin, R. (2021). “Right to repair” law to come in this summer. BBC News. [online] 10 Mar. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56340077.

Home – Marcel Wanders. (n.d.). Home – Marcel Wanders. [online] Available at: https://www.marcelwanders.com/.

Homepage. (n.d.). Homepage. [online] Available at: https://halo-collections.com/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020].

Hood Cattaneo, K. (2017). Telling Active Learning Pedagogies Apart: from theory to practice. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 6(2), pp.144–152.

ICA (2016). Charles Jencks: Adhocism. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSC24V0SHHE [Accessed 27 Nov. 2020]. something highly expressive of where the parts come from and what their previous history is.

Jencks, C.A. and Silver, N. (2013). Adhocism : the case for improvisation. London [Etc.] The Mit Press.

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2017). Brownfield Land Registers. [online] Gov.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/brownfield-land-registers.

Parsons, T. (2009a). Thinking : objects contemporary approaches to product design. Lausanne: Ava Book, p.2. With our increasing knowledge of the environmental crisis that we currently face and the constant reminders of how the manufacturing industry is adding to this, designers are under growing pressure to apply their skills ethically as well as aesthetically.

Parsons, T. (2009b). Thinking : objects contemporary approaches to product design. Lausanne: Ava Book, p.29. Allowing potential consumers to know about the creation of a product could be the first chapter in such a narrative, but one that is often overlooked by manufacturers in favour of an often-fictional advertising scenario. Those companies (and designers) who are willing to be open about their methods increase the possibility of consumers becoming attached to their products.

Parsons, T. (2009c). Thinking: Objects: Contemporary approaches to product design. Ava Publishing Sa, p.44. We are yet to explore fully the ways in which forms and materials can reflect our fragile reality rather than our fictional perfection. As new high-tech materials replace the old we are losing enduring qualities of wear and patina. Rapid prototyping technologies – initially used to aid product development – are being turned towards producing finished products.

Parsons, T. (n.d.). Tim Parsons. [online] timparsons.info. Available at: http://timparsons.info/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2021].

Perl, J. (2017). How Alexander Calder Became America’s Most Beloved Sculptor. [online] Smithsonian. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/alexander-calder-became-americas-most-beloved-sculptor-180964773/.

Pöllänen, S.H. (2011). International Journal of Education Through Art, 7(2), pp.111–125. Satisfaction from accomplishing something successfully supports the individual’s sense of uniqueness, as it strengthens the pupil’s identity as an independent actor and creates a positive self-image. Self-expressive tasks that call for insight into different life situations and cultures create a better understanding of the variety of different cultures and human experiences. Finally, as a consequence of an improved self-esteem, craft as self-expression can increase the joy of living.

ResearchGate. (n.d.). (PDF) Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments: On Morals and Why They Matter to a Liberal Society of Free People and Free Markets. [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4902246_Adam_Smith [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020].

richardsweeney.co.uk (n.d.). About. [online] Richard Sweeney. Available at: https://www.richardsweeney.co.uk/about.

Smith, K.A. (n.d.). When Heineken Bottles Were Square. [online] Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-heineken-bottles-were-square-62138490/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020].

The Children’s Commissioner Office (2021). Children’s Commissioner for England. [online] Children’s Commissioner for England. Available at: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/.

The Future Perfect. (n.d.). Our Story. [online] Available at: https://www.thefutureperfect.com/about/our-story-2/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020].

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2021). Joseph Rowntree Foundation. [online] Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAjwz_WGBhA1EiwAUAxIccQmnl9b7U7DpxShoUVf1pBOknmtwUQA_LgWSCWcjhl-bAoKagAf2RoC95gQAvD_BwE [Accessed 1 Jul. 2021].

The Trussell Trust (2021). JOIN ME IN THE FIGHT FOR A HUNGER FREE FUTURE. [online] The Trussell Trust. Available at: https://www.trusselltrust.org/hunger-free-future/join-us/?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=CjwKCAjwz_WGBhA1EiwAUAxIcUhzF6Np4uRdn3Y389YUZELhEm7dhvvSjiHIPO8QxtS0LUo64AIgyhoCdqEQAvD_BwE [Accessed 1 Jul. 2021].

