Meet The Makers
A special series of short films shining a light on the stories of some of Yorkshire's most remarkable and inspiring craftspeople. A Yorkshire Post collaboration with Nova Studios.
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00:00Just creating something out from mud.
00:08I think it's magic.
00:09I think humans are capable of magic.
00:12I like things that last and I like things that, you know, in 10 years they're not going
00:17to be sort of yesterday's news.
00:19They are generational skills which have to be passed on.
00:23If they go, they go.
00:24We have to be careful and mindful of that.
00:27We are living in a world where consumerism is just rammed down our throat.
00:31You choose quality garments, they should last you a lifetime.
00:57I really love getting out into the moors, I love fell running.
01:08That's a real sort of part of who I am.
01:11It feels amazing.
01:12You know, you're physically completely removed, suddenly you've got open skies and, you know,
01:16you've got mud and just stone around.
01:20You've literally left the valley, you know, you can't even see it.
01:23You can just kind of process thoughts if that's what you want to do or you can also
01:28just sort of be in the moment.
01:32Every run I come back and you just feel completely reset.
01:37I do feel a connection with ancient artefacts.
01:42I love going to like a British museum or something, you know, they've got these Roman rings,
01:46whatever, you know, that were made 2,000 years ago and it's essentially the same techniques
01:51that they're using.
01:52And I really like that.
01:55I mean, jewellery is one of the oldest art forms and original, you know, early jewellery
02:00was, you know, animal.
02:03It was teeth and bone, you know, and it's kind of getting, almost getting the power
02:07out of those animals into wearable objects.
02:12I think it's magic.
02:13I think humans are capable of magic.
02:16I think, you know, we can all go beyond what we do in our every day and just kind of get
02:23to a different place and it can help us through really hard times.
02:28I'm not saying that my jewellery can solve, you know, is magic, you know, you can't say,
02:32right, this is going to give you strength, you know.
02:35It comes from within.
02:37Nowadays, you know, objects can have power.
02:41It doesn't matter about how much they're worth, you know, it's about being human and
02:46it's about putting those things into an object.
02:49And I think the things that I make, they are for people who maybe want to feel something,
02:57you know, it's not just a pretty thing that they're going to wear, but it's something
03:01that's going to make them feel empowered.
03:04I was born in Somerset, but I moved to Wales when I was four.
03:11So we lived on a farm in Wales.
03:14I grew up there with my brothers, so my childhood was basically playing outside.
03:19It was learning names of animals and plants and trees and just making things.
03:24It was amazing childhood, didn't have much money, but, you know, we were kind of very
03:28happy and grubby in the fields.
03:33One of my earliest memories is lifting up a dock leaf and you get these dock leaf beetles,
03:39which are bright green, iridescent green, and that's one of my earliest memories on
03:43the farm.
03:44And it's lifting those up and it was just like a whole host of absolutely gorgeous little
03:49beetles underneath.
03:50And they've got little orange eggs.
03:52And for me, that was, that was incredible.
03:56So I've got two lovely kids and, you know, my life is built around them really.
04:03They both are creative and love nature as well.
04:08So that's brilliant.
04:10I love sharing that knowledge of natural history, you know, and trying to start an inquisitive
04:13mind.
04:14I just love exploring all of it.
04:26It's quite a personal thing.
04:29The garments that you wear is one of the first things that people see about you and I guess
04:33interpret your characteristics or your personality through your choice of clothing.
04:38And that has always interested me, that the emotion, the personality that clothes can
04:43bring out.
04:47Well, from as long as I can remember, I've been surrounded by creativity, by art.
04:53My grandparents, my maternal and paternal grandmothers taught me to sew and to knit
04:58from a very small age.
05:00And I always loved that garment construction and the making things with a piece of fabric,
05:05making things to wear.
05:06And I just absolutely fell in love with the idea of fashion.
05:10But during my time in industry, it always felt like it wasn't quite me.
05:16It was almost that something was missing.
05:20And I think that it was the more emotional side, it was the more questioning side.
05:25Going out on my own was a chance to be truthful to my own beliefs instead of sort of just
05:29going along with what is expected.
05:32We are living in a world where consumerism is just rammed down our throat.
05:36Nothing that you have is good enough, you always want the next thing.
05:39And it's wrong, it's so wrong.
05:42It's not healthy for us, it's not good for the environment, it's not good for the people
05:47who are producing these products.
05:48If you buy, if you choose quality garments, they should last you a lifetime.
05:53You shouldn't wear them twice and throw them out for the next sort of micro-season.
06:02Harriet Eccleston is meaningful, timeless, inclusive garments to be worn and treasured.
06:10I use predominantly cottons and wools produced in the UK.
06:15So it's a completely transparent process.
06:18Quality fabrics, they age so beautifully that they almost get better with time as well.
06:26Sheffield has always been a place that we'd come to, you know, growing up as a kid,
06:32to go to the galleries and experience a bit more art and culture.
06:39Callum Island's brilliant.
06:40You can be talking to somebody or you need something and there's a printer down the road
06:45or a metal worker or a sound engineer.
06:49And I love the heritage and the craftsmanship that is so deep-rooted.
