Maker's Guild at V&A

What you are looking at is a rather bitten picture of The Royal Albert Hall. As I was approaching it on Friday evening all I could see was the contrast of its colours with the darkness around. Being on my way home from the Victoria & Albert Museum I felt a bit creative and took this shot. Slightly skewed, this image makes me squinter my eyes and see the contrast even more.

In case you wonder why I was at the V&A in the evening, I persuaded education there. This was the second time I visited its Sackler Centre for a talk on, this time, The Economic and Social Value of Making. Without checking my notes, what I remember is that as long as a designer/maker collaborates with other fields (scientists, medical teams,...) and manages to create a successful product, both economic and social values would emboss themselves in the process and outcome. Of course, a funding from the government would help and I guess this is when the collaboration comes in. Basically, the emphasis was put on social interaction within various fields. What a lesson for me.

The previous talk was about bringing technology to textile making.

Here a special solar (not LED) thread was developed and mixed and woven into a scarf. Usually not visible, its trick becomes obvious when a flashlight hits it. The scarf becomes luminous. Its implication would find use in, for example, road safety. What a great idea, what a design.

Again, a maker's skill collaborates with technological knowledge here.

Most of all, all the speakers/designers/makers showed a high commitment and believe in their work. They talked in such a way that I would almost believe that as long as you use your knowledge and skill in whatever you are doing and are (preferably) able to make a living out of it, you are fine. You even support the economy. It is true though, that we need to take pride in whatever we are doing. The enjoyment will come with it.

Which leaves me with something David Hockney, an influential artist of the 20th century (and now) said: 'You can teach craft but you cannot teach poetry.' My personal experience from Uni was the other way round. We were taught how to think but not much on the skill front. Although there were professionals from various fields, there was simply not much time to learn the skills. Which is why I am here with 'kpDeco' exploring my own skills and interests now. And what an enjoyable experience this has been so far. Kx