Trentmann, F. (2016). Frank Trentmann: How Humans Became “Consumers.” [online] The Atlantic. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/11/how-humans-became-consumers/508700/.

Vitsoe.com. (2019). Good design | About us | Vitsœ. [online] Available at: https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/good-design.

Winter and Kurth. (n.d.). Winter and Kurth. [online] Available at: http://www.winterandkurth.com/.

wrap.org.uk. (2013). WRAP and the circular economy | WRAP UK. [online] Available at: https://www.wrap.org.uk/about-us/about/wrap-and-circular-economy.

http://www.kadenze.com. (n.d.). Making Meaning: An Introduction to Designing Objects, Part I | Kadenze. [online] Available at: https://www.kadenze.com/courses/making-meaning-an-introduction-to-designing-objects-part-i/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2021].

http://www.mirandawatkins.com. (n.d.). miranda watkins. [online] Available at: http://www.mirandawatkins.com/index.html [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020].

Reading List (Professional Platforms)

Bennett, M. (2016). 5 Common PhD Myths | FindAPhD.com. [online] http://www.FindAPhD.com. Available at: https://www.findaphd.com/advice/blog/1487/5-common-phd-myths [Accessed 19 Mar. 2021].

Bridgestock, L. (2016). The Truth Behind 7 Common PhD Myths. [online] Top Universities. Available at: https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/truth-behind-7-common-phd-myths [Accessed 18 Mar. 2021].

GOV.UK. (n.d.). Doctoral Loan. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/doctoral-loan [Accessed 18 Mar. 2021].

Grant, A. (2016). The surprising habits of original thinkers. [online] http://www.ted.com. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_the_surprising_habits_of_original_thinkers?language=en#t-8957 [Accessed 18 Mar. 2021].

Guide for Staff and PGR Ethics Applications. (n.d.).

Jeffries, S. (2020). Can craft help solve the mental health crisis? [online] http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk. Available at: https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/stories/can-craft-help-solve-mental-health-crisis [Accessed 19 May 2021].

Jencks, C.A. and Silver, N. (2013). Adhocism : the case for improvisation. London [Etc.] The Mit Press.

Killeya, M. (2006). Eleven myths about PhDs debunked. [online] New Scientist. Available at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18925392-200-eleven-myths-about-phds-debunked/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2021]. Choosing a supportive supervisor is crucial. But there are ways to cut down the risk of picking a dud.

First, do a bit of digging in advance. When you visit a department, ask to talk privately to other members of the team, says David King, professor of physical chemistry at Cambridge and chief scientific adviser to the UK government. “Does their supervisor show a concern for their development as research scientists? Or are the PhD students simply fodder for the research reputation of the supervisor?” Find out what other support there is too, King says. You might need to turn to other PhD students or postdocs for help..

Klingelfuss, J. (2021). How to support social enterprises promoting craft skills. [online] http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk. Available at: https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/stories/how-to-support-social-enterprises-promoting-craft-skills [Accessed 28 Apr. 2021].

Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (2021). Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework 2021 Refresh. [online] Available at: https://lancashirelep.co.uk/publications-documents/ [Accessed 19 May 2021].

Lancaster University (2009). Lancaster University Research Ethics and Research Governance at Lancaster: a code of practice. Available at: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/arts-and-social-sciences/research/ethics-guidance-and-ethics-review-process/ [Accessed 16 May 2021].

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of perception. [online] London: Routledge. Available at: http://repository.fue.edu.eg/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/3346/355.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed 1 Apr. 2021].

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2002). Flow: The Psychology of Happiness. London: Ebury Publishing.

Moylan, M.M., Carey, L.B., Blackburn, R., Hayes, R. and Robinson, P. (2013). The Men’s Shed: Providing Biopsychosocial and Spiritual Support. Journal of Religion and Health, 54(1), pp.221–234.

Nature (2020). Equality and diversity efforts do not “burden” research — no matter what the UK government says, [online] 586(7831), pp.643–643. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03027-4 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2021].

North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership. (n.d.). Funding for Prospective Students. [online] Available at: http://www.nwcdtp.ac.uk/funding-prospective-students/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2021].

