For centuries
the beautiful Ironbridge Gorge
has been an inspiring destination – as well known for creativity as for
innovation and this tradition continues today. As a World Heritage Site the area
continues to attract people from across the globe, amongst them artists and
craftspeople that have chosen to settle here and let their creativity flourish
with workshops and retail outlets.
Many still use
the traditional skills and production techniques associated with the
manufacturing history of the area and a number are housed in sensitively adapted
original buildings and factories. The Ironbridge Gorge Museums have drawn on
this fantastic local talent and have developed a distinct retail brand, Made in
The Gorge, which features the works of some of the designers situated within the
very heart of the Ironbridge Gorge.
A small group
of high-end craftsmen and women produce delightful pieces for the ever-growing
collection and two new members are joining the brand in 2013 – Jenny Gunnings
and Adrian Reynolds. Jenny is an artist whose dramatic images of the local area
are beautifully bold and perfectly fuse the ethos of the natural landscape with
the local industrial heritage. Adrian is a metal-smith with years of experience
and he uses versatile materials and innovative design to create simply stunning
pieces of work.
Other
craftspeople and artists in the Made in The Gorge brand are the Blists Hill
Blacksmith (individually pulled, twisted and fire-welded pieces of metalwork),
Rachel Frost (a potter using bold and dynamic designs inspired by industrial
landscapes), Jonathon Harris (a passionate glass craftsman who specialises in
the ancient art of cameo & graal), Ralph Jandrell (a craftsman inspired by
the natural landscape of this dramatic wooded valley producing slip decorated
earthenware pieces), Blists Hill Foundry (a range of Victorian-inspired castings
produced by hand), Rex Key (a self-taught pipe maker producing a range of clay
tobacco pipes based on original moulds) and Kinki Glass (a glass artists
designing and creating contemporary pieces by combining elegant, dynamic form
with vibrant, intense colour).
The Made in
The Gorge range is available in five of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums’ shops, including the Gift Shop
in Ironbridge town which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this
year, as well as online at www.ironbridge.org.uk
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