06:54I guess the process I would say officially starts when you put pencil to paper in that sketching process.
07:01And I enjoy having just like lots of doodles or photographs or fabrics, watches or anything
07:06just out in front of me and start just sketching, sketching, sketching.
07:10I love a bit of a deeper, grittier design process than just going,
07:15I need to create a shirt and what's on trend.
07:18I mean, for example, like my shirts, they're all buttoned up the traditional menswear way.
07:23Now that dates back to men wearing swords and not having them catch on their lapels and things like that.
07:29Women's shirts are buttoned up the opposite way to men's so that they would,
07:34Small details like that can hold quite powerful messages as well,
07:37a sign of like independence and showing the world what you want to put out.
07:41I feel extremely fortunate that every day I get to do what I love,
07:47to have that creative freedom to pursue what I believe in and the way that
07:53I hope one day the fashion industry will work.
07:57I grew up on a council estate in Rotherham, there weren't really a lot to do.
08:01I started riding bikes when I was three years old.
08:03I think by the time I was five my grandmother died.
08:06So, before I was five I did all the roadside shopping.
08:09I think my family were in a normal household.
08:12And I was sleeping with my grandmother and my aunt and uncle and my uncle's wife,
08:17had to clean up the house and all that.
08:20And when we were talking to my aunt and uncle,
08:22do. I started riding bikes when I was three years old. I think by the time I was five,
08:26my grandad had taught me how to fix a puncture. It's something that I've just loved doing all
08:30my life really. I guess Feather Cycles is a unique experience. It's got a lot more to offer
08:41than just going to a bike shop and buying a bike. Not just the way that you buy the bike,
08:45but also the way that the bike will end up performing and feeling like it's a part of you
08:50when you're out on it. It matters a lot to me keeping things local, to be honest,
08:59before mass production became a thing. If you were someone who was serious about cycling,
09:04you went to your local frame builder and got a bike made.
09:11I like things that last, and I like things that in 10 years, they're not going to be yesterday's
09:17news. Normally, things that are well-made, they have this longevity to them as well,
09:23in terms of style or looks or whatever it is.
09:31A lot of my customers, they want something unique. They want something a bit different
09:34to what their mates have got. I was probably the first frame builder in the UK to really
09:39step it up a notch when it came to paint. Jack Johnson's my painter. He's based in Hull.
09:47I can give him a bit of a guideline of what I want from him.
09:51Because Jack's very creative as well, I can leave him to it.
10:00I'd rather listen to a record than an MP3. Coming out of proper speakers from an amp,
10:07that feeling of that sound is totally different.
10:09I've been able to provide people with something that's almost analog feeling like that,
10:15that in 10 years' time, won't be out of style. With the bike that I build, it's built to last
10:20a lifetime.
10:32We're spoilt for choice. I can go into the Dales. I can go into the Wolves. I can go into the North
10:35York Moors. I can ride on the flat going south. Yorkshire provides all of that.
10:44I always feel lucky. I never take it for granted. Because bike riding is what I love doing myself,
10:50being able to give that to other people, that's pretty special.
11:35you
12:06you
12:25Why do I love my pottery mosque? Well,
12:28um, just creating something out from mud. I think it's material is fantastic. It's so
12:38versatile and it's almost like limitless. Because you just make it out of just clay
12:44to make it something that you can, you know, enjoy every day. I think that's fantastic.
12:51I was born and bred in Japan. I was always interested in the arts, but
12:55it was quite a strict father. He didn't want me to go to pursue the art or go to the university
13:02in Japan because I'm a woman. There was no option for me. So I wanted to pursue some sort of art
13:08over here if I could. Quite a lot of people say that pottery is therapeutic because you're using
13:13the hands, you know, the five senses. I think the touch is a very important part and a very
13:18strong aspect of the five senses, isn't it? I do agree with that. But also for me, it's
13:24it's pure enjoyment. Ideas just comes up when you're not trying to think. It just comes up
13:34when you're in a bus walking, whatever. And then eventually will formulate how I want it.
13:42I want the pottery to be pretty much involved in a daily life. That's because my food cultures in
13:48Japan is quite deep, I think. I wanted to bring sort of my vision of tableware, my vision of a
13:55food culture over here. But if I bring it just a Japanese way, people won't be able to adapt it.
14:01So I started to make the shapes and the sort of collection of tableware in my vision of how
14:11people over here might be able to enjoy. Pottery carry the memories. For instance,
14:17you know, grandma always makes lasagna in this dish or in the Christmas time, you always use
14:24that. And if I can make something that part to their life, then I think that's very honourable
14:31things. My love of Yorkshire is the nature, because I always lived in cities. I like the
14:42space and I like the connection to the, well, outdoor, anything. It's like the trees, I can see
14:49the birds in the skies and just air is different. People's attitudes, more laid back. I feel more
14:58freer here. Pottery is just a pot, but it's more than a pot. I can actually connect to the people
15:08through my expressions, through the words I choose. It's a long process, pottery. It's not
15:13really a short process. You do this, you do that. It's so many stages. But knowing that this piece
15:20will be somebody's home and then they were cherishing it, it's a great feeling.
