Author: Hebden Bridge Open Studios

I am a jeweller based in Linden Mill, Hebden Bridge. I work predominantly in silver with the occasional gemstone thrown in. My journey into jewellery making began when my life took an unexpected turn, finding a course and learning this new skill was a silver lining in otherwise difficult circumstances. As soon as I made my first silver ring I fell in love with the alchemy of it all and my business grew from there.

As I studied History at university, jewellery making seemed like a random departure from my planned route into journalism. However growing up I was always drawn to both academic and creative subjects – I guess my creative side won out! As a child I collected treasures (often shiny things!) and I loved making things. My mum was also an artist so that influenced me greatly and it was my mum that suggested I try jewellery making.

My work is inspired by all sorts of things from Minimalism as an art movement to natural forms like the moon. My love of history has crept its way back in, in the form of my latest collection ‘Ancient Alchemy’. I studied the jewellery of ancient civilisations such as Egypt, Greece, Roman and Celt and noticed shared design elements such as twisted wire and decorative beads. Jewellery design then was not just about adornment but was often amuletic too. I have incorporated these elements in my own designs, hand making my own twisted wire. I also liked the idea of creating pieces that look like treasure that has recently been unearthed, so I sought to create an archaic feel to the silver.

I try to work as sustainably as possible, using recycled and recyclable packaging. Recently suppliers have moved to creating more bullion in recycled metal, so I would say 90% of my work is now made from recycled sterling silver.

Visit Annie’s page for contact details and links.

Painting makes me happy but it frustrates me too. One moment I know exactly what I’m doing, the next I’m lost. And that’s the joy of it, the shaky tightrope that I walk to get to the place where it just feels right.

Living on the hilltops above Hebden Bridge, my subject matter surrounds me. I do not have to go far to be excited by mist or a disappearing horizon. The trees, the light, the topography, the weather and the vegetation in all seasons are noticed. The lively wind is frequently present and the shifting conditions challenge me.

Mostly, the paintings are in acrylic or mixed media and include printed papers or fabric for texture/interest. I like to use a variety of surfaces: stretched canvas, braced boards and pre-prepared panels.

My studio is normally on the top floor of Linden Mill in Hebden Bridge but I have temporarily decamped onto the ground floor in the old Gallery. That’s where I’ll be for the next Open Studios event in December. I’m hoping that it won’t be too long before I can return to my old studio under the skylight windows on the top floor. The brightness and clarity of light up there is a delight.

Visit Anna’s page for contact details and links.

Photos of Anna by Lucy Cartwright

There’s a particular moment of excitement, and sometimes trepidation, as I stand in front of my canvas, brush loaded and poised for that first mark. It might be in my studio, on a beach or up in the hills, that frisson is always there and manifests itself in the hover – the hanging over the canvas, bobbing the brush tip up and down like a snooker player lining up a shot – then the dart and sweep of the first marks.

I rarely start a painting with slow, measured marks, painstakingly plotting every line. I like to dive in, start big with the key lines and shapes, and get moving paint around as quickly as possible. Themes mostly relate to a sense of place; physically, in respect of landscape derived work; and in a more philosophical or spiritual sense in the way people and society interact with each other and the place.

One thing remains consistent. Authenticity. It has to be about a place that means something to me. Much of my work is about the Lancashire landscape. I lived for ten years on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Barrowford, which was a rich source of inspiration. I am often drawn to Pendle and the Bowland Fells, the subject of numerous paintings in recent years. Most recently, because of my circumstances caring for parents, ambitious painting projects have been difficult, so I have tended to do a lot of drawing. I sketch everywhere I go but now do more at home in my studio. I have made a range of ink drawings of birds on local maps which still adhere to the principles I’ve described.

I have been involved in using art as a tool for youth engagement, mental health support and tackling isolation, much of this has been with the Bowland Forest AONB. As a former Primary Headteacher I have a range of skills beyond the art which have helped me deliver successful school projects across the North of England.

Visit Keith’s page for contact details and links.

I am a Finnish born illustrator and designer, creating magical art inspired by nature, folk art and fairytales.

Nature has been my mentor and muse since I was little. My days were spent in the forest next to our house in Finland, where I created magical landscapes out of found objects and made up fantastical fairytale worlds in my mind. Now, whilst living in UK, I use those memories, as well as the beautiful landscape here, as my inspiration for my creations. My 9 year old daughter also loves drawing and we often create our illustrations together.