Smith, D.W. (2018). Phenomenology. Summer 2018 ed. [online] Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/phenomenology/#:~:text=Phenomenology%20is%20the%20study%20of [Accessed 1 Apr. 2021]. Phenomenology studies conscious experience as experienced from the subjective or first person point of view. This field of philosophy is then to be distinguished from, and related to, the other main fields of philosophy: ontology (the study of being or what is), epistemology (the study of knowledge), logic (the study of valid reasoning), ethics (the study of right and wrong action), etc.

University, L. (n.d.). Ethics guidance and ethics review process | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | Lancaster University. [online] http://www.lancaster.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/arts-and-social-sciences/research/ethics-guidance-and-ethics-review-process/#introduction [Accessed 23 May 2021].

University, M.M. (n.d.). Funders and guidelines, Manchester Metropolitan University. [online] Manchester Metropolitan University. Available at: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/research/staff/developing-your-research/funders-and-guidelines/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2021].

http://www.FindAPhD.com. (n.d.). PhD Funding in 2019 – An Introduction | FindAPhD.com. [online] Available at: https://www.findaphd.com/funding/guides/phd-funding-guide.aspx.

http://www.FindAPhD.com. (2017). Writing a Good PhD Research Proposal | FindAPhD.com. [online] Available at: https://www.findaphd.com/advice/finding/writing-phd-research-proposal.aspx?source=bg [Accessed 23 May 2021].

http://www.lancaster.ac.uk. (n.d.). Writing a research proposal. [online] Available at: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/writing-a-research-proposal/ [Accessed 23 May 2021].

http://www.postgrad.com. (n.d.). Common PhD Myths | Advice | Postgrad.com. [online] Available at: https://www.postgrad.com/advice/phd/common_phd_myths/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2021].

http://www.ukri.org. (n.d.). Apply for funding – UKRI. [online] Available at: https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2021].

http://www.vitae.ac.uk. (n.d.). About the Vitae Researcher Development Framework — Vitae Website. [online] Available at: https://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers-professional-development/about-the-vitae-researcher-development-framework.

Reading List (PhD)proposal as part of Professional Platforms).

Corsin Jimenez, A. and Antony’s College, S. (2001). The Becoming of Space: A Geography of Liminal Practices of the City of Antofagasta, Chile.

Costa, P. (2017). From urban amnesia to creative reuse: the paradigm shift in the understanding of obsolete spaces in Lisbon The Obsolete and the City: interim reuse as a tool for urban planning View project.

Jencks, C.A. and Silver, N. (2013). Adhocism : the case for improvisation. London [Etc.] The Mit Press.

Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (2021). Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework 2021 Refresh. [online] Lancashire Enterprise Partnership. Available at: https://lancashirelep.co.uk/publications-documents/ [Accessed 19 May 2021].

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2002). Flow: The Psychology of Happiness. London: Ebury Publishing.

Moylan, M.M., Carey, L.B., Blackburn, R., Hayes, R. and Robinson, P. (2013). The Men’s Shed: Providing Biopsychosocial and Spiritual Support. Journal of Religion and Health, 54(1), pp.221–234.

Mullagh, L., Walker, S. and Evans, M. (2019a). Fabricación in situ: diseño para la sustentabilidad en pequeñas empresas fabricantes. RChD: creación y pensamiento, 4(7).

Mullagh, L., Walker, S. and Evans, M. (2019b). Living Design. The future of sustainable maker enterprises: a case study in Cumbria. The Design Journal, 22(sup1), pp.849–862.

Schulze Bäing, A. and Wong, C. (2012). Brownfield Residential Development: What Happens to the Most Deprived Neighbourhoods in England? Urban Studies, 49(14), pp.2989–3008.

Smith, C. (2018a). Looking for Liminality in Architectural Space DIY Architecture and DIY Urbanism View project.

Smith, C.D. (2014). Handymen, Hippies and Healing: Social Transformation through the DIY Movement (1940s to 1970s) in North America. Architectural Histories, 2(1), p.2.

Smith, D.W. (2018b). Phenomenology. Summer 2018 ed. [online] Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/phenomenology/#:~:text=Phenomenology%20is%20the%20study%20of [Accessed 1 Apr. 2021]. Phenomenology studies conscious experience as experienced from the subjective or first person point of view. This field of philosophy is then to be distinguished from, and related to, the other main fields of philosophy: ontology (the study of being or what is), epistemology (the study of knowledge), logic (the study of valid reasoning), ethics (the study of right and wrong action), etc.

