Articles in: Interviews

My Watering Hole-and-Corner with…Nicholas Balfe, HOLM Somerset

We catch up with Nicholas Balfe, the co-founder and chef director behind HOLM in Somerset, which opened its doors in November 2021. Alongside HOLM, Balfe and the team are known for the celebrated South London restaurants Levan and Larry’s. Located in a former bank in the honey hued village of South Petherton, opening HOLM led Balfe to relocate to the South West to oversee the project and head up the kitchen. Developing strong connections with local suppliers and producers, HOLM has quickly established a place for itself within the community.

H&C Summer Makers’ Residency, Week VI

Six or seven years ago, intrigued by the prospect of combining his creative side with something more practical, Jack Tolly gave up his job in the music industry to begin a joinery course at the Building Crafts College in Stratford, East London. Since finishing, he has worked as a carpenter, designing and making furniture for both public and private spaces, as well as products for online brands. Some of his more niche projects include making wooden model theatres for an old toy shop in central London and a recent commission to make a bespoke toilet seat.

Meet the couple who brought craft and making to Glastonbury... and kept it there

When Michael Eavis asks you if you fancy organising a craft field at the biggest (and best) festival in the world, you don’t say no. Rewind 30 years, and that’s exactly what happened to Nic and Marie Piper, co-founders of what is now known as The Greencrafts Village. Hole & Corner were lucky to attend this year’s Glastonbury Festival, to meet Nic and Marie and report on the field. Jade Shone-Sanders met the craftspeople who make this little corner of Glastonbury so special. She even managed to try her hand at thatching, weaving, and stone carving along the way.

Meet the makers at Glastonbury’s Greencrafts Village

Nestled on the hillside of The Green Fields, just beyond the legendary off-grid entertainment hub, Croissant Neuf, and below the Stone Circle’s sacred space, The Greencrafts Village at Glastonbury Festival is a haven of peace and tranquility. After a bit of a hike up the hill, you’re rewarded with some of the best views over the festival, and a sensory adventure. Large-scale sculptures are scattered around the space – giant circular silk flags fluttering in the wind, towering crochet flowers and willow-woven sculptures offering hugs to passing visitors. Quiet but lively, chatter rumbles through the field, echoed by the gentle tapping, peddling and grinding of the field’s workshops. Robin Wood has been taking his woodturning workshops to the Greencrafts Village for decades, while for backstrap loom weaver Sara Kelly it was their first time. We talked to some of the makers sharing their skills at The Greencrafts Village this year.

H&C Summer Makers’ Residency, Week III: Christabel Balfour

The third maker to join us for our summer Makers’ Residency programme is Christabel Balfour, an artist and weaver living and working in East London. After starting to weave as a child on a toy loom, Balfour went on to study at Camberwell College of Art and the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, where she made large-scale woven sculptures. Since graduating Balfour has progressed into more classical practices, specialising in tapestry and rug weaving. She established her own studio in 2015 and, more recently, a successful weaving school, Balfour & Co Weaving School, where she runs workshops and online courses.

In the Studio with...  Henrietta Hoyer Millar

Inspired by the varying shapes and shades of her surroundings, Henrietta Hoyer Millar paints exquisite landscapes from her studio in Dorset. Her use of paint is experimental and open to accident as oil is applied in varying thicknesses and then wiped, scratched or smudged across gessoed panels; a quality that reflects the unpredictable effects of nature itself. For her 10th solo exhibition at the Long and Ryle gallery in London, Millar shows a greater interest in light, exploring the power it holds over the landscape, and how that can change day by day or even moment by moment.

Hole & Corner x Marfa Stance: Bisila Noha

Bisila Noha is a Spanish London-based ceramic artist. With her work she aims to challenge Western views on art and craft; to question what we understand as productive and worthy in capitalist societies; and to reflect upon the idea of home and oneness pulling from personal experiences in different pottery communities.

Hole & Corner x Marfa Stance: Craig Bamford

In 2009 Craig Bamford set up SASA Works as a workshop based architectural practice embedding the knowledge of traditional craftsmanship and 'hands on processes' into contemporary designs. Through the practice he designs and makes at all scales, sculpture, objects, furniture and much of the architectural spaces. Each scale of work informs the other….soulful collections and spaces, for the landscape of life.

Hole & Corner x Marfa Stance: Wilder Botanics

Wilder Botanics was inspired by former model Rachel Landon’s  20 years of clinical practice as a naturopath and herbalist. As a model, Landon worked and travelled long hours and the pressure to always look her best and keep a pleasant attitude meant that maintaining a healthy alignment with her inner and outer self was often challenging. Landon embarked on fully learning about natural medicine, eventually becoming a qualified Naturopath Iridologist and Master Herbalist while raising her family. Since 2018 she has run Wilder Botanics with her partner Charlie and a small team from a studio in west London.

Hole & Corner x Marfa Stance: Orsola de Castro

Orsola de Castro is an opinion leader in sustainable fashion, a mentor, curator and author. She is the founder of Estethica, the sustainable fashion showcase she started in 2006 and recently relaunched as a creative consultancy and education platform. In 2013 she co-founded Fashion Revolution, now the world’s largest fashion activism movement with teams in over 80 countries. She is a lecturer at Central Saint Martins, Middlesex University and University of East London. De Castro’s first book, Loved Clothes Last, was published by Penguin Life in 2021 and has been translated into Italian, French and German.

In the Studio with... potter and writer Julian Stair

From porcelain cups to monumental jars that sit at over 6 feet tall, Julian Stair’s work traverses scale and material whilst maintaining a distinct style of its own. Characterised for its subtle colour palette and minimal finish, his work has gained international reputation and is currently held in over 30 collections worldwide. In his latest solo exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich, Stair’s new work was created in response to the global pandemic and shines a spotlight on how society addresses death.

The atelier on top of the world

The first yak khullu atelier in the Tibetan Plateau, Norlha was founded by Kim and Dechen Yeshi in 2007 in the nomad settlement of Ritoma village. Norlha’s 130 indigenous craftspeople have spun, woven and felted for generations and, by combining their ancient skills and traditional tools with modern technology imported from India and Nepal, its artisans create sustainable luxury products inspired by and in harmony with their natural surroundings, while supporting the local community. We spoke to the mother-and-daughter Yeshi team about their workshop on the roof of the world.

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