15:321968 when I started here, it was the first job I'd ever had. Well, the chap that
15:40interviewed me was Terry Busby. He was a compass adjuster and he was the director of the company.
15:48I told him what I could do and what I couldn't do. There was no, I didn't have any qualifications
15:53at all and that's what he took me on for because I was honest. It was real easy to learn off him
16:00because you respected the chap, you know, for what he'd done in his life.
16:07You could make an instrument from start to finish. You could start off with machining,
16:12then you went to finishing off, you did spraying, soldering, brazing, so you'd never get bored with
16:18it. I made a complete compass when I was 20. It was a great start to a career really.
16:25We used to get the captains coming in the shop. If they wanted something reliable,
16:31that, you know, he would say he wanted like a cook's compass. Then it got to the point where
16:37you got accountants running the boats and then they would go for the cheapest option.
16:43A lot of people retired from here. I've had to adapt from making compasses and take on the role
16:50of making sextants and repairing sextants. So it's not been boring for me, anything like that.
16:56You know, you've gone from one job to another, you know, to keep the company going.
17:01Well, Sylvester came here to update one of our computers.
17:06The motherboard wasn't fitting into the case that they had already. So I came upstairs to see Brian
17:13and then I was just asking him if he was able to just, you know, make a small, just to cut out the
17:20bit that wasn't fitting in. We wanted a hole cut in so he could plug this, I think it was a,
17:27what do you have, a summat card, wasn't it? He did the job so perfectly. So I was very impressed
17:33with how he did it and how quickly he did it. He sort of saw how it was done, didn't he? But,
17:38well, you know, I wouldn't like, I wouldn't mind doing that sort of thing. So when the opportunity
17:43came for me to maybe work with him, I was like, yes, yes, definitely. So there's Brian,
17:53and also Norman, who worked at the instrument department, and they both taught me everything
17:59they knew, because there's a lot of knowledge that was imparted to them
18:02by the people that came before them. You've got to be able to
18:09suss problems out. You've got to be able to operate machinery, you know, and know the rough background
18:16of how things are made. They started me off quite slow, and then slowly, slowly, he would move me
18:29onto a different job and, like, make me repeat the process so I get practiced.
18:35You've got to be able to turn on a lathe, do fitting, do drilling, do soldering, assembly,
18:45checking things over. So when you finish the article or the instrument, you've got to be able
18:51to see it working and test it for yourself, so you know it's right, or you know it's wrong.
18:57He's been in the job since he was very young, so everything is kind of built into his muscle
19:04memory. So he's very good at what he does, he's very practiced, and he's very professional.
19:10As a teacher, he's very patient, so learning from him is quite easy and enjoyable.
19:21I think part of what Brian wanted to do was passing on his knowledge, is for the knowledge
19:27to be passed forward. So it's only right that one day I do the same and pass it on to whoever would
19:35want that knowledge, and make sure, you know, it's kept alive. That's how we keep improving,
19:41by making sure the future generations have the knowledge that's passed down to us,
19:47and making sure that it keeps happening.
19:55What's the future for you? Are you good, like, do you ever see yourself?
19:58Well, that's a good one.
20:06I don't know, I won't be called up in the next war, that is a fact.
20:15I mean, I'm only 71 now, like, so I've got a good few years left. My father lived to be
20:21101, so I've got another 20 years left of me for working, I would think.
20:28LAUGHS
20:31MUSIC
20:54I've been here 24 years now, and I bought the company then from the family of John Gormley,
21:00who founded Tresk, back in the early 70s. He had a conviction that he could make furniture
21:05for Yorkshire people, with Yorkshire timber.
21:21He grew the company with trainees, they worked exactly where we are now. Some of them lived here,
21:27and local craftsmen came in to train them, and they gradually built up a skill in the business.
21:35Tresk is an important part of the community, we are a family business,
21:39everybody knows everybody here. They're loud, but that is Yorkshire, and it's a happy place to be.
21:47MUSIC
21:55There's a heritage of woodwork in this area. We're affected, the new kids on the block,
21:59but like any cluster of skills, it tends to bring other craftsmen into the area.
22:05And that also is because architects from York, who are well-connected in the church,
22:09would use makers from this area for their church commissions. So that legacy of quality timber for
22:15quality furniture with very good makers is still here, it's still strong, and it's one that we need
22:20to fight to preserve as well. Traditional skills are very, very important. It could be a blacksmith,
22:25it could be a stonemason, it could be anything like that. But these are people with skill,
22:29and the skill of being able to craft things in wood is a gift. And they are generational skills
22:35which have to be passed on. If they go, they go. And we have to be careful and mindful of that,
22:43otherwise we kind of forget our grounding in nature.
22:56These are the antiques that people will look for in the future, the things which are treasured
23:02for life. Customers come in and see their things happening, you get an amazing response when people
23:07come in to actually see the process, from the back door where the wood's delivered,
23:12how it's processed all the way through to the finishing. It's a really
23:17fulfilling thing that the more customer contact we have, the better.
23:23They become part of us, and from a personal point of view, they're what makes your heart tick.