The souvenirs, designed and manufactured entirely in Scotland, aim to offer a lasting material legacy of both major events.

The following artists, designers and companies have made prototypes: Atelier and Marc Camille Chaimowicz with Begg Scotland and McRostie of Glasgow, Claire Duffy with Tunnock’s, Emlyn Firth and Angharad McLaren with Johnstons of Elgin, FOUND with Chemikal Underground, Katy West with Highland Stoneware and Rogano Oyster Bar, Neil McGuire and Marianne Anderson with Carlton Die Casting and Jewellery Prototyping Services.

The souvenirs will be developed for sale as a part of the cultural programme for the Commonwealth Games. They will be available to buy in Glasgow and across Scotland in 2014.

Scotland Can Make It! is commissioned as part of Scotland’s Cultural Programme for London 2012 and Glasgow 2014.

Left to Right: Neil McGuire, Emlyn Firth, Marianne Anderson, Fiona Hyslop, Kirsty Cunningham (Johnstons of Elgin), Lucy McEachen, Stewart Henderson (Chemikal Underground), Catriona Duffy. Photo: Neil Thomas Douglas.

Find out more:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

//////

Browse through our event bulletin to find more events.

Who:
Glasgow based photographer, Andrea uses the alter ego Flannery O’Kafka for what she terms as Melancholy Merry-Making. This mother-of-five documents her ‘making’ process through daily life on her blog where you will find a mix of family snapshots, portraits, commercial/editorial work often featuring her children.

Harris Tweed Fashion Show, Hillhead Bookclub, Glasgow’s West End

Why we like it:
Flannery O’Kafka blogs openly in a photo-diary style. Her strong talents as a photographer are plainly evident in all of her work, whether it be an editorial shot or a quick snapshot of one of her kids; her compositions are well-considered and beautiful.

Sisters in Babiekins magazine published

Hidden treasure:
Amongst all the photos of O’Kafka’s children, we stumbled across this rare and rather striking self-portrait of O’Kafka herself.

Self-portrait

Where to find out more:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

//////

Want to take a look at more suggested blogs by artists? Look here.

Matt Pierce has been a builder and tinkerer for as long as he can remember. This curiosity – to see how things work, take them apart, customize and create new things – led him to start Wood&Faulk, a blog about projects and DIY. He tells us more here…

Wood&Faulk represent well-made, classic lifestyle items with the familiarity of objects your grandparents might have carried. Taking inspiration from the old and the new, the classics and the future classics, Wood&Faulk make items that are built to last with timeless Americana style.

Wood&Faulk started as a simple blog by Matt Pierce in 2010.  It began as a place to document projects, ideas and DIY. Derived from project experiments on the blog and items used in the workshop, Wood&Faulk has developed into a little company known for bags, belts, accessories and other objects inspired by its Oregon home and its Kansas roots.

“The quintessential Wood&Faulk project has to be the Official Campstool. It was first produced as a DIY project, and turned into a more refined piece for customers and friends.” says Pierce. “Have you seen modern-day camp stools? Your grandpa would be ashamed to see you using one!”

Another such project is the Wood&Faulk belts. They were originally created as a project on the blog about how leather wears-in according to the way the user wears it. More and more people requested them, and they were later introduced as a regular store item.

Matt Pierce was born and raised in the Midwestern state of Kansas. He grew up learning auto mechanics, carpentry, plumbing and welding from his family and friends and has continued to build things his entire life. All of these trades came together when he was living in and working on refinishing his own houses in Kansas. The origin of the name Wood&Faulk harkens to streets in his old neighborhood – Woodrow Ave. and Faulkner Street. After selling the Woodrow Ave. home, he moved to the Pacific Northwest, where he found an excellent community of DIY culture, building, making and design that continues to inspire.  Nowadays he spends his free-time refinishing a small 104 year-old house and a FJ62 Land Cruiser.

The majority of W&F products are made in the Beam&Anchor building, where my studio resides. We’re a little family with a painter, soap maker, treasure hunters, upholsters, cabinet and furniture makers, and a retail shop on the ground floor. It’s an amazing building that faces the Union Pacific train yard, under the Fremont bridge in Portland Oregon. The sound of trains, the tools roaring inside, some great music and the sun falling over the West Hills all make this place really amazing. I’m really fortunate to be in the building.

Find out more:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

//////

‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

Why we like it:
From people making suits in South Africa, to handmade instruments, butter, doughnuts and pottery, this site has a plethora of interesting videos which will surely encourage you to try your hand at something new.

Find out more:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

//////

For more creative delights we’ve Spotted on the web take a look here.

1. Pylon Cabinet by Namon Gaston

2. Re:Polo by Peter Ward

3. Sea Defence by Andy Murray

4. Domestic Selections by Nick Ross

5. Odds and Ends Lamp by Daniel Ortiz

//////

See more Top 5s selected from the network here.

Hi, my name is Fi Scott, and I’m the founder, and design director of a start up called Make/Works.

Make/Works is an organisation that facilitates and celebrates the making and manufacture of creative work in Scotland. It is primarily focussed on the creation of a digital service, The Make/Works Directory; a database of makers, manufacturers, material suppliers and facilities to be openly accessible for the needs of the creative industries. Make/Works was based on a simple observation; that when it comes to the physical fabrication of work (across any creative discipline) in Scotland, it is often difficult, confusing and time consuming. Make/Works aims to change this, and to empower the creative industries to be able to locally manufacture with ease.