I am a child at heart and love experimenting. I have worked with many different art mediums in the past; from ceramics to jewellery to paper. I think as artists, we need to be able to play with many things, in order to grow creatively. These days I mainly make illustrations for paper crafts and stationery, as well logos and branding for companies. My latest love is creating repeating patterns for wallpaper and fabric, which enables me to convey a story in a completely different format. My first quilting fabric collection, with my illustrated star signs, is coming out by QT Fabrics in Summer 2023.

Even though I work a lot digitally, most of my designs start as hand-drawn lines, because I love the feel of organic materials. There is always an element of magic and enchantment present in my work, because the world for me is multifaceted and fascinating – it is a blessing to be able to convey the world’s beauty through artistic means.

Being brought up so close to nature, I am conscious of my part in making the world more sustainable. The printed products that I sell are as eco-friendly as possible. I also built an artistic natural cottage in Finland, which follows my design principles and my sustainable ethos.

Visit Heidi’s page for contact details and links.

As a self-taught photographer, I don’t really follow rules and I’ve been able to have the freedom to learn by doing it my own way – a bit of a cowboy, I have a relaxed style and like to ‘shoot from the hip’. People need to feel relaxed and forget about having a camera pointed at them to achieve natural shots.

Over the last 7 years or so I have been able to develop my skills enough to have a successful career, with both a studio and gallery base, doing child, family and commercial photography work, as well as working with landscapes featuring the stunning views of Todmorden and Hebden Bridge. These landscapes feature on many items that I then sell in the gallery as well as online.

It’s such a thrill when people buy to take or send to friends & family overseas, that know and love this area.

My jigsaws, tea towels and cushions are in residences in far-away places such as New Zealand and Australia, in France & Italy as well as Dubai, Canada and the Caribbean. So wonderful to be able to share such natural gorgeousness!

The name – Two Islands Photography – comes from having dual nationality of two islands – this larger one, and also of the much smaller Cayman Islands in the Caribbean where I proudly have citizenship and residency having spent many years living, working and raising a family there.

I am lucky enough to still spend quite a lot of time in Cayman and I also exhibit at the Ritz Carlton Gallery on Grand Cayman as well as sell items featuring Cayman views in various outlets on the island.

But it was the draw of the seasons, the hills and valleys and the lighting that comes with it, that drew me back to Yorkshire after 20 years away. Every day is different and there is nothing better for clearing a busy mind than a long walk with a camera over the hills or along the canal and it is these views that feature heavily in my landscape work.

Visit Tessa’s page for contact details and links.

Hi, I’m Kath and I am a self taught textile artist based in Wainsgate Chapel, a beautiful, deconsecrated baptist chapel, in Old Town above Hebden Bridge.

All of my designs are inspired by my love of nature, stirred with a good dollop of childlike imagination. I make a wide range of brooches, accessories, homewares and original artwork featuring our native birds and creatures. Each one is lovingly hand cut, needle felted and free motion embroidered, to have its own unique character.

The majority of my fabrics are carefully sourced Scottish and English tweeds that come with their own stories of wool, looms, and skilled hands. Tweed runs in my family’s blood. My great Grand Uncles, Vernon and Aubrey manufactured fine wool tweeds at Clover Greaves Mill in Calverley, West Yorkshire. I like to use Yorkshire tweed in my work and imagine my grandma causing mischief around the looms that made it one hundred years ago.

Sourcing fabrics that are natural, sustainable or repurposed is a core value of Katfish Designs. My shopping and messenger bags are made from recycled organic cotton and plastic bottles and my collection of keyring are all backed with repurposed leather pieces that were my Grandad’s samples from his days in Leeds tannery in the 1960’s.

I share my studio space with a wonderful community of creatives, plus there is always excellent cake here. So come and say hello and meet my menagerie of colourful, characterful birds and creatures at this year’s Open Studios. It’s well worth a trip up t’hill.

Visit Kath’s page for contact details and links.

Photos of Kath by Lucy Cartwright

My willow work is influenced by the natural environment all around me. Using much of my own grown willow I create work that is often functional and connected to the land.

I love being able to create something from just a bunch of sticks. Willow is so flexible and strong it can be woven into almost anything only limited by my skill and imagination. I enjoy the physical nature of what I do, that along with the repetitiveness of weaving keeps me completely absorbed while I work and I am always reminded of the people and cultures all around the world that have their own weaving traditions.

I’m constantly inspired by the windswept landscapes of the Moors and the gentler valleys below. Willow grows along our waterways and on the hills in any sunny spots. I regularly walk and enjoy the interconnectivity between the trees, other plants, insects and birds. It really inspires my working practice. I feel very lucky to live and work in such an inspiring place and that I get to work with a material that has so many positive attributes.

