Elizabeth Machin PR Blog

Artisan, the last word for luxury

4/11/2014

 
Craft is changing. Craft is luxury. Apparently, the new word is now artisan which, according to the fashionable superbrands is the last word for luxury. Artisanal has replaced couture, for hand-made-to-order design.

Well, Ochre has quietly been handmaking in an artisanal way for years. It’s just that the fashion brands have cottoned on to the fact that artisan doesn’t always mean rough and ready but instead is all about the beauty of understated luxury, the hallmark of Ochre.

To this cult brand craft simply means handmade with integrity.  Their clients are interested in the backstory and how each design is made. Take the Seed Cloud as an example of matchless craftsmanship in a London foundry. The Lost Wax process used to cast the hundreds of bronze stems which make up the Seed Cloud is a technique that dates back 5000 years. In a nutshell the journey of the cast-bronze buds involves the making of the silicon moulds, the pouring of the molten wax, the opening of the silicon moulds, the plaster moulds, the kiln, the bronze put to melt in the crucible, poured, and then finally the plaster mould hammered open to release the cast bronze stem. Only then can the soldering, finishing and assembling begin.

But the point is that Ochre designers invest time working alongside specialist craftsmen, exploring materials and traditional techniques in order to create beautiful, highly crafted and highly valued pieces that serve a contemporary sensibility.
Picture
At a time when we need craftspeople more than ever in order to create bespoke and luxurious pieces, this myopic government wants to remove crafts from its list of recognised creative industries.  Cameron and Osborne (Osborne & Little family!) are busy shuffling bits of paper around and will never create a thing in their lifetime.

The Crafts Council recently reported that craft skills contribute £3.4 billion to the economy, and this was according to research that for the first time measures the economic impact of thousands of small craft businesses in the UK. ‘Measuring the Craft Economy’ will hopefully make Ed Vaizey take note and ensure that craft’s value is reflected in official economic statistics.   Or is that Artisan’s…

ochre.net

craftscouncil.org.uk

Tweet


Comments are closed.

    Categories

    All
    Antique
    Christmas
    Colour
    Competition
    Craftwork
    Cushions
    Design
    Events
    Fabrics
    Fair
    Fashion
    Film
    Flooring
    Furniture
    Interiors
    Lamps
    News
    Pattern
    Plasterwork
    Sculpture
    Shopping
    Tartan
    Textiles
    Tiles


    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    August 2018
    May 2018
    October 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014



​© Elizabeth Machin PR 2019

​



  • Blog
  • Home
  • About
  • Clients
  • Projects
  • What We Do
  • Contact
  • Writing
  • Blog
  • Home
  • About
  • Clients
  • Projects
  • What We Do
  • Contact
  • Writing