Walker, S. (2019). Design realities : creativity, nature and the human spirit. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, p.114. Whether accomplished or inept, repairing things is not so prevalent today. We live in a culture of disposal and replacement in which consumption has superseded conservation. This is not an intelligent development. Despite the continually reinforced illusion that the shiny, the latest and the next automatically possess intrinsic value, this is not progress.

Walker, S. and Evans, M. (2020). What Drives Organizations to Employ Design-Driven Approaches? A Study of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Brand Development View project Academy for Design Innovation Management | 2019 London View project.

Walker, S., Evans, M. and Mullagh, L. (2019). Meaningful practices: The contemporary relevance of traditional making for sustainable material futures. Craft Research, 10(2), pp.183–210.

Reading List (Options Unit – City/Museum)

Arnott, J. (2017). The Resourcefulness of Craft: Whole House Reuse. The Journal of Modern Craft, 10(1), pp.59–71.

Baudelaire, C. and Charvet, P.E. (2010). The painter of modern life. London: Penguin.

Chamberlain, L. (2019). Heidegger: An Aristotle of the Village? The Journal of Modern Craft, 12(1), pp.3–12.

Debord, G. (2016). Society of the spectacle. Detroit, Michigan: Black & Red.

Huyssen, A. (1995a). Twilight Memories: Marking Time in a Culture of Amnesia. 2nd ed. [online] New York: Routledge, p.15. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/mmu/reader.action?docID=1075033 [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020]. the museum emerged as the paradigmatic institution that collects, salvages and preserves that which has fallen to the ravages of modernization.

Huyssen, A. (1995b). Twilight Memories: Marking Time in a Culture of Amnesia. 2nd ed. [online] New York: Routledge, p.175. Available at: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/mmu/detail.action?docID=1075033. [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020]. “that simulation has replaced production at the center of our social system, that contemporary culture has gone beyond the classical Marxist use value/exchange value distinction.”

Jörg Niemann, Serge Tichkiewitch and Engelbert Westkämper (2009). Design of Sustainable Product Life Cycles. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, p.56. The utilisation of reusable components offers high utilisation efficiency as a whole. As a result, a new life with conservation of the material and (at least a part of) the economic value of a product can begin once again.

Pearce, S. (1995). On Collecting: An Investigation into Collecting in the European Tradition. 1st ed. [online] New York: Routledge, p.41. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/mmu/reader.action?docID=1517530 [Accessed 9 Apr. 2020]. Industrialisation is a number of things, but one of its clearest characteristics is an immense proliferation of material goods. It is of the essence of the capitalist system – part of the cluster of modernist European features – to produce goods in order to stimulate acquisition, and so the production of more goods, in a cycle of which the most visible manifestations are the contents of shops and homes, including the collected material within those homes.

slowlab.net. (n.d.). Slow Research Lab. [online] Available at: https://slowlab.net/ [Accessed 9 Feb. 2020].

Stein, J.A. (2019). The Production of Toolboxes and Hand Tools in Industrial Craft Apprenticeship. The Journal of Modern Craft, 12(3), pp.233–254.

Walker, S. (2019). Design realities : creativity, nature and the human spirit. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, p.30. Odd pieces of wood, leather or glass, short lengths of cord or wire, bits of metal, unused fasteners, scraps of fabric – their very arbitrariness in size and shape, and their juxtaposition can stimulate fresh thinking. Keeping leftover materials and finding new uses for them is not only a good way of minimising waste, it is also a good way of breaking free from predetermined approaches and jolting the mind out of linear, methodical modes of thought.

Weinstock, K. (2014). RE-ARRANGING THE WORLD found objects & the collection PRE-AND POST- INTERNET.

What3words.com. (2019). About us | what3words. [online] Available at: https://what3words.com/about-us/.

Reading List (Practice 1)

ATTIC DC. (n.d.). Sale ! Vintage welding mask forney arc welders sold throughout the world metal sculpture engine 1950s 1960s rare by AntiqueApartment from Antique Apartment of Vancouver, WA | ATTIC. [online] Available at: https://attic.city/item/oMCD/sale-vintage-welding-mask-forney-arc-welders-sold-throughout-the-world-metal-sculpture-engine-1950s-1960s-rare-by-antiqueapartment/antique-apartment [Accessed 6 Sep. 2020].

