Our very first Function and Form event took place on a dark and damp Saturday in November. Exactly the sort of weather that makes you peek out of the window only to decide that it’s best to stay in bed and off the grid. Exactly the sort of weather we didn’t want for our first event!
BUT clearly the lure of a lovely brunch combined with meeting a great group of like-minded people was just too tempting to pull the duvet back over your head and follow a hashtag. After all there’s no substitute for old school face time and human interaction.
It seems that our guests, partners and sponsors agreed and everybody turned up in plenty of time to get settled with a hot drink and sink back into the comfy sofas at the Forge & Co Cafe at Heal’s before our first guest speaker potter Jono Smart kicked off procedures and made everybody immediately feel at ease with his easy going chat and anecdotes about his journey into designing and making.
Starting out as a planner for an advertising agency before losing his heart (and almost his health) to garden design and finally arriving at his beautiful barn in rural Berkshire where his kiln is rarely empty and he keeps entertained with all manner of podcasts.
We were all taken by the simple shapes of his work in mostly natural colours. Rather unusually he likes to leave the outside matt and untreated, showing off the clay itself and making it warm to the touch which means that each piece will change slowly over time, showing the marks of day to day life.
An inspiring journey and one that makes you realise it’s never too late to start afresh.
A sentiment our second guest speaker Sarah Quinn from Enrich and Endure could empathise with. She started a homewares company with her brother Lorcan back in 2013 with a view to reviving the local Northern Irish linen industry combining modern designs with traditional craftsmanship.
However, after their first collection they soon found a disconnection between their high end product and customers and eventually decided to start afresh with a product they can truly relate to: Aprons! A product that was under their nose all along through their passion for food and coffee in particular.
Linen is one of the toughest fibres on the planet and makes absolute sense as a fabric for aprons which Enrich and Endure have rebranded as the Makers Uniform. No matter how many times you rub your hands on it or wash it, it just gets better with age.
Both Sarah and Jono engaged and enthralled our guests with their passion and commitment to their craft and product and provided plenty of material for discussion during brunch afterwards.
It was such a pleasure to see everybody having a good time, making new connections and talking about their passions and experiences, whilst taking note of our table styling and busy spreading the word via social media with the hashtag #WeAreFunctionAndForm.
A special thank you has to go to our wonderful sponsors, online community at{mine} who believed in and supported our idea from the word go. Not to forget the generosity of our partners who had faith in us and happily provided products for our styling, namely linen napkins from 31 Chapel Lane, concrete planters and greenery from Concrete Jungles and Hole&Corner Magazine who share our passion for independent design and craftsmanship.
Tiff and I couldn’t be happier to see this budding community of like minds and can’t wait to bring you the next one in Spring 2016.
If this sounds like your cup of tea drop us a line via the contact form on the website. We’d love to hear from you.
MORE INFORMATION | Function+Form
PHOTOGRAPHY | Tiffany Grant-Riley
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