Visit Joe’s page for contact details and links.

Photos of Joe by Lucy Cartwright

I enjoy painting landscapes and seascapes that play with form and formlessness. I aim to create scenes that feel half-remembered, at once familiar but also dream-like.

In my art I experiment with the boundaries between the real and the imagined, creating scenes that seem both familiar and yet distant.

While many of my paintings are inspired by real places I rarely paint specific locations, instead preferring intuitive and meditative painting methods to paint through pure, direct creative expression.

Some of the most rewarding and exciting feedback I’ve received from clients and visitors is that viewing a painting feels like grasping at a memory.

I take inspiration from my walks and camps in nature. Stormy weather and the Welsh coast as well as the hills and patchwork fields surrounding my home in West Yorkshire are particularly close to my heart.

I apply paints in some non-traditional ways using unconventional tools and thick watercolour paints with the goal of creating striking scenes that have movement, drama and mystery.

My process is never fixed and I’m always on the lookout for changes and additions that I can make through new tools, methods or mindsets. For that reason, I also enjoy documenting my art and enjoy making videos exploring the creative process through a lens of meditation and flow states.

Visit Tim’s page for contact details and links.

Photos of Tim by Lucy Cartwright

Inspiration for my fibre artwork comes from my wanderings of the land and wild seascapes, my love of vibrant colour, abstract expressionism, free flowing forms and textural surfaces.

I’ve always been a wanderer, exploring the moorlands, flora and fauna. I lived on a small farm in my childhood, drawing, creating, making imaginary worlds with whatever I could find both in and outdoors.

After my art degree, I worked as a designer, participatory artist and lecturer. I now love to create my fibre felted paintings, sculptural pieces and funky fun jewellery. I also do needle felted commissions of pets/animals and teach workshops in my lovely studio in Hebden Bridge.

I make all my felted artworks from wool and plant fibres including hemp, nettle, flax, bamboo and more. I mix and layer them together which helps create texture and lustre. Sometimes I embed fabrics into the felted surface and stitch in found objects, plant material or photographic images.

The transformation of the fibres, the unpredictability of felt making, the uncertainty of never being quite sure how the piece will turn out is all part of the wonderful magic for me.

Visit Josephine’s page for contact details and links.

photos of Josephine Happysnapz.co.uk

I was initially inspired by reflections in a department store shop window in Peckham High Street when I was student at Camberwell School of Art. Peering at my own reflection a woman in a fur coat rushed by reflecting in the glass and captured my imagination. The reflections theme has kept me painting in various guises for over 40 years.

Over this time the paintings have changed in form, size and medium. They question and consolidate a momentary experience, recording a pinch of life at a particular time – a historical document. Shops and displays modify constantly, just as life moves, changes and disappears. The interaction between the reflected building, passing person or vehicle mixed with what is interestingly displayed in the shop window, provides a complex and befuddled picture. Colourful patterns in fabrics, paper and objects add to the exciting mix creating a new diverse scene. I frequently take photographs as reflections alter and disappear as quickly as the light changes. These are used to inform and capture the essence in my work.

I love the light, colour, shapes and patterns which are also caught in my landscape painting and sketches which are simple and less complex. I love to walk in the valley and mountains further afield; always carrying my sketch book, pencils and tiny paints to quickly record the colours and forms I observe. These are often turned into prints or paintings.

My fascination with gardening and seedpods forms provide another interest and inspiration. The variety of seed dispersal make each seed pod an enthralling structure. Each shape has a personality of its own. I have a vast collection of seed pods, loving the details in nature.
I love using a variety of mediums in all my work from watercolour, inks, pastels, acrylics and oil paints, choosing which ever takes my fancy or has a particular quality for a piece of work. I also make lino cuts particularly at Christmas time. I’m happy and open to suggestions from people and will take on commissions.

Visit Dorothy’s page for contact details and links.

Photos of Dorothy by Lucy Cartwright

My work draws on architecture, machines, and natural forms to produce unique lamps and clocks that combine a strong mechanical or structural aesthetic and a playful character.

All my work is designed to encourage interaction and introduce a sense of play into everyday activities; for example a kinetic element or simple mechanism to adjust the piece or to set it in motion.

The overall aesthetic draws on the beauty of industrial materials and the charm of simple machine assemblies, made using materials with a strong practical and decorative heritage.

Components are “over-engineered” to give an air of indestructible vulnerability and ensure they will last for generations.

All this happens in my workshop at home in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.

Visit Dan’s page for contact details and links.