Burns, J., Gibbons, C., Rosemberg, C. and Yair, K. (2012). Craft in an Age of Change. : Arts Council of Wales.

Crawford, M. (2011). The case for working with your hands or Why office work is bad for us and fixing things feels good. London: Penguin.

Darwin, C. (2019). On The Origin Of Species. S.L.: Natural History Museum.

Dormer (1997a). The culture of craft : status and future. Manchester ; New York: Manchester University Press.

Dormer (1997b). The culture of craft : status and future. Manchester ; New York: Manchester University Press, p.112. The vernacular is premised on the pre- and non-industrial. It often entails the invention of legendary lands untouched by the world of industry and technology. It has provided the vision of craft as redundant technology, with its intellectual underpinning in unashamed nostalgia.

Franklin, K. and Till, C. (2018a). Radical matter : rethinking materials for a sustainable future. London: Thames & Hudson, p.10. While there is everything to gain from looking forwards and planning for a better future, there is also much to learn from looking backwards – and, indeed, from looking sideways and re-evaluating what we already have.

Franklin, K. and Till, C. (2018b). Radical matter : rethinking materials for a sustainable future. London: Thames & Hudson, p.124. Launched in 2015, FrankenToyMobile is a pedal powered maker space that provides free hands-on workshops that invite children and adults to reuse and modify old toys, which turns public spaces into opportunities for community-based creative experiences.

Gowlett, J.A.J. (2016). The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1696), p.20150164.

Harper, G. (2019). Crafting interest. Creative Industries Journal, 12(2), pp.157–158.

Idov, M. and Bela Shayevich (2011). Made in Russia: Unsung Icons of Soviet Design. New York: Rizzoli, p.7. By 1962 the USSR’s highest executive body, the Council of Ministers, came out with a thesis: “On improving the Quality of Industrial Products gand Cultural-Domestic Goods Through Implementation of Methods of Artistic Construction.” These “methods of artistic construction” meant, for the lack of a term in the Russian lexicon, “design.” The same revolution created VNIITE, the All-Union Technical Aesthetics Research Institute. By 1964, VNIITE had half a dozen branches and its own rather stylish magazine, Technical Aesthetics, whose distribution peaked at an impressive 30,000 copies..

Jörg Niemann, Serge Tichkiewitch and Engelbert Westkämper (2009a). Design of Sustainable Product Life Cycles. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, p.56. The utilisation of reusable components offers high utilisation efficiency as a whole. As a result, a new life with conservation of the material and (at least a part of) the economic value of a product can begin once again.

Jörg Niemann, Serge Tichkiewitch and Engelbert Westkämper (2009b). Design of Sustainable Product Life Cycles. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, p.100. Consequently, the product can be improved, extended or utilised to perform completely new tasks.

Mills, R. (1973). Young outsiders. Unwin Brothers Limited, p.39. they are really beautiful things.

Narelle Yabuka (2012). Up-cycle! : more than 100 upcycling ideas for furniture, lighting, products, and accessories! Berkerly, Ca: Gingko Press.

Price, B. (2000). Running a workshop. 3rd ed. London: Crafts Council, p.75. Finally, be certain that the space is one you will be happy working in. Given that you are likely to spend long hours there a dark, damp space, which seems a bargain because of its low rent, may turn out to be a bad investment if you begin to find it depressing.

Tanner, A. (2010). Batch ; Craft, Design and Product : the Work of the Designer Maker. London: A & C Black, p.35. Sustainability plays an important role in contemporary design, and this is most explored through furniture. Using products which leave a lasting footprint through design rather than manufacture is at the heart of many designs, whilst materials are used which have less impact on the environment. The furniture designer is a materials empathiser and a constructionist playing with materials.

The Jungle Book. (1967). [Film] Burbank, California: Buena Vista Distributions.

Thomas, S. (n.d.). Six ways to be a more sustainable design practice. [online] Viaduct Furniture. Available at: https://www.viaduct.co.uk/journal/design-stories/6-ways-to-be-a-sustainable-design-practice [Accessed 18 Jun. 2020]. Approximately 80% of a product’s environmental impact is “locked in” at the concept design stage, giving a clear case for designers to be agents for positive change..

