“A Gift Less Ordinary” Opens at Symondsbury Estate
The team at Symondsbury Estate have been scouring the West Country to find the best designer-makers and master craftsmen and women around, to make a great new addition to their Christmas gift offering, called “A Gift Less Ordinary”. With a gallery-style display built within the Estate’s Visitor Centre, A Gift Less Ordinary brings together a collective of ten local designer-makers to create a fantastic, curated collection of presents. It will run until every day until Tuesday 2nd January 2024, from 10am to 4.00pm every day except bank holidays.
The ten designer-makers have been handpicked for making beautiful items with skill, creativity and passion, while being kind to the environment. The unique character of their designs sets them apart from the mass-produced items that are found more often on the high street. This means that A Gift Less Ordinary provides discerning customers with the opportunity to buy an inspired present that’s a bit different, something beautiful and memorable that the recipient will treasure for years to come.
The designer-makers taking part in A Gift Less Ordinary include printmaker Naomi Handy who has created bespoke prints only available at Symondsbury Estate, including new imagery of Shutes Lane, the magical holloway recently surveyed by Natural England as it is thought to be one of the best examples of these ancient sunken paths.
Prize-winning master jeweller, Sue Gregor MA, is exhibiting her innovative floral recycled plastic jewellery which use leaves that break down in the process of making, so each piece is inspired, handcrafted and one-of-a-kind.
With his business, Reworked, Sam Isaacs uses a variety of found objects including classic car parts, vintage bicycle bits, old scooter lamps and ghost nets to create new desirable lamps – useful sculptures which look great but also serve a purpose.
Ceramicist Tessa Margrie will be bringing along her beautiful jugs, pots and bowls. Each item is unique as she lets the grey, blue and orange glaze which she uses do its own thing, with charming results.
Stunning basketware will be for sale, made by Jessica Geach, founder of Ruby Cubes. She uses unbleached rope that is environmentally-friendly and her basket designs are informed by the breathtaking hilltops and refreshing river walks near her Dartmoor home.
Claire Cameron’s delightfully, quirky hanging pots, created in her idyllically situated studio in a 19th century barn in Dorset’s rolling hills, are made with an amazing palette of vibrant natural colours, inspired by her surroundings.
Bringing some luxury for the home, Peaceable Kingdom Cushions are an initiative set up by well-known local artist, Hugh Dunford Wood, with the animals and birds depicted being inspired by Hugh’s walks along the Undercliff at Lyme or beside the River Axe.
Kate Osman’s sculptural creations stem from her passion for transforming the things people might otherwise discard, from random pieces of furniture to ocean plastics and sea glass. Her most recent work makes use of the driftwood and fishing industry debris found on beach cleans along the Jurassic Coast.
Last but not least, A Gift Less Ordinary is collaborating with the Sou’-Sou-West Gallery & Shop, also based at Symondsbury Estate, showcasing the work of some of their exhibiting artists, including handmade scarves from dead stock yarn by Sharon Campbell and contemporary hand turned bowls made from native British hardwoods by Liz Kent.