Photos of Dan by Lucy Cartwright

In my paintings I celebrate our connection with treasured books and the way our bookshelves reflect the stories of our lives.

My work brings together my love of oil painting, books and typography and a fascination with how our bookshelves can hold on to our stories and reflect our lives. I specialise in carefully rendered, reverential Shelf Portrait oil paintings: collections of treasured books gathered together, resonating with the relationships they hold.

Local inspiration has come from Shibden Hall in my ‘Gentleman Jack’ Shelf Portrait, commissioned for Helena Whitbread, author and decoder of Anne Lister’s Secret Diaries. Also from the library shelves of Howarth Parsonage, with ‘Novels of the Sisters Bronte’ depicting editions from their collection.

I always have an eye out for pleasing groups of books wherever I am: browsing second-hand bookshops or inviting myself into the homes of strangers who sound like they have an intriguing collection on their shelves! Painting themes include Penguin paperbacks, classic literature, Wainwright, bird watching, cookery, natural history…

I produce a wide range of Bookshelf themed Limited Edition prints, notebooks, cards and mugs from my paintings. Visit my studio to have a browse, or find them in my website shop.

I especially enjoy working on bespoke commissions, where clients choose their most treasured books to be painted together. I love visiting people’s homes and chatting about their book choices, hearing the stories of their lives unfold before me on the shelf. As the painting comes together it builds up a portrait reflecting the client’s own tales and passions.

It’s a bit like Desert Island Discs!

Which books would you choose?…

Visit Roo’s page for contact details and links.

Photos of Roo by Lucy Cartwright

From my sunny studio I make glowing paper-cut lighting, wallpaper, window film and a large collection of tiny laser cut treasures, all inspired by the exquisite details found in nature.

I’m always inspired and enthralled by the tiny details found in nature and I love living in this valley with its many woodlands paths, moorland and meadows. I walk often with my camera taking it all in and trying to figure out how to express what I see in my work.

My studio is home to my incredible laser-cutting machine, which I use to cut all the motifs for my lamps and other paper pieces. It is able to cut with such precision, which is wonderful because I love the details. I use the machine to cut silhouettes but also engrave texture and pattern. It can take the finest layer of paper away which allows me to play with the amount of light coming through and build up layers of light and shadow. I love switching on a lamp for the first time and watching the design come to life.

I design my wallpapers in house, using the same motifs and they are printed using traditional methods in one of the few remaining wallpaper factories in the UK. I have eight botanically inspired designs, with many colours to choose from. You can see sample books in the studio and I have A4 samples to take away.

My studio has wall to wall windows that display my window film designs so you can see what they look like in real life and see the magical shadows that they make.

Visit Hannah’s page for contact details and links.

I create unique, articulated jewellery inspired by the natural world and the process of making. Growing up on a farm near the coast in West Wales I spent my childhood playing outside with my brothers, exploring rock pools, and making things. Most of my ideas stem from this early immersion in nature.

I completed an Arts Foundation course at Carmarthen College of Art, I studied Design Crafts at Staffordshire University, where I specialised in fine metal, growing to love the scale and personal connection of jewellery making. After graduation I continued to make and develop my skills, but worked as a support worker in care for 14 years, before being inextricably drawn back to making.

I use traditional silversmithing techniques, forging sheet silver over steel stakes and into wooden formers using hammers and punches. Three-dimensional forms are articulated, fused, and finished with enamels, oxides or gold to create lively, humorous pieces of wearable sculpture.

My work has been exhibited across the UK and abroad, including the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London and Velvet da Vinci Gallery in San Francisco. I was selected by the Crafts Council for the Hothouse program in 2016 and continue to represent them through workshops and as Talent Development Ambassador. More recently I’m delighted to have been selected to join Design-Nation, a collective of ‘highly skilled designer-makers whose works demonstrate authentic, exceptional craftsmanship and design ability’.

The Scarab Beetle brooch pictured is a recent piece and has been selected by the Association of Contemporary Jewellery for a touring exhibition, ‘Meanings and Messages’, which will be seen at numerous venues across the UK until 2023.

This month I’ve been doing some research at Blackburn Museum to document and sketch their amazing beetle collection. This research, which includes going behind-the-scenes to examine rare specimens, will inspire a new collection of work this year.

Visit Toby’s page for contact details and links.

This month our tour of Calder Valley creativity continues with stops along the way to see some extraordinary articulated jewellery, exquisite nature inspired designs for the home, and ends up exploring a unique fusion of oil painting, books and typography.