Vladimir Arkhipov (2012). Home-made Europe : Contemporary Folk Artifacts. London Murray & Sorrell, p.10. I bought up lots of cheap scrap iron and I took it to a blacksmith. At the time they didn’t sell ladders in the shops. We could buy one made from wood, but they didn’t sell any made from iron. And it was cheaper. I’ve kept it ever since. I mean, it’s still useful for other things. (Guijelm Paci, Tirana, Albania. 1974.

Walker, S. (2019a). Design realities : creativity, nature and the human spirit. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, p.30. Odd pieces of wood, leather or glass, short lengths of cord or wire, bits of metal, unused fasteners, scraps of fabric – their very arbitrariness in size and shape, and their juxtaposition can stimulate fresh thinking. Keeping leftover materials and finding new uses for them is not only a good way of minimising waste, it is also a good way of breaking free from predetermined approaches and jolting the mind out of linear, methodical modes of thought.

Walker, S. (2019b). Design realities : creativity, nature and the human spirit. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, pp.59–60. But in our enthusiasm for the latest novelty, we too readily forgot many culturally important practices and the context-related customs and knowledge they embodied, all of which came to be seen as outdated, uneconomic and backward.
Today, however, surrounded by the digitally created sterility of much contemporary material culture, we hanker after the authentic, the handmade, and the appeal of the human touch. This is perfectly understandable because there is a natural affinity to this kind of work – this less precise but more singular aesthetic. But with the waning of its traditional, purposeful role, craft has faced a difficult time and something of an existential dilemma. One result of this has been the rise of a new kind of craft endeavour – the production of beautifully finished but, essentially, pretentious kitsch for well-heeled, middle-class suburbia.

Walker, S. (2019c). Design realities : creativity, nature and the human spirit. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, p.106. A world of mass-produced goods and relentless advertising has made us hungry for tradition, authenticity and origins, but when it comes to material culture, it is not so easy to pin down what these terms actually mean. We may think they have something to do with tracing a practice back to its foundational source, but on closer examination one finds that there rarely is a foundational source, no single point at which a traditional practice can be said to have begun. Everything relates to what has gone before. Everything is derivative and is constantly changing, being adapted and responding to societal demands. In fact, this is at the very heart of tradition. If traditions fail to adapt, they quickly die or else become mere pastiches of themselves for the tourists. And yet, our search for origins is not a hiding to nothing even though it may be unable to provide an entirely satisfactory answer. It does suggest that our notions of tradition and authenticity are related to time and its passing.

Walker, S. (2019d). Design realities : creativity, nature and the human spirit. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, p.114. Whether accomplished or inept, repairing things is not so prevalent today. We live in a culture of disposal and replacement in which consumption has superseded conservation. This is not an intelligent development. Despite the continually reinforced illusion that the shiny, the latest and the next automatically possess intrinsic value, this is not progress.

Walker, S. (2019e). Design realities : creativity, nature and the human spirit. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, pp.114–115. Repair can be beautiful. It can actually improve the aesthetic experience of an object and make it something we especially cherish. The Japanese art of kintsugi is a traditional way of repairing broken ceramic with gold. Based in the wabi sabi aesthetic philosophy, it respects the pieces and sees beauty in age and imperfection. When an object bears the marks of time, the scars of its history and the repairs of its past, its appearance will hold a silent story – one that can be endlessly interpreted. Such an object is an invitation to the imagination. If we happen to know its past, it will take us back there – we will remember the mending and the sense of accomplishment. It is a uniquely satisfying task to work out how to fix something and to execute it well. And if we do not know its past, we can conjure a thousand stories and possibilities. In doing so – object by repaired object – we begin to re-enchant our world. We surround ourselves with quiet chronicles, we ease the burden of waste on the earth, and we add to the music of our lives.

Walker, S. (2019f). Design realities : creativity, nature and the human spirit. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, p.243. Meaning lies not in the object itself but in that to which it points.

Walker, S. (2019g). Design realities : creativity, nature and the human spirit. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, p.245. And it means creating products that are beneficial in terms of their function, aesthetics and endurance, as well as their collective impacts.

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