So, if you are a designer looking to metal-cast a prototype in Glasgow; the Make/Works directory will be able to source filtered results of facilities, manufacturers and makers that would be of use, and willing to work with you, in the local area. Equally, this is applicable to sourcing materials; (“where do I find a square piece of glass for an exhibition?”) finding processes; (“which printing service is able to perfectly bind this book?”) facilities; (“where in glasgow can you use a ceramic kiln?”) and trade skills (“who is able to spin copper, or teach me how to do it myself?”).

I began the initiative after working as a designer at DMFD in Brooklyn, New York; where I was making cork furniture. The experience made me realise the importance of making and materials – which as well as improving the quality of work itself can also be a empowering and exciting part of the creative process. There is nothing more satisfying than coming home at the end of the day, head to toe covered in cork dust!  So, on returning to Scotland, I combined this idea about the importance of making with my parallel background in service and experience design. I started out by interviewing artists, designers, craftspeople and consultancies (to check my observation wasn’t just a hunch!) and quickly realised there was a gap between those in the creative industries and access to the practical resources that enabled people to realise their projects. The more and more people I interviewed about the problem, the more people were really expressing the need for a service that connected the two.

I continued to develop the idea in my final year at Glasgow School of Art, along with a business plan for the final of the Deutsche Bank Awards in Creative Practice. Now that I’ve graduated, I’m spending my days visiting factories, studios, workshops and designing the Make/Works digital service. I’m making sure I find manufacturers that are wiling to work with the creative industries; as well as co-designing the service with users, so I can really ensure it will work to suit people’s needs. Aside from the directory being a useful resource, the background is really about empowering the creative industries to manufacture locally. Not only is this beneficial to Scotland’s local economy and small businesses, but more sustainable aswell.

What’s next for Make/Works?
At the moment, Make/Works is based at the MAKLAb studio, in the Lighthouse. It’s an awesome place to be, as (despite getting a wee bit distracted by using the machines at times!) there are lots of designers, artists and architects around the place to bounce ideas off of and find leads to new resources. I’m hoping to launch a beta version of the site in April 2013 as a Glasgow pilot, before going Scotland wide.

We can make work in Scotland!

More information:
Website | Twitter

//////

See more blogs by creatives here.

Brothers of the Stripe are a collective of image-makers working across the UK who work on a mixture of art, graphic design, and illustration projects. The group were shepherded together by the foresight of Joel Millerchip, illustrator and unofficially, the illustrious leader.

Rainbow Kelly by Mr Millerchip

Joel went from city to city, getting full UK coverage by selecting some of his favourite illustrators to represent their area of the country, to bring what they do to the ‘Stripe’, and to play host once their time comes.

Expo by Mr Millerchip

Sampler by Mr the Beef

Some say our name comes from Joel’s obsession with the Newcastle United Football strip design, and that he has it tattooed on his underarm… annually.  Other rumours involve Stephen Chan once hypnotizing himself by staring at a barbershop pole too long, and the collectives shared loved of a striped Jamaican beer. Whatever it is, these boys are brothers in arms and industry.

Kyoto 1 by Stephen Chan

Kyoto 2 by Stephen Chan

So far, shows have included a spot at Get a Grip Studios at the Custard Factory, Birmingham and a day long take over of Design Museum, London. Next up, the collective find themselves in residence at the Soup Kitchen in Manchester sometime in October.

The Hunt (detail) by Will Scobie

Before long, Brothers of the Stripe will have reached the four corners of the UK, with representation in Scotland, Wales and England. Expect shows in Glasgow, Nottingham Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle and London in due course.

Clouds by Cloud Commission

One by Kristian Jones

More: Website | Facebook | Twitter

//////

See here for more Collectives featured on Central Station.
Contact us to talk about a feature for your Collective.

Can we tempt you to join our Jam Dating Agency? [Yes, you read that right.]

We’re looking people to pair with one another. Are you:

i) eager to make jam?

ii) looking at a bumper harvest this year?

Here’s the idea – it’s really very simple – let us hook up the makers with the producers.

All you have to do is tell us what you’ve got or what you’re looking for. At the moment we’ve got three young ladies who have jars on the hunt for locally grown produce. Come on people with (soon-to-be-heaving) plum trees and over-enthusiastic fruit patches – start sharing your wares!

Don’t worry if you’re an enthusiastic new-comer and your skills in the art of jam-making are as yet untested. It’s ever so easy, anyone can do it. To help point you in the right direction, here are a few top tips we’ve spotted:

Nigel Slater on the art and pleasure of jam-making.

Jamie Oliver’s strawberry and vanilla concoction.

The River Cottage community’s Gingered Courgette pot of gold.

Once you’ve made your jam, if you live anywhere near Glasgow then we’d like you to bring a pot along to Harvest 2010. On the 28th August at the Hidden Gardens, we’re hosting a mass open-air meal. As part of it we’re building a Jam Wall. A 3D pantone colour chart of jam jars, ranging from [lemon]yellow to black[current]. Bring your concoction with you and add it to our ever-growing communal sculpture.

Coming soon: find out about some of the work we’re commissioning for Glasgow Harvest 2010, including multidisciplinary art collective 85A’s Herbaceous Barbershop and photographer Neil Davidson’s Shed.

Follow us on Twitter.

Like us on Facebook.

See us on Flickr.

/////

To find out what Tasty twEATS & Harvest 2010, click here.