Follow #hbosFridayFeature on social media or check out our blog on the following Fridays for the full length features:

All aboard! Tickets and passes please…

 

 
In March Toby Cotterill has been at Blackburn Museum to document and sketch their amazing beetle collection. This research, which includes going behind-the-scenes to examine rare specimens, will inspire a new collection of work this year. Not to be missed if you like interesting, sculptural jewellery.

Hannah Nunn is always inspired and enthralled by the tiny details found in nature and loves living in this valley with its many woodlands paths, moorland and meadows.

From her sunny studio she expresses that inspiration in her glowing paper-cut lighting, wallpaper, window film and a large collection of tiny laser cut treasures.

Roo Waterhouse’s oil paintings celebrate our connection with treasured books and the way our bookshelves reflect the stories of our lives.

Her Shelf Portraits are a kind of literary Desert Island Discs!

Which books would you choose?

Always a fan of a good story I studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art, my passion for screen printing followed and I brought to life literary characters I loved in little hand printed books.

A move to Brighton gave me the opportunity to study a Masters in Sequential Illustration and to continue with making and printing.

A painting career then developed from showing a few tentative paintings in a pop up shop. I painted florals and landscapes and have been published nationally and internationally.

My love of the outdoors and surrounding nature continues and has been fuelled by a move back to my home of Yorkshire. Now I paint soft, dream like landscapes of places close to my heart from my studio in Hebden Bridge. I also love to paint whimsical birds and I hand print a range of screen printed products. Screen printing has opened the door for me to create not just art to hang on a wall but art in the form of cushions, brooches, mobiles and much more.

Everything I make is proudly handmade here in Yorkshire!

I make art that makes you smile; bright pictures to escape grey days.

Visit Julia’s page for contact details and links.

I am a small batch potter working from my home studio in Hebden Bridge. I hand craft functional earthenware ceramics such as vases, mugs, jugs, plates and candleholders.

I use white earthenware clay to create my pieces and slab-building or hand-made moulds to create the shapes. I decorate my pieces with vintage lace, or simple bird, leaf or flower shaped paper templates.

Using quick, vibrant brush strokes I apply coloured slips to my ceramics and after they have been bisque fired I add more details with brush-on underglaze and pencil. I then apply a luscious clear glaze before firing.

Each piece is handmade from start to finish so every single one of my creations is truly one-of-a-kind. I love the entire process of hand building and there is always something new to learn. I still get a bit tense when opening the kiln after a firing, hoping everything is as expected, but, there are always a few surprises.

Visit Lesley’s page for contact details and links.

I’m a jeweller based in Hebden Bridge. I love to use colour as a visual language through my jewellery and my work is inspired by the surrounding countryside, sculpture and patterns.

Colour from the metals used plays an important part in my work: cool silver, vibrant blues from titanium, and warm earthy tones from copper and brass. I craft fine details by piercing with a saw, soldering and inlaying contrasting metals, and I carve light, detailed patterns with a pendant drill.

Each of my pieces is hand-made, each piece is unique. Bold and dynamic, my Geometrics collection uses contrasting colours and shapes to create individual works of art. I am inspired by Miro and Barbara Hepworth as well as Lucienne Day’s textile designs and many things mid-century. Sculpture and colour sit together in this collection.

My Pebbles & Circles collection has an earthy feel, inspirations are naturally sourced, bringing together found objects, rocks,shapes from the sea, lakes and rivers. Returning to nature, seeking the outdoors and creating a space for calm, peace and quiet.

My Birds & Flowers collection comes from being in nature, every day gardening, walking, watching the emerging and passing of the seasons, buds, birds and flowers.

Visit Kate’s page for contact details and links.

Every July the artists in Hebden Bridge and the Upper Calder Valley open their doors to their creative spaces. A map of hidden worlds to enrich and inspire.

Our Friday Feature opens a little window into these studios and workshops throughout the year, shining a light on three artists each time.

Follow #hbosFridayFeature on social media where we’ll showcase one artist every week, or if you’ve a bigger appetite for art, feast on all three in our monthly email or here in our blog.


Come with us on a journey through art and exquisitely made handcrafts. First stop; jewellery, ceramics and painting.

If you like what you see follow the links to the full feature on each artist. We’ll be back next month with three more visits to Hebden Bridge Open Studios’ hub of art and creativity.

Cool silver, vibrant blues from titanium, and warm earthy tones from copper and brass.”

Each piece is handmade from start to finish so every single one of my creations is truly one-of-a-kind.”

Screen printing has opened the door for me to create not just art to hang on a wall but art in the form of cushions, brooches, mobiles and much more. All proudly handmade here in